Compare and Contrast
June 12th, 2007Windows XP, Internet Explorer 6, Clear Type turned on:
Windows XP, Safari beta:
Safari looks better. Period. It’s not Firefox. But it beats the pants off the most used browser on the internet on looks alone. Tell a designer or developer you love them by using a better browser. o
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June 12th, 2007 at 11:00 am
I will. As soon as I can afford to buy my Mac. It’s in the plans. You and Heather convinced me last summer.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:08 am
What’s interesting is that some Windows-centric folks find fault with Apple’s font rendering mojo:
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000884.html
I could not disagree more with him. To my eye, the non-ClearType stuff is “thin” and washed out. It doesn’t work for me. Safari’s “beefier” font rendering is *much* easier to read on a screen.
But I’m old and decrepit now, so what do I know?
June 12th, 2007 at 11:19 am
I had a developer tell me yesterday he wished everyone just used IE7 for Windows… -Shudders-
June 12th, 2007 at 11:49 am
Yup, fonts in Safari look nicer. Too bad this beta runs embarrassingly slow on my XP laptop.
I didn’t expect Firefox with a hearty number of extensions to beat another browser in speed tests…
June 12th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
I just downloaded Safari (Windows XP) and it’s great. Takes a little time to get used to using the bookmarks, etc., but you’re right–the display is so much easier and nicer to read.
June 12th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Further discussion of the matter:
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2007/06/12.html
I prefer the Microsoft method solely because I have always used Windows machines, but, really, I can’t say which method is superior.
(To be perfectly honest, I don’t care. The fact that both sides are passionate about their own algorithms suggests to me that, were I forced to use the one with which I am unfamiliar, I would adapt to it after a short period of time and just go about business as usual.)
June 12th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
Jon Sagara,
There is no comparison in my book. Safari on XP renders type much more pleasing and easy-to-read than do other alternatives for XP. I don’t give a shit about algorithms or rightness/wrongness. Mr. Spolsky makes a lot of claims that I don’t buy about Apple v. Microsoft. Some people prefer thinner, less aliased type, some prefer thicker more aliased type. I’m in the latter.
June 12th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
Notes from an XP user:
1. I can’t resize from all corners, what a pain.
2. Also the lack of mouse gestures compared to Opera makes the interface seem sluggy, even though rendering speed is ok
3. Plain fonts look nice, bolded words look so-so compared to ClearType. Small fonts are harder to read compared to Cleartype, the bigger the font the nicer the rendering. Small bolded fonts are atrocious!
4. Lack of image rescaling is lame compared to Opera.
Overall: Better than IE6, equal to Firefox for casual browsing, but nowhere near Opera overall.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Have you seen this? All I can say is: wow. Just…wow.
http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9728382-2.html?tag=nefd.only
That was linked on the cnet main page, by the way. If that’s what passes for logical argument as to why the Win version of Safari “sucks”, if that’s what passes for logical reasoning in the tech world, then I guess the end of the world is even closer at hand than I thought.
June 12th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
It’s good to see Safari development actually moving again. Safari–DOM issues aside–remains the best Mac browser out there, Camino coming in a close second.
The Mac version of Firefox, if not for its extensions, would have been swept from all of my Macs a long time ago. What a POS…
June 13th, 2007 at 4:58 am
hehe I love the truncated headline - ‘Non-Horsey Type Windows People’.
June 13th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
After reading your post yesterday…I went ahead and downloaded it. I have always been an IE lover and rarely changed. However I plan on buying an Apple for Christmas this year and I figure what the hell! Safari looks better hands down well on my site at least. I just love the fullness of the type and it just seems a sleeker look and the scrolling is not choppy like IE. I just like for my webbery to look nice and Safari makes me happy. Thanks for the find.
June 14th, 2007 at 12:12 am
Leaving aside the issue of truncation of the line, the IE instance looks much better to me. The Safari rendering seems to me heavy and inelegant. And I’m a web designer too. Oh well, I guess we won’t be competing for the same clients! “De gustibus non disputandum est,” said the cat, licking its ass. I also wonder if there are some other factors at play… meaning if you looked at what I’m seeing right here on this system and this monitor, you’d think what I think, and vice versa.