Safari 5.1.7
Apple abandoned it, and so should you
The last time Apple updated its Safari browser for Windows desktops was
in May 2012, and that was just a minor housekeeping patch. Apple left
Windows users behind when it introduced Safari 6 for Mac OS X 10.8
Mountain Lion, and while the Cupertino outfit hasn’t explicitly stated
Safari will never make a return to Microsoft’s OS, there’s little reason
to believe it will. Safari was never able to carve out a significant
share of the browser market anyhow, though both NetMarketShare and
StatCounter agree that there are more web surfers on Safari than Opera,
so leaving Windows users behind might not have been the best long-term
decision.
What’s New
Though Apple has turned a blind eye to Windows users, the latest version
of Safari is still available to download. Prior to abandonment,
Safari’s Reading List feature alone was reason to consider the browser.
What it does is let you save web pages you don’t have time to read and
return to them later, online or offline. Think of it as a temporary
bookmarks feature that self-destructs once you’ve brought up a saved
page.
Safari Reader is another element of the browser we liked. It strips web
pages to the bare essentials, removing most ads and preventing pop-ups.
Security
Safari’s biggest security feature is running web processes in a
restricted environment, otherwise known as sandboxing. Pretty snazzy,
except that it only runs that way on Mac OS, so it’s a feature that’s of
absolutely no benefit to Windows users—boo! On the plus side, it’s
rather easy to disable JavaScript, pop-up windows, and plugins from the
Security tab in Preferences. Safari will also warn users when visiting a
website it deems fraudulent.
Privacy
Safari blocks third-party cookies by default, a feature that’s found in
the browser’s Privacy panel. It also contains an option to remove all
website data with a couple of mouse clicks. In the same panel is an
option to limit website access to location services. Some websites use
information about your location to enable certain features and services,
but if you’d rather keep that information private, you can disable it
altogether or be prompted when a website requests your whereabouts.
Performance
In the majority of benchmarks, Safari came in dead last, especially when
testing for JavaScript performance. The dated browser supports limited
hardware acceleration in Windows, but it wouldn’t even run two of the
three Microsoft test demos.
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| Click the Reader button in the address bar to de-clutter noisy websites and side-step pop-up ads. |
Internet Explorer 11
An old browser reborn and bred for Windows 8
It wouldn’t make sense for Microsoft to rebuild Windows without also
revamping the parts that integrate with it, and so what we have in
Internet Explorer 11 is a vastly different browser compared to previous
releases. Yes, it will probably be available for Windows 7 by the time
you read this, but it’s really intended to complement the vision
Microsoft set out for Windows 8, which includes a heavy dose of touch
interaction and interoperability across a range of Windows devices and
screen sizes.
While the version we’re testing is a Preview release, it’s very close to
what the final build will be like, unlike an early beta, which could be
missing key features and/or suffer from stability issues.
What’s New
When firing it up from the Start screen, IE11 looks and feels like a
brand-new browser rather than an upgrade of an existing one. That’s not
really surprising since the same could be said of Windows 8 compared to
previous versions. The first thing you’ll notice is that Microsoft moved
the address bar to the bottom of the browser. It hides out of view to
give you a full-screen browsing experience, though you can bring it back
up with a right-click or swipe up from the bottom. If you have a
touchscreen, you’ll also use swiping gestures to navigate forward and
backward.
Outside of touch controls, the feature we’re most excited about is
side-by-side browsing. While Windows 8 insists on running applications
in full-screen mode, the side-by-side feature in IE11 allows you to view
multiple websites at the same time, and you can resize the width of
each one. This is handy for comparison shopping, among other uses.
We’re only scratching the surface here. Microsoft lifted the limit of
open tabs from 10 to 100 per window, which appear as scrollable tiles
just above the address bar. Non-active tabs are suspended so they don’t
drag down your PC’s performance or adversely affect battery life.
Microsoft also implemented hardware-accelerated 3D web graphics through
WebGL, plug-in-free HTML5 video support, and the ability to pin websites
as live tiles on the Start screen—phew!
Security
By default, IE11 turns on Enhanced Protected Mode (EPM), which only
allows compatible add-ons like toolbars, browser helper objects (BHOs),
and extensions to load. Furthermore, EPM shoves untrusted web content
into a restricted environment sort of like a sandbox.
Instead of letting WebGL content run wild, it’s put through a
pre-screening stage in IE11. It also runs on top of DirectX, so if
malicious content bombards the GPU and takes it out, it will reset
rather than crash the entire system.
Privacy
Microsoft was the first browser maker to turn on its Do Not Track
feature by default, and that setting is retained in IE11. New to IE11,
however, is a User-Granted Exceptions option so that users can grant
permission to websites to use cookies that request it.
InPrivate browsing mode is still available in IE11, though it’s not
obvious when surfing from the Start screen. You can use the keyboard
shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+P) or bring up the Tabs menu and press the Tab
tools button on the right-hand side.
Performance
IE11 posted the best SunSpider score in this roundup, which measures
JavaScript performance. It was also the fastest in Microsoft’s 3D demos,
especially Lawn Mark 2013, a benchmark Microsoft claims “uses emerging
HTML5 techniques.” We’re a bit skeptical of the discrepancy in scores,
as are Chrome developers, one of which stated in a Chromium forum that
the benchmark is “running intentionally slow JavaScript in all browsers
besides IE.” Still, it shows that IE11 is able to render 3D graphics at a
fast clip, and surfing the web certainly feels fast as well.
Power-User Tips
1. To add a website as a live tile, click the Star icon (Favorites) and then the Pin icon.
2. You can pin the address bar permanently to the bottom of the screen
by bringing up the Charms menu (swipe or press Windows Key+C) and
selecting Settings > Options. Under the Appearance heading, flip the
dial to On.
3. Sites not showing up correctly? Fire up IE11 in Desktop and press Alt. Select Tools > Compatibility View settings.
1) Side-by-side allows you to view multiple pages in separate, resizable Windows.
2) It’s not the least bit obvious, but those three dots designate the
Tab tools option. Click or tap to initiate an InPrivate browsing
session.
3) You’re no longer limited to just 10 open tabs. In IE11, you can have
as many as 100 per window. Equally cool is the preview view of each one,
which you can scroll through.
4) Microsoft relocated the address bar to the bottom of the browser
where it’s better optimized for touch. Just swipe up from the bottom (or
right-click your mouse) to make it appear.
~ Paul Lilly
