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Google is marching forward on the upgrade path. Recently this popular search engine company surprised millions of Internet users by launching its first web browser called Chrome 1.0 and now within a short time span it has upgraded the browser and released the new Alpha version called Chrome 2.0.

Chrome 2.0 has got some very significant improvements over its predecessor. It’s now more flexible, speedy, user friendly and holds loads of useful functions. You can now get tools like auto complete text fields, full page zoom, enhanced spelling checker and improved auto scroll function. According to Google the alpha release of the second version of Chrome is far much reliable and faster as compared to the Chrome 1.0 and other web browsers too. It now also allows the users to import bookmarks from Google Bookmarks. On top of all these upgrades lies a unique feature called ‘Profiles’ that is not found in any of the web browsers till date. Chrome 2.0 Profiles are same as the Windows user profiles. The only difference is that here you can set and maintain different profiles for web browsing preferences such as browser settings, bookmarks, history and cookies. Clearly Google was not content with simply entering the mobile phone and mobile OS market with its G1 Android run smartphone, which is directly targeted at dethroning the Apple iPhone 3G. The Internet Search engine giant is also intent on challenging Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and of course Apple’s Safari browser.

Chrome 2.0 Alpha uses a new WebKit rendering engine that enables advanced CSS coding functions including reflections, masks, gradients, and canvas drawing. This engine is the same as the one that is used in the Apple Safari 3.1.

E-commerce is an inseparable part of the World Wide Web. Many Internet users do online trading and purchasing every day. However, to complete the online transactions they need to furnish some important details regarding their name, address, contact, institution, credit card number and so on. These details are very sensitive by nature and nobody wants it to get them stolen as it can lead to huge losses.

Thus, it’s very important to assure that the web sites you are using are secure and no unauthorised party can view the details. If you are using Apple Safari then you can easily identify whether a particular web site is secure or not. If it’s secure then you will see a small icon resembling a ‘Lock’ at the right side on the title bar. You will also notice that the site’s URL begins with ‘https’, instead of http. Whenever Safari encounters a non-secured web site then it asks the user whether to use a secure connection or an insecure connection while logging in. As always it is important to never complete online transactions with a website, such as online banking, or ordering electronics like the Samsung LE-40A856 with your credit card, unless the website is secure. It is therefore always recommended that you use secure logging to encrypt your information.

On the secure websites Safari verifies its ownership via digital certificate and starts encrypting all the information the user enters. Safari can work perfectly with those portals that use 40-bit or 128-bit encryption. If you wish to view the contents of the web site’s security certificate then simply click on the lock icon. Once the information is encrypted it cannot be viewed by any unauthorised entity online.

Digital certificates are often used by the web browsers to transfer information in a safer way over the Internet. Apple Safari also makes use of digital certificates, if issued. A digital certificate represents your digital entity and the information associated with that entity. The associated information may include your name, address, contact number, business details or anything else.

A digital certificate is made up of three components. The first one is the public key that is used to decrypt the information. The second component is the identity of the organisation that signs the digital certificate and validates its authenticity. Such organisational identity is technically known as Certificate Authority or CA. The last component of the digital certificate is the actual information that the CA associates with your digital entity.

Usually a digital certificate is restricted for particular use such as digital signatures, encryption, use with web servers etc. The process of restricting the certificates for a specific purpose is called ‘key use restriction’. This is done so that a particular type of certificate cannot be used for any other task. If someone attempts to use a restricted certificate for any unassigned task then the attempt will simply fail. However, it is possible to use a single certificate for different purposes but it is not recommended as this liquidates the security. Obviously these type of security measures are especially helpful for ecommerce sites selling things like furniture, TVs, game consoles, washings machines etc., since valuable credit card information will be exchanged to purchase items from the site. Time constraints are also imposed on the digital certificates. A certificate remains active only for a limited time period and beyond that it gets expired and needs to be replaced with a new one.

One of the most attractive charms of Apple Safari for Mac OS X 10.5 is its private browsing feature, which is expected to keep internet surfing private. According to Apple, the Private Browsing feature leaves no traces regarding the web browsing done by a particular user. Normally Safari stores all the information about websites a particular user has visited. It also keeps information that has been entered in the search bars, forms and user id, but if the Private Browsing is on (which can be found under the Edit menu) then such information is not stored and another user cannot trace the web activities of the previous users.

Apple also says that if the Private Browsing is off then the Reset Safari option can clear all the cache but this is not completely true. Clearing the cache or browsing the Web in private mode clears all the site tracks but only for a normal user who knows how to work on the Safari’s GUI (Graphical User Interface) but one can still go beyond that and recover all the site track bypassing the Private Browsing and Reset Safari functions. If you share your computer, then erasing your browsing record can be almost as important as the role the Symantec Norton Internet Security software plays on your computer. You can go to the terminal and type the following command in order to track all the web activities:

dscacheutil -cachedump -entries Host

This will list all the entries with time and access date. To completely get rid of it you have to manually enter the following command:

dscacheutil -flushcache

One unique thing that Apple Safari for Windows has to offer is the Private Browsing feature. This is one of the browser’s special features that make it an outstanding resource to trust while surfing on the web. For many web surfers the internet is the main source for carrying on their business and they need an easy solution to bolster secured online transactions.

If your web browsing is your business then you can bank upon Safari. Once its private browsing option is enabled it totally makes all your web activities private. Your web surfing is completely hidden in that mode. While working in private browsing mode the Safari doesn’t store the Google searches, history, cookies, download history and the online forms. So there are no traces left behind. The private browsing option can also be used to empty the cache and clear all the previously stored records of web browsing, downloads, forms, search bars etc.

This way you can always prevent the online identity theft. Many laptops, such as the IBM ThinkPad R52, contain numerous security precautions, like a fingerprint scanner, to prevent unauthorised access. However, these measures do nothing to secure you will whilst onlin. That’s why using Safari’s private browsing feature is a great saviour, especially when using public PCs. It really clears all the private information which shouldn’t be known to anyone else. For example; credit card number or any other personal details such as contact number, address etc. So always remember to enable the private browsing option. It can be found under the Edit option pinned on the menu bar of Safari.

Apple Safari allows web browsing in a faster and quicker way. Its logo goes well with its functions. It is a compass with a red pointer which is used to distinguish directions like North, South, East and West.

The compass has a transparent glass through which one can see all the directions. Navigators and sailors use it to find distant lands and reach new horizons. Similarly, Apple Safari lets you explore any part of the world through speedy web browsing. Its background color is blue and the directions are highlighted in white. Looking at it closely, one can see it has a world map in the background.

The features of the logo truly depict how Apple Safari actually works. It is a web browser which caters to the demands of the whole wide world. It shows you the right direction, and helps provide you with the fastest surfing experience on your computer or laptop. It covers all the important aspects of internet browsing. Safari provides you with 360 degree of web browsing around the world. Internet browsing was never that fast and easy until Apple launched Safari. Of course the best part is that Apple’s Safari browser is no longer restricted to Apple computers, such as the Apple MacBook Pro (MB166B/A), but now also be run by Windows users. So, Experience an all new faster way to browse the web with Apple Safari.

No doubt that Apple Safari for Windows is faster than Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer, in fact initially this was the only feature which made me to shift from Firefox to Safari, but one thing which disappoints me is its toolbar.

I was expecting its toolbar as more user friendly including a lot of functions on it, but all I got was a messy toolbar which does not have all the basic features even. Seriously, the toolbar needs to be revised. There is no GO button, so one has to press Enter or Reload button to open the typed URL which is not at all convenient. Secondly, the Refresh and Stop button is same which creates a lot of confusion while surfing the web. There should be two different buttons for two different options. Now most disgusting thing of all is that there is no Home button and the back and forward button doesn’t show up the list of currently viewed URLs. I use these functions a lot and thus I am not able to use my Safari conveniently. The drop down list of visited URLs in the Address Bar is also missing. Safari’s tools should be restructured with all the basic features included and some advanced one also in order to get one step ahead of Firefox and Internet Explorer.

A feeling of frustration is one thing and the right to access something is another – When a website doesn’t load on a web browser or doesn’t display properly, you have frustration welling up within you. However, if that site belongs to the government and the information contained therein is actually made accessible for the public to view, we then have a problem here simply because the browsers inadequacy is now causing a denial to the right to information for the web surfer. Some of the sites are just “optimized” for certain kinds of old browsers like the Internet Explorer and now even the government is answerable for this gaucherie.

Apparently, the feeling we get here is not browsers being compatible or not – it sis more an issue of websites not being toned up for flexibility no matter which browser is used. Just like you can’t force someone to marry, you couldn’t be forcing someone to use a particular browser to make information available. The government sites, especially, have to be made fluid, flexible and adaptive no any web browser and the people responsible tp put out that information have to ensure that this happens. Agreed that only about 6 % of the web surfers might use the firefox and safari, but it is still worthy of a chin-up.

Apple’s Mac and the Safari are both steadily increasing their market share and are poised as respectable competition to the other browsers in the technology market. However, are Safari users able to get access to more Web sites now? What about those government sites which had blocked a safari and firefox user earlier? If a user can’t see a website, whose problem is it – Apple’s, Mozilla’s or the government website developers?

[Pictures Courtesy of: www.siliconvalleycsa.com and www.neowin.net]

Apple released their Safari browsers for Windows computers and boldly announced that it was to effectively be the best browser for Windows.  However, with the slew of security issues that were announced by independent browser security testers, the Safari beta release looked much more like that of an alpha release.  In fact, more than one tester cited the Firefox 3 alpha release to be much more secure, robust, and functional than the Safari beta release.

Many seem to think that Apple is encroaching on Windows territory once again with their Safari browser in much the same way that they successfully did before with iTunes.  With the immense popularity of the iPod since 2001, Apple’s associated iTunes software is a very popular download for Windows users as well as Mac users.  So much so, in fact, that many Windows users do not even use the Windows Media Player that comes bundled on the operating system.  However, that may not be all that Steve Jobs hasp planned.

The iPhone that is to be released on June 29^th has garnered a great deal of buzz on- and offline because of it’s unique design and capabilities.  However, one of its most crippling drawbacks will be its inability to sync with Microsoft Outlook, by far the most popular email and calendar client on the market, which is due in no small part to being a part of Windows’ Office package of software.

It is speculated that Apple is much more concerned about the potential success of the iPhone when they released the Safari browser on Windows.  The iPhone comes with a fully-functional copy of Safari installed and it is no secret that the browser differs greatly from Internet Explorer.  Releasing the browser on Windows was a good idea for Apple, as iPhone buyers that are Windows users may begin to like the browser on their phone and prefer to use it on their Windows installations as well, increasing Apple’s browser’s market share from the dominating Windows and the much more robust, innovative, and secure Firefox 2. 

However, familiarizing Windows users with the Safari browser and the iPhone may also work to draw developers that are more traditionally associated with Windows applications into working for the Apple side of things as well.  It is pure speculation as to whether this is Steve Jobs’ master plan or not but if it is, it’s just crazy enough to work.

Currently, Internet Explorer has 78% of the browser market share, followed by Firefox with 15% and Safari with just 5%.

This list was posted over at aslamp.

Pro’s 

• Highlighted textarea/input
• Speed
• Softing and smoothing of fonts
• No borders on edges
• Import of bookmarks
• Bookmark organizer
• Dragging of tabs into new windows
• Dragging of links into new tabs
• Adding bookmarks is easy
• Resizable textareas
• Bold is Bold

Cons

• Dragging bookmarks into new tabs deletes them
• Middle clicking bookmarks don’t open them
• Middle clicking tabs doesn’t close them
• Close button is on left side
• No status bar at bottom
• No setting for showing tabs when only one is open
• No hover label for buttons at top
• Right clicking sets off “onClick” javascript
• No integration of plugins
• Bookmark manager opens in the current tab
• No middle-click-drag scrolling