Apple unveils Safari 4 Beta for Mac OS X and Windows Platforms

(image found on PCworld)
Today, Apple launched its new beta version of Safari 4. The new browser is available for Mac OS X and Windows Platforms. Safari 4 introduces a few cool new features such as a smart address field, a full history search and a full-page zoom. Apple is touting that Safari 4 runs faster because of its new JavaScript Engine(dubbed “Nitro”). Also, according to the company, Safari 4 loads JavaScript "up to 30 times faster than IE7 and more than three times faster than Firefox 3." As for HTML pages, Safari, "loads [them] three times faster than IE 7 and almost three times faster than Firefox 3." Safari 4 is also the first browser to pass Web Standards Project's Acid3 test. The beta browswer is available from Apples Web site for download which will require 107MB of disk space.

Here is a review from PCworld with someone who had a chance to download and take the new browser for a test drive.

I gave Safari 4 a spin, and while I noticed quite a few elements 'borrowed' from Google's Chrome browser, I was impressed with Apple's offering.

One of the most noticeable changes is the new Top Sites feature, a page that displays your most visited or favorite sites. It can be configured as either your home page or as a page you see every time you open a new tab. Chrome offers a similar feature, but Apple's iteration offers more eye candy, with a 3D display and its iPhone-like ability to rearrange sites. Pages that have been updated since you last visited them, will be marked with a blue star in the corner.

Safari 4's title bar also gets a Chrome-like look, with new tabs displayed there, instead of in a traditional tabs bar under the address field--making better use of your screen real-estate. Tabs can be rearranged, or you can drag them out and create new browser windows. And, as in previous versions, Safari 4 can merge all of your open windows into one multi-tabbed window.

Your browsing history is now brought to life with Cover Flow, so you can flick through your recently visited Web pages like you do with your album art in iTunes. The new Full History search feature can prove to be extremely useful, as it goes through all of the pages you have previously browsed and the text they contain. If you know you saw a certain term somewhere, but you can't remember where, you can simply search for it, and all pages containing it in their body text and name will be displayed.

The Smart Search Field in Safari 4 is now integrated with Google Suggest, and one you start typing, the field suggests search strings. This means you'll no longer need Safari plugins, like Inquisitor, to get this kind of functionality. The Full Page Zoom feature lets users zoom in and out on a page (by using keyboard shortcuts or menus) without distorting a page's layout or losing quality. Mac users were able to perform a similar task before, but now it's available to both PC users, too.

As for speed, Apple claims Safari 4 is the world's fastest browser. While I can't verify that claim, I can say that the new browser, running JavaScript 4.2, surely feels faster and page-loading time is indeed shorter. Safari 4 also includes HTML 5, a technology that allows wed-based applications to store information locally without an Internet connection.

I really like the new version of Safari. It definitely feels faster--an improvement that alone should give headaches to Microsoft and Mozilla. Add in the other nifty features and eye-candy Safari 4 brings, like Cover Flow, and this browser should give them plenty to think about.

Even though some of Safari 4 new feature seem like they are borrowed from competitors' applications, it clearly sets itself apart as a top-class Web browser.

Some very interesting new things added to Safari. I will be downloading and testing it myself later on today. I will post my feelings and feedback from what i experienced using the new beta browser.

Hands On: Apple Safari 4 Beta (PCWorld)
Apple Releases Safari 4 Browser Beta (PCmag)
Apple squeezes JavaScript juice from Safari 4 beta release (the Register)

IE 8 Release Candidate 1 has been released

(image found on Techtree.com)
Microsoft has just released the new version of Internet Explorer 8 in beta form, dubbed IE 8 RC1 (Release Candidate1) with new improved surfing features such as:

Tabbed Browsing, granted this isn't a totally new feature since its been around since Internet Explorer 7. The new feature they have added is that each tab has its own set of processes so if a site crashes it shouldn't affect the other tabs you have open to other links. This in itself is a big feature if it works like it should. Another feature they have added is an option to re-open tabs that were accidentally closed and some color coding features too.

Security, this is being labeled as the most secure browser ever by Microsoft offering a new feature called "Clickjacking".

"Clickjacking enables hackers and data snoopers weave a filter on sites so they can view the information being accessed from the browser. This can be extremely dangerous if you're an online banking user and frequently handle financial transactions online, the feature might turn out to be useful. The downside however is that, for it to work, webmasters will need to put a tag in the page header, which will help detect and eventually prevent clickjacking."

"Inprivate: Microsoft had debuted the InPrivate mode for anonymous browsing in the Beta version of IE8. In the latest update, the browser features two security features called the InPrivate Browsing and InPrivate Filtering. A new InPrivate window can be opened by Ctrl+shift+P while the Ctrl+Shift+F option will open the InPrivate filtering option. The filtering feature was integrated with the browsing feature in the beta. It has now been integrated as a separate feature."

Phishing Filter: dubbed Smart Screen. This feature compares websites to an existing database to see if they are known to be scam or fraudulent sites. The database is constantly being updated to keep up with newly reported sites.

Web Compatibility:"IE8 has been given the capability to handle W3 web standards so that the appearance of web pages does not change. For those in doubt and used to IE7, there is the compatibility mode that will help it retain the familiar IE7 look."

I am glad to see a new release of IE for us to use but I am still a dedicated Firefox users until a better browser comes along. I will be installing the IE 8 RC1 version this weekend on one of my virtual environments to give it a try then post my experiences with it.

Internet Explorer 8 RC1 first look (Techtree.com)

Initial Verdict: Internet Explorer 8 RC1 is really fast (i4unews)

IE8's JavaScript performance lags well behind Safari, Chrome (AppleInsider)

New Amazon Kindle 2.0 being released Feb 9th

(image and location hint from CrunchGrear)
The word is in the digital grape vine. The Amazon Kindle 2.0 is being released on February 9th at a secret location (Morgan Library & Museum) in Mid-town Manhattan. Word is that the unit is thinner and the screen is larger, with some of the annoying little issues from the previous release fixed like accidental page turning.

I have been waiting to get a Kindle this might be the time with the new release depending on the cost for the unit and what little goodies will be offered too. On my way to work in the city I have been noticing more and more people with the Kindles on the train. I've spoke with a few of them and everyone seems to just love it. The only bad thing I've been told is that you need light to view it. If you are in the dark somewhere you are out of luck. For some odd reason i thought there would be some back lit option for low light or dark reading. Who knows maybe in the new release they will have fixed this issue.

New Amazon Kindle 2 coming February 9th (cnet news)

Amazon press conference on 2/9: I can haz Kindle too? (crunch gear)

Kindle 2.0 Coming February 9?(silicon alley insider)