Just this morning, I downloaded and installed Safari 4 Beta to see what the buzzword has been about.
First impression is wow! Apple is definitely the king of making technology look cool and suave. The ‘Top Sites’ view is a major improvement of what Chrome has to offer.
Wait, I just sounded like Safari 4 Beta is an upgrade of Google Chrome. Well that’s the impression that has been stuck on me ever since I started using Safari 4 this morning.
I cannot help but get the feeling that this new version of Safari is a genetic mix-up of Chrome and previous versions of Safari. Since Google Chrome is based on an open-source project, the feeling that Safari 4 is a rip-off of Chrome is really starting to stick.
A re-worked layout of the browser window first seen on Chrome, the ability to move tabs between windows, though a bit cumbersome and clumsy compared to Chrome’s, and the ‘Top Sites’ view, it’s Chrome stylized by Apple.
Speaking of style, I’m a bit surprised that Safari 4 Beta no longer sports the Aqua interface that’s been the signature of Mac OS X and other Mac software. My only chance of getting as close as possible to using that UI without hacking to Window’s has been stripped away from me in this version of Safari. Does this mean that the next version of OS X will suffer the same fate?
Going back, I’d like to give credit to the team behind this version of Safari, for taking the great browser innovations that Chrome started and giving it a nice Apple touch. Seriously though, it all feels weird.
Anyone else who has tried Safari 4 Beta? What do you think about it?
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Julius aka "Jhay" Rocas has been blogging since 2006. He is a certified geek. New Media publisher/Professional blogger and Internet ninja. Youth activist. He blogs about tech news, gadgets and social commentary. 
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I like Chrome better than Safari 4.
I loved the search bar and address bar are in one box only in Chrome. And for PC users, the close tab of feature of Safari 4 is going to piss you off.
Nice, and has already taken a good chunk of browser share, but the tabs seem awkward at best. Don’t think my beloved Firefox has any reason to be concerned.