APPLE'S SAFARI IS A TRIP

Does the world need yet another Internet browser? If you use a Windows based PC, you have many choices starting with the leader of the pack, Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Or you can elect to use the former market leader, Netscape. Or you can take your pick from other browsers such as Opera and Mozilla. If you own a Macintosh, your choices begin to move along the same path. All of the aforementioned browsers are available on the Mac platform but as of this month, Apple owners are being offered a new choice.

Apple's brand new Internet browser is is called "Safari" and it met with an enthusiastic response by the attending audience as it was unveiled by Apple's CEO Steve Jobs at Macworld. But I remember when Microsoft's browser was greeted with a similar enthusiasm when it was unveiled. And Microsoft's browser supports all of Apple's newest technology such as the Quartz rendering system found in its latest iteration of OS X that yields an even crisper visual display of text and graphics. So why is Apple reinventing the wheel? According to many pundits, the reason is mostly technical rather than political. Safari is based on the newest technology available and Apple is going to build on what they consider to be the best at this point in time.

Looking at the browser so far, I like what I see. Safari is in what is called a "Public Beta' which means that it is not a finished product. Apple has released it to the public to get user feedback, ideas and suggestions as to how it may be improved. Apple has included a "bug" button in the upper right-hand corner. If something fails to operate properly or you have a suggestion regarding Safari's operation, clicking on the button gives you a form in which you can file your opinions and observations directly to Apple.

In a side by side comparison, I found Safari to be generally faster then the Macintosh version of Internet Explorer. The browser launched more quickly, rendered web pages faster and was generally more responsive. The layout of the screen is also more intuitive and less cluttered. You can shuffle and arrange your favorites on the page by simply clicking and dragging them left or right. Creating a new bookmark displays a naming sheet that lets you edit or enter a different name than the web page name. At that point you can decide if it goes on the bookmarks bar or in any of the pull-down menu's library folders.

One of the exclusive new and useful features is called SnapBack. Let's say that after browsing for a while, you begin searching for a web page. As you continue to go from link to link, you decide that your search has taken a wrong turn. Normally, you would have to hit the Back button over and over again to get back to where you started. But SnapBack acts like a breadcrumb trail. Clicking on the button immediately brings you back to where you started your search by returning you to the point where you last typed an address or selected a bookmark. This is one feature that will save you countless clicks and hair pulling.

Most everyone I know uses Google. I've gone on record as saying that I use the Google search engine more than any other. Evidently that sentiment is shared by Safari's developers as Safari contains its own Google search field right next to the web address.

Currently the public beta will only import bookmarks from Microsoft's Internet Explorer but Apple has implied that the final version will import bookmarks from other browsers as well. If not, I'm sure that utilities will appear to import and export most all of your information between your current browser and Safari. Other features include pop-up ad suppression, and seamless downloads where Safari cleans up after itself after a downloading a file. All that's left is the file itself and not the compressed version.