Apollo? Flex? Silverlight? No - Safari will change our world
June 11th, 2007
Safari on Windows. Safari on Mac. Safari on iPhone.
This is potentially one of the most important developments since the invention of the web browser itself. Apple apparently intends to beat Microsoft at its own game, dominating the web browser market. And glory be – will not we web developers be happy to someday see the demise (unlikely as it may seem) of the inferior Internet Explorer? Or, as seems more likely, the steady increase in the overall quality and capability of the Web as a platform.
But that is only part of the picture. The new ubiquitous Safari gives Apple (and us) a platform through to deliver media and applications to every computer user, regardless of platform, location, or operating system preference.
Today’s announcement that the iPhone will support third-party software through Safari means that the average web developer like you and I will be able to develop rich applications for the iPhone with a minimal learning curve. It also means that existing applications like BaseCamp, Backpack, and our own CrossConnector may be easily ported to a native iPhone application.
With high-bandwidth Internet almost universal, a common platform on every conceivable Internet device, and a framework that lets you churn out new applications in no time, imagine the applications you could develop.
June 11th, 2007 at 07:13 PM
Unfortunately, missing Safari on Windows Mobile, Safari on other mobile phones.
June 11th, 2007 at 07:47 PM
Maybe they’ll announce that at next year’s WWDC :)
June 11th, 2007 at 10:33 PM
Ryan, don’t forget the pain of cross browser incompatibilities:
- Missing headers for Ajax and want.js renders. - Issues with IFrames (useful for background async file uploads). - No Native UI elements, which downgrade visual integration in different windows versions (OSX widgets looks nice, but no if you have Windows Themes turned off).
All these things are workable.
Hoping safari don’t extend the cross-browser testing nightmare + 1 ;-) And hope this will also be Slingshot base for Windows, instead of IE7 :-P
BTW: like the design and usability choices you put on CrossConnector.
June 21st, 2007 at 02:28 PM
But the iPhone doesn’t support flash. Don’t you think that will be a limiting factor when it comes to web browsing on the device? I don’t understand why they did this? Does Flash open the iPhone to some vulnerability?
June 30th, 2007 at 12:33 PM
Looks like Safari everywhere… These guys scare me!
September 18th, 2007 at 10:55 AM
What about Safari for Linux
?!