# Safari 4 - Public Beta **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 25, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safari-4-public-beta/487392 "2009-02-25T17:49:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safari-4-public-beta/487392/1 "2009-02-25T17:49:53Z")
Anyone try the new [Safari?](http://www.apple.com/safari/) Smokin’ fast… and I mean, _noticeably_ faster. At least on my Mac it is. Love the new Top Sites feature too, and how the tabs are along the top title bar now. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safari-4-public-beta/487392/2 "2009-02-25T18:09:15Z")
It’s much faster. If I can find an FTP plugin, I may switch mostly to it instead of FireFox. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safari-4-public-beta/487392/3 "2009-02-25T18:16:40Z")
yeh, I’m finding it faster than FF as well. Plus I just like the simple, clean, zippy interface more than FF. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safari-4-public-beta/487392/4 "2009-02-25T18:16:46Z")
Yeah, it’s way fast. Not sure I like the “do nothing for 3 seconds then, bam!” screen redraw, though. So far it seems pretty stable. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safari-4-public-beta/487392/5 "2009-02-25T19:19:58Z")
What plugins are available for it? ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safari-4-public-beta/487392/6 "2009-02-25T19:26:20Z")
It’s faster, but it’s not Chrome fast (mac version Safari, versus PC version of Chrome). Chrome is blazing–there’s still a delay for many sites with Safari. I do like that they took a page from Chrome’s book with the tabs on top, but they don’t work nearly as well as Chrome–I hate how they change sizes constantly dependent on how many tabs are open. Dragging them around also isn’t as intuitive. I do like Cover Flow for bookmarks–I prolly won’t use it much, but could be handy when trying to find an obscure site. The Chrome/Opera-esque start page is also sleek looking. I’m disappointed they still have a separate bar for urls and search. I guess Chrome spoiled me, but using two separate bars seems archaic. I also miss the in-bar progress bar–why’d they get rid of it? (hilarious Twitter on subject: [http://twitter.com/darrengeraghty/status/1245306229](http://twitter.com/darrengeraghty/status/1245306229) ) ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safari-4-public-beta/487392/7 "2009-02-25T20:16:46Z")
I haven’t checked out Chrome yet… might give that a go one of these days. Not sure about available plug-ins, or what existing ones might break under the Beta, but I’d expect quite a few to not work from v3 to v4, until devs can update 'em. I don’t use many plugins myself, tho. Here’s Apple’s new [feature list…](http://www.apple.com/safari/features.html) ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safari-4-public-beta/487392/8 "2009-02-26T03:09:03Z")
Wow. I’m so disappointed. Standard Apple crap, trying to force The Mac Way on Windows users. Nonstandard UI, ugly as sin, tabs that stretch everywhere, nonstandard hotkeys, pathetic customizability, no keyword support, tiny status bar, bookmark sidebar that refuses to go away, slow as sin Cover Flow… I uninstalled it after two minutes. It’s not often a browser can make IE seem like the better option. Tried the latest Chrome release for a while too, but left after I saw the first popup window (from Gmail, no less) and an advertisement. Back to FF, I suppose. It barely crawls along on my Atom netbook, but there are just too many awesome features. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safari-4-public-beta/487392/9 "2009-02-26T03:42:06Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Wow. I’m so disappointed. Standard Apple crap, trying to force The Mac Way on Windows users. Nonstandard UI, ugly as sin, tabs that stretch everywhere, nonstandard hotkeys, pathetic customizability, no keyword support, tiny status bar, bookmark sidebar that refuses to go away, slow as sin Cover Flow… I uninstalled it after two minutes. It’s not often a browser can make IE seem like the better option. > > Tried the latest Chrome release for a while too, but left after I saw the first popup window (from Gmail, no less) and an advertisement. > > Back to FF, I suppose. It barely crawls along on my Atom netbook, but there are just too many awesome features. I don’t think it’s Apple trying to force anything so much as it is keeping the app consistent across platforms, so if course they’re going to favor the Apple way. I think it’s the most attractive interface out there, simple, clean and non-obstructive. As far as the UI, it’s standard Mac fare. How big do you need your status bar, and I’m not sure what you mean by the bookmark bar that won’t go away (you can kill the BM bar, toolbar, tabs, and the status bar)? Doesn’t sound like you gave it a serious shot. Anyway… you’re call. The IE stab was laughable. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safari-4-public-beta/487392/10 "2009-02-26T03:48:17Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Doesn’t sound like you gave it a serious shot. Anyway… you’re call. > > The IE stab was laughable. _shrug_ To each their own 🙂 The more the merrier, I say, as long as they’re standards-compatible (yeah, no, IE doesn’t count there). ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safari-4-public-beta/487392/11 "2009-02-26T04:04:11Z")
😉 ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safari-4-public-beta/487392/12 "2009-02-26T07:24:48Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Tried the latest Chrome release for a while too, but left after I saw the first popup window (from Gmail, no less) and an advertisement. First off, a pop-up? I haven’t seen one, and I’ve been using Chrome for six-months. Secondly, from Gmail? I’m pretty confident that Google doesn’t employ pop-up ads at all… ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safari-4-public-beta/487392/13 "2009-02-26T21:53:06Z")
Oh, and Safari still handles new tabs stupidly, like most browsers, barring Chrome. When I choose “Open in new tab,” it should open just right of the current one, and not at the end of the list–argh. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safari-4-public-beta/487392/14 "2009-02-26T22:36:51Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > First off, a pop-up? I haven’t seen one, and I’ve been using Chrome for six-months. Secondly, from Gmail? I’m pretty confident that Google doesn’t employ pop-up ads at all… It wasn’t an ad. It was a new, small Gmail compose window. > [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > Oh, and Safari still handles new tabs stupidly, like most browsers, barring Chrome. When I choose “Open in new tab,” it should open just right of the current one, and not at the end of the list–argh. Firefox’s [Tab Mix Plus](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1122) plugin lets you change this setting.