This entry was posted on Monday, December 5th, 2005 at 21:52 and is filed under svenzworld. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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Monday, December 5, 2005
When I first started using OS X three years ago, I was begging for a half descent browser. None of them at the time were any good. Internet Explorer sucked, Camino (then Chimera) was off to the right start, and Firefox wasn’t here yet. In a nut shell, surfing the web on a Mac sucked. It took a year before Apple teased the world with Safari at Macworld and then it was 30 more agonizing days of waiting for it. Man, was I relieved to get it on my Macintosh Hard Drive that late January day.
As I started using Apple’s answer to Microsoft’s monopoly, I quickly realized the honeymoon was over before it even got started. Tons of sites did not display right and others just wouldn’t even load. “Okay, it’s 1.0. That’s to be expected.” Ya, but from Apple? Things improved with each new release but there are still problems with the latest version and it drives me nuts. So much so, I’m willing to say that freakin’ Internet Explorer for Windows with a third-party browser (such as Maxthon) is better! Yikes, I know!
Why after two years does Safari still not display CSS right? Every time I log into my blog, my WordPress Quicktags will not display. I go to other sites and find similar problems. Oh ya, JavaScript errors (or just no execution) is another big issue. Why, after two years? I expect this from Redmond, not Cupertino!
I know the perfect browser isn’t out there. With no one really coding to the web standards, we can’t have one. Opera is nice for Windows but yucky on the Mac. Opera states it’s the most standards ready browser, but I get different results from it when compared to the other “really open” browser named Firefox. Between plug-ins not working, Java failing, and scripts being ignored, Safari — or any other browser for the Mac — just doesn’t cut it. Sadly to say, this one of the things that hold me back from Switching fully to my TiBook or Mac mini. Hope you’re reading, Steve.
December 6th, 2005 at 13:50
I think you hit the nail on the head when you say “I know the perfect browser isn’t out there. With no one really coding to the web standards, we can’t have one.”
Until the majority of developers stop lazily coding for one platform only, then we will continue to suffer.
December 7th, 2005 at 3:24
May I remind you on the fact that Safari is one of the only browsers that properly handles CSS. It’s one of the small amount of browsers that passes the Acid2 Browser Test and Internet Explorer certainly doesn’t pass this test.
Instead of accusing Apple you should point your finger at all the so-called webdesigners. Most of them only think that it’s okay if their sites work in Internet Explorer. This also explains the JavaScript errors (or “just no execution”).
Speaking as a webdesigner myself, I think it’s just scandalous. Real webdesigners should follow the W3C standards, preferably the “Strict” ones.
Okay, there are things, like buttons, that can’t be “skinned” in Safari, but that’s just for the sake of usability and has nothing to do with bad implementation.
And I certainly hope that you’re reading too, Bill!