WWDC Recap :: Safari 4 Released

Safari 4 was officially released yesterday at the WWDC.  Apple claims that it is now "the world’s fastest browser" and it boasts 150 new features, many of which look to be helpful to attorneys.  

I installed it yesterday, and I agree that it is noticeably faster than Firefox or the prior generation of Safari.  If you haven’t checked it out, I recommend that you should do so.  You can download a free copy (for Mac or Windows) HERE.

Some of the other exciting new features include:

• Top Sites ::  Safari 4 tracks the sites you browse, ranks your favorites, and presents up to 24 thumbnails on a single page. You can customize the display by pinning a favorite site to a specific location in the grid.  Sites with a star in the upper-right corner have new content, and a single click opens the page and updates its thumbnail.
• Cover Flow :: You can review your site history and bookmarked sites by viewing a full-page preview of each website that looks exactly as it did on your last visit.  Simply flip through website previews in Cover Flow the same way you flip through album art in iTunes. Of course, when you find the site you want, simply click to open it.
• Nitro Engine :: Safari executes JavaScript nearly 8 times faster than Internet Explorer 8 and more than 4 times faster than Firefox 3 based on performance in leading industry benchmark tests: iBench and SunSpider.  In addition, Safari offers top-flight HTML performance, loading pages 3 times faster than Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3.  Safari 4 will run as a 64-bit application under OS X Snow Leopard, which will further boost the performance of the Nitro JavaScript engine.
• Other :: Safari 4 also includes HTML 5 support for offline technologies as well as support for advanced CSS Effects. It is also the first web browser to pass the Web Standards Project’s Acid3 Browser Test, which looks at how well a browser adheres to CSS, JavaScript, XML, and SVG standards designed specifically for dynamic Web applications.