brave [little] meme

I’ve been using Safari’s new beta for three days now, first on a Windows XP machine (Don’t ask, it was under duress) and then on my own iMac under Leopard. Having read conflicting reports about its speed, stability and compatibility, I was a little hesitant about installing it, but I must admit I am very pleasantly surprised. So here is how it stacks up so far:

Installation: I am ashamed to admit it, but it was easier on Windows, where it was a matter of a minute or so. On the Mac, installation required a reboot and the latest security updates in place. Sure, it has to do with Safari’s closer integration with OSX but still, point of pride here.

Speed: It’s blazing fast, compared to both Safari 3 and FireFox 3.1. The speed is very noticeable on most sites, but particularly those which rely heavily on JavaScript. The new Nitro engine must be working.

Reliability: Multiple tabs open, CPU-intensive processes running in the background, and a multitude of sites with quick hopping between pages and reloading. Not a crash yet. This was perhaps the biggest surprise for a beta release.

Interface: I’m still not sold on the concept of tabs-on-top, but it’s growing on me. I certainly don’t mind them enough to put them back the way they were. Top Sites is a cute feature, but only time will tell how much it gets used. CoverFlow in History, I can honestly take it or leave it.

Compatibiility: I don’t use third-party plugins with Safari, so no problems there. If you do, stay clear - they won’t work.

All in all, it seems as though I’m going to stick with this beta until I find a compelling reason not to. Its speed alone is a strong motivator, as going back to FireFox frankly feels like wading in treacle. I would recommend those of you with a taste for the bleeding edge to give Safari 4 a try, but bear in mind that its installation on Macs will effectively replace your existing copy of Safari.

If you’re so inclined, you can download the Safari 4 beta from here.