MWSF 2003 - Apple Announces Safari Web Browser

by , 3:00 PM EST, January 7th, 2003

Apple announced Safari, a new Web browser for Mac OS X, today at Macworld Expo in San Francisco. The browser, based on open standards, is available today as a free download. Safari features a new approach to bookmarks, including the capability of sharing them locally via Apple's Rendezvous technology. From the press release:

Apple� today unveiled Safari, the fastest and easiest to use web browser ever created for the Mac�. Safari's highly-tuned rendering engine loads pages over three times faster than Microsoft's Internet Explorer for the Mac and runs Javascript over twice as fast. Safari?s innovative features include Google search capabilities integrated directly into the toolbar; SnapBack, a new way to instantly snap back up to search results or the top level of any website after browsing down one or more levels; a completely new way to name, organize and present bookmarks; and automatic "pop-up" ad blocking.

"Safari is the fastest browser on the Mac, and we predict that many will feel it is the best browser ever created," said Steve Jobs, Apple?s CEO. "We are bringing innovation back into this category with the first all new browser created in many years."

Safari's features include:

For more information or to download the beta, visit Apple's Safari Web site.

The Mac Observer Spin:

This is a big announcement. Apple is taking Microsoft's Internet Explorer head on with the release of Safari. As a consequence, the Mac OS X browser wars have just been raised to a new level. From our observation so far, Safari seems to be a solid browser. What remains to be seen, however, is if Internet Explorer remains on shipping new Macs.