Apple's latest version of Safari is out (in beta), with some evolutionary interface changes, and a dramatically faster javascript processing engine. The release of Safari 4 was not anticipated by any of the typical rumour sites, so it came as a surprise to just about everyone. As always, though, it was no surprise to see Apple's bright and simple marketing pages selling the browser as the best thing since sliced bread.

The Mac maker's marketing team appear to have had a field day promoting all 150 of the fantastic new features of their latest browser. But is everything they say completely true? Have they pushed the boundaries of honesty with their sensationalist slogans? Taking a look at the list of new features, I started to get a little suspicious. Just about none of the new features listed on Apple's website are original - most are already out there in other browsers, having already been invented by the likes of Google, Mozilla, and the open source community. Or they've actually been features in Safari already, but Apple are drawing more attention to them in this release.

The main new features list promoted by Apple:

• Top sites: suspiciously like Chrome's "most visited" section on opening a new tab. But of course it's all shiny and in 3D, which makes meel feel like I'm in the Matrix - so I like that bit.
• CoverFlow: OK, this isn't currently in any browser, but we got there first!
• Full History Search: this has been around in Opera for a rather long time (since the betas of version 9.5 back in September 2007), and was actually available to some extent in the previous version of Safari - they promoted it as a "new" feature back then.
• Tabs on top: Chrome - did we even need to say? But that said, Opera again had the idea of putting the tabs above the addressbar waaay back in the day. They could at least put the little favicons in the top corner to help easily identify different sites on different tabs - isn't that the point of a favicon?
• Nitro Engine (Squirrel Fish wasn't up to scratch for Apple's Marketing Department): notice how in the performance graphs they've subtlely left off Firefox 3.2 and Chrome 2.0 betas, both of which have amazingly fast javascript engines.
• Windows native look and feel: I could go on and on about this for ages, but I won't. The transparent tabs are really quite ugly (Chrome definitely had the better idea there) and the whole thing with darkening the inactive areas of the title bar really doesn't do it for me. Plus it's all misaligned in the Windows 7 beta. But all the same, even in vista, where it does work - I still much prefer chrome for simple native interface feel.


Good one Apple. However, both Safari 4 and Windows 7 are still in beta, so I'll let Apple off for this one.



Seriously, what's going on there? Which would you choose?

• Developer Tools: Is it just me, or hasn't this been in Safari for a while now? I use the developer tools in Safari 3 all the time (all the time I actually even use Safari that is - Firefox FTW!) I can see they've changed the icons from Safari 3 in the web inspector, but other than that can anyone point out to me what they've added?

Ok, I won't go into a huge wealth of detail about all the other features, but here's a couple more from the 150 features page that were tagged as new which really caught my attention:

• Full page zoom: Unbelievably, the first time I came across this was in IE. I don't know if it was around before then though.
• Phishing and malware protection: IE again unbelievably.
• Smart address field: Firefox Awesome Bar, and then the Chrome Omnibox.
• Inline Progress Indicator: Firstly, this isn't new, even for Safari, and more importantly, it looks to me suspiciously like this has been taken out rather than introduced.

Acid 3

And then there's Acid3. I don't like being too pedantic about this matter, but the Acid3 test isn't just about getting a pixel-perfect rendering. To pass the test, the animation has to be smooth as well. I've tested the beta on a couple of different platforms and while it produces an absolutely infallable rendering, the animation is by no means smooth. Test 69 continually takes more than 50 attempts to succeed. So when Apple are professing to be the "first browser to pass Acid3", they are actually wrong in that they're not the first (Opera betas have passed before this one), and they don't actually pass the test! What really puzzles me about this matter is that all the WebKit nightly builds for quite a long time now have passed perfectly with a perfectly smooth animation. So have Apple put a 6 month old version of WebKit into "the World's most innovative browser"? It would appear so.

Toolbar Troubles

The toolbar is only a gripe for the Windows version - it's slightly different in OS X because the menu bar is separated so a few buttons are differently arranged, but the issue can be summed up very well with a simple screenshot:

Spot the difference anyone?

See what I mean? Just for those of you who don't recognise it, the top one's the toolbar from Google Chrome, and the bottom one's the latest Safari. There's just the tiniest bit of a similarity there methinks.

The idea of compressing the main menu bar into a couple of dropdown buttons is quite established (first seen in IE7 I believe), but the simple fact that the two toolbars are so alike is what bothers me. Back and forward buttons at the beginning: a standard UI convention that makes perfect sense. Add bookmark button attached to the left side of the address bar: getting a little bit suspicious. Then the address bar is a bit different (as an aside, I think the refresh button is in the wrong place, but maybe that's aimed at users who have only just got used to the fact that IE decided to put it there too for no reason). The refresh button's new location is also a result of its placement within Mobile Safari on iPhone. But then there are the two dropdown buttons. Now I know these aren't there on the mac, but that's because the menu bar's already at the top of the screen so there's no need for them. Still - they're EXACTLY the same buttons effectively. Come on - they've even nicked one of the icons! OK so the actual content of the two dropdowns is slightly different, but the sheer fact that they are both essentially for the same purpose in both browsers shows unquestionable similarity to Chrome.

On the plus side, the installer for the latest beta FINALLY no longer insists on adding an icon to my quick launch, as per the latest Windows 7 guidelines. Many's the time I've got inordinately annoyed by icons appearing after every time I run an Apple Software Update. I appreciate that one Apple.

And of course I love the fact that the wording of their info pages implies that Safari has only 150 features. That's all. No more. Wouldn't be much of a browser if that were true.

I think that's just about enough ranting for now. The point is, these features may not all be entirely original, but I'll admit bringing them together in one browser makes a pretty good package overall (apart from the Windows interface I don't really like). Let us know what you think on the matter, especially those of you who, like me, aren't complete Macheads (like James.)

Update: June 9th 2009
Following yesterday's launch of the final version of Safari 4, some of my gripes have been fixed.

• Apple have obviously seen the light and put tabs back where they belong. Which is good, because I personally couldn't see the visual appeal of having them at the top. They basically just looked awful on both the mac and windows versions.
• Along with that, the Windows Native Look and Feel, as they call it, is therefore greatly improved. No more of those silly shadow effects along the title bar.
• The refresh button has now taken on its own special little "Loading" message in a blue box while the page is loading, much better than the pathetic little spinner they had in the beta.
• And a few other things that I can't quite put my finger on, but which do make the general experience better than it was in beta

However (and sorry for this), there are still a few things that really get up my nose...

• The toolbar's still the same, a Chrome ripoff. OK, I wasn't expecting Apple to go and drastically change it from the beta, so I won't go on. I did enough ranting about that earlier.
• Acid3. Aaahh, good old Acid3. Come on Apple, you've been going on about 100% compliance for a while now and you're just about getting there. But still, although the rendering's great, the speed still falls down in test 69. Now I know the speed is somewhat hardware-dependent, but I've run it on a couple of machines with pretty decent specs, and it still isn't up to scratch. I'll just take this opportunity to reiterate that old WebKit nightly builds were coping fine, ages ago. But there you go...
• And maybe I spoke too soon about the installer not putting icons everywhere. Apple Software Update still insists on shoving shortcuts in my desktop and quick launch. I don't need them! They just clutter everything up! If I wanted shortcuts there, I'd have put them there in the first place on the original install!

And I know this is advertised as a bit of a rant, and well I suppose it is. But in all honesty it is a bit harsh. Safari's a pretty damn decent browser, truth be told. But I'll stick with Firefox for now - FireBug just has the edge over Safari's developer tools for me, at the moment anyway.

I'll be honest, I hadn't heard of this guy until today, but I thought it would be important to share just how (for want of a better word) STUPID he appears in this video.

When asked on what Apple needs to do to really improve its chances in the corporate sector, Mr Krakow suggested that Apple should "Bite the bullet, and either get Blackberry or Windows Mobile on the iPhone"

His reasons for Apple doing so were very vague, and mainly focused on people "being happy" with what they currently have. How can an industry ever evolve if they're always happy with what they have?

Gary's comments on "moving to the Apple system" made him sound as if he really didn't have a clue about what he was talking about. Also, on a side note, you don't tend to hear people in the industry calling anything a system these days - it's more "platforms" and "devices". His comments were as if Apple hadn't got ANY plans to bring out a whole host of enterprise features in the coming weeks.

All I can say is, it's hard to believe this isn't a joke.

We are overwhelmed with the response from our first post on the Dream Browser project.

To follow up, we have a couple of small mockups of 1) A better way to look at Bookmarks, and 2) How you might go about viewing videos.

A Better Way of Looking at Bookmarks

We have CoverFlow in iTunes, we have it in the Finder, where next? Yep, the Browser.

CoverFlow is a controversial concept - people either love it or hate it. One could argue that CoverFlow makes sense in iTunes as you can view all of your music just like the ol' days by flipping through your virtual CD covers. One could also argue that it makes sense in the Finder because you can view all of your documents with a scaled down instant preview without even having to open them.

 However, there are others who may argue that CoverFlow is an over-engineered,  graphics hungry, time wasting piece of eye candy.

 I must admit I don't use CoverFlow terribly often in the Finder - it is useful for pictures, PSDs, and videos, but when I get to my Applications folder, CoverFlow serves very little purpose.

Hang on a minute, though - when was the last time you browsed through your internet history? How long did it take to find what you were looking for? It's true - currently, internet browser history sucks. To make a start, things need to be more visual.

Introducing CoverFlow into the Browser makes perfect sense - whenever you navigate to a web page, the Browser could capture a screen shot of that page at a smaller resolution of, say, 640x480. These images would then be stored in a directory that was easily accessible by the user. When browsing history, any item deleted would also remove the thumbnail from the directory.

Add to this an advanced method of search. When you currently search your history or bookmarks, the browser compares your search term to the URL and title of each page. A far superior way of finding what you want would be to index every site you have navigated to, so when you search, your query will be compared to more than just the title and URL, but also the very contents of every page, just like Spotlight does with your documents.

How to View Videos

In Sebastiaan's original post, he mentioned the archaic way of viewing video that is still the norm on the web.

 Breaking content apart has been something of a challenge for years on the web - separating content from design with HTML and CSS, but not much has been done on the user side to aid separation of content such as text, video, and pictures.

If we were able to identify different media (which we are), we could organise, for instance, all of the videos you have viewed in the last day into a list, and the same for photos, and maybe even maps*.

 The image above shows a simple, iTunes style list of videos. These videos could be QuickTime, YouTube, or any other video content provider theoretically. Perhaps it would be more beneficial to restrict the classification of content as"Video" within the Browser to avoid Flash sites being organised into the same category. Restricting the classification of video could be done by filtering files from certain domains that are between a range of media sizes.

So, for example, if the domain of the video file is one of the following "media-site-1.com; media-site-2.com; media-site-3.com;" AND the filetype is one of the following ".flv; .mov; .avi; .swf" AND the filesize is  between "X mb" and "Y mb" THEN class content as "Video"

 *Maps - that one literally just came to me - perhaps with a plug in we could gain better ways of keeping track of maps within the browser, and relating those maps to other information, such as contacts, web addresses, and more. 

 Just a few more thoughts, please keep the feedback coming!

 I might upload the Illustrator file I made for the screens I have been producing so you guys can visualise some of your ideas if you want.

Thanks, oh and see the previous post if you're not sure what this is all about.

More and more, we are getting used to getting new software by downloading from the web.

Downloading, as opposed to going to a shop, purchasing a CD or DVD with ridiculous amounts of packaging, bringing it home, putting it in our computer, and hitting "Install".

I have been wondering how long it will take until the major manufacturers of software such as Microsoft and Apple start releasing their major applications, and even operating systems as downloads. There are several problems with this method of distribution however, including piracy, and the fact that, believe it or not, not everyone has an internet connection yet.

Rogue Amoeba have come up with a solution that could take care of the problem faced by many software manufacturers: Live Disc.

Live Disc isn't terribly revolutionary, it's just using the idea of updating your software online in a new way. When you put the CD in your computer, and install an application from it, the Live Disc application will first check to see if there are any later versions on Rogue Amoeba's server. If there is a later version, it will download that first, and then the install process will begin.

The beauty of this idea is that it works great for people who have an internet connection (they get the latest copy), while those that don't have the internet can still get a recent version of the software just as they would before.

If you are attending Macworld this year, be sure to come by Rogue Amoeba's booth (#2738 in the South Hall), and grab a free disc to see Live Disc in action.

What's your opinion on Software in the internet age? Is it time companies stopped selling boxed software once and for all, or is the packaging part of the purchase for you?

You either love them or loathe them. Whichever side you take, I think all the designers out there who have worked hard to do some replacement sets deserve a mention. So, here's some of the best anti-Adobe Icons. Hope you like 'em.

StudioTwentyEight

These keep the same idea as the standard Adobe icons, but offer a glossy, rounded, aqua feel.

Adam Betts

Adam's icons have taken the amazing packaging designs from Adobe and turned them into awesome app and document icons. I use these.

Louie Mantia

Louie's icons are a mix of CS2 and 3, with the Square, and rounded corners surrounding the familiar CS2 and Macromedia icons so many of us miss.

Nuclear Potato

As far as I know, not many people know who this designer is, but his icons are pretty decent.

Koregraphik

These icons also follow the new CS3 design, but have rounded corners and larger Text to make them clearer.

Jonas Rask

OK, these are a mix of CS2 and CS3, but they are quite cool none the less.

Jeremie Cornelissen

Jeremie's icons offer another mix of new and old, with monotone CS2 emblems subtly glowing though the new colours and shapes of the CS3 set.

To those that thought upgrading to Vista is truly pointless; this is for you!

Akihabara Electric Town, Japan has started the marketing drive and promotion for Windows Vista with an extra large packaging box to attract window shoppers and passers-by. This retail package box has dimensions of 95cm in height, 75cm in width and 25 cm in length.

This DSP version is the latest in 'cutting edge' sales techniques used by Microsoft accompanying the iconic catchphrase 'The wow is now.'

Don't get me wrong, I love Vista and would definitely recommend it to any user be it Mac or PC but this really is pointless. I don't know what Microsoft were thinking at the time of release but it is enough to make even the most hardcore Windows fanatic cringe as well as serve as fuel for the newly smug apple user. This brings me on to the subject of the new Apple ads that have just been released featuring Microsoft Office. If Apple were so superior and made the best programs, something that they have spent millions on over the past month; then why would they want Microsoft Office? It is a contradiction, it doesn't make sense! The whole 'I'm a Mac,' 'I'm, a PC' gag is supposed to distance Apple away from Microsoft, or are Apple trying to admit that they can't create a package good enough to rival the 'soft.

Oh yes, forgot to mention that these boxes are LIMITED EDITION so wait for the eBay paraphernalia, pictures below...

Living in Britain has its advantages, but some of the drawbacks include: Later release dates on products such as the PS3 and of course how it is viewed as perfectly acceptable to be ripped-off by multinational companies. iTunes for example: Currently, itunes songs cost 79p in the UK and 99c in the USA. By todays exchange rate, $0.99 will give you £0.50, so why are The British charged the best part of 80p?!

It has also emerged that when the PS3 is (finally) released in the UK, The Brits will again be ripped off. This time over game prices.

Sony announced that it will charge UK players £39 per game when the console launches on the 23rd March, despite identical games in the US costing almost £10 less. This news comes just weeks after Sony got grilled over its PS3 console prices: In the UK, the console will sell for £425 whilst in the US, they can be bought for £306 (at the current rates). An overall saving of £119 if you are fortunate enough to be American.

The latest atrocity comes under the heading of: Windows Vista!

Currently Windows Vista prices in the UK can be as much as 65% higher than in the U.S. Thousands of British tech enthusiasts have, as a result of this huge pricing difference signed a petition that aims to get Microsoft to lower the price to its UK customers.

More than 4,600 Brits have signed the petition so far which in part reads: "We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to bring pressure on Microsoft to stop them overcharging the U.K. for its Vista Operating System."

The petition appears on a site hosted by the office of U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair.

On the site, the creator of the petition, a Paul Milne states that there is no reason for there to be such a huge difference in prices between the UK and the US other than Microsofts belief that the U.K. customers will pay more than their U.S. counterparts.

A price check Tuesday on the U.S. version of Amazon.com showed that the upgrade version of Windows Vista is selling for $153.99. The same version is selling on Amazon's U.K. site for 129.48 GBP, or $254.53 in U.S. currency.

You can add your name to the petition by clicking the link below:

E-Petition

Please Note that the deadline for submissal is 20th April 2007 and that you must be a UK resident to take part.

The recent advertising techniques by apple with the whole: I'm a Mac, I'm a PC thing have sparked alot of controversy and fuelled the already heated argument between Mac & PC users. I, however am pleased to say that I am neither. I am a Vaio. Below are a few reasons why:

1) The Design - Vaio's look incredible, incredible enough to rival any Mac, and whats more - You are spoilt for choice. There are so many different models all with different designs rather than having the to choose either a MacBook or a MacBook Pro.

2) Club Vaio - It really seems like Sony actually care about you, the consumer. From freebies like: wallpapers and software to extensive support pages which actually help you (yes Dell!) and pages helping you make the most of your Vaio.

3) Blue-Ray - What I believe to be the definate future and replacement of DVD. Be one step ahead. I sincerely doubt that Sony are going to let any other manufactures use their Blue-Ray technology on notebooks for quite a while.

4) The Screen - Whereas most LCD displays use just one lamp to illuminate the screen, the X-Black display used on most vaios uses a dual-lamp system that produces a brighter, more consistent display by distributing light evenly across the entire screen. Meanwhile a special, multilayer anti-reflection coating on the screen’s surface reduces glare and unwanted reflections, both of which reduce eye fatigue, meaning that it’s comfortable to work for longer. This link will enlighten you further

5) The Distance - It is very nice to feel that you can distance yourself even very slightly from the whole PC - Mac argument. Even though strictly speaking Vaios are PCs. It's kind of the difference between music on tape or on CD. The songs on either may be the same, but the presentation and functionality of the CD greatly outclasses the tape, not to mention the quality.

6) The Accessories - Vaios come with all sorts of insane accessories to obtain the full vaio package.

7) Materials - Every component that goes into a Vaio, from the cooling system and motherboard to the touchpad or display, has been developed from materials that will guarantee the longest life or highest performance.
Even the casing is designed to protect the computer and avoid damage from contact with your watch while you type, or scratches from your keys if you were to accidentally put them in the same bag as your computer.

8.) Operating Noise - It's a life of peace, for my neighbours too. I haven't had to scream or shout once whilst I have had this Vaio, don't get me started on my old Dell.

9) Innovative features - Luminance sensors, which detect light and adjust the backlight brightness accordingly; to fingerprint recogniton: these really are some incredible ideas:

10) You don't have to join the dark [ok, the very shiney and white] side if you want something that is smart, stylish and practical.

Some images to demonstrate my point:

So now the question is: Vaio, Mac or PC?

note: All photos used in this article remain copyright of their respective owners

We here at Liquidicity have been lucky enough to get our hands on a copy of Windows Vista Home Premium Edition.

Stay tuned to this website as we will be reporting back to you all with information about Microsoft's latest Operating System installment, and our opinions on it. Complete with screenshots!

In the mean time, refer to our post and get yourself a free vista skin!

As you probably know, there are a variety of skins out there for Windows XP. Some are free, most are not (as usual with most things). We at Liquidicity have come accross an attractive skin, named "Vista Inspirat". Found on CrystalXP.net, this Brico Pack comes in installer form, and once installed and upon reboot your computer pulls on a nice new Windows Vista- style skin. It comes with some extra 3rd party software bundled to enhance the experience. If you wish to try it out, here is the link to their Brico pack page, where the Vista Inspirat skin is among other downloadable packs:
CrystalXP.net's Brico pack download page

I also have the skin for myself, and I've included a screenshot from my desktop for you (background thanks to 365wallpapers!)

As for the widgets you see, they are from Yahoo's widget engine. Extremely useful little gadgets!