Safari -- Engadget

safari posts

Snow Leopard shipping August 28th for $29, order now

by Thomas Ricker posted Aug 24th 2009 at 8:28AM

Well, it's not September, but we're not going to hold an early launch of its performance-focused Snow Leopard OS against Apple. The Apple store has come back online bearing an order page for OS X version 10.6 in Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Pro... oh wait, it's just $29 as an upgrade from 10.5. August 28th, that's when, now go 'n get it.

While you wait for that order to ship, Apple wants you to know that Snow Leopard's Finder is more responsive, Mail loads messages twice as fast, Time Machine will complete initial backups 80 percent faster, and a 64-bit version of Safari 4 is 50 percent faster than its predecessors. There's even QuickTime X with a redesigned player that lets users view, record, trim and share video. Of course, this release also includes Grand Central Dispatch, a new way for devs to take advantage of multi-core processors as well as OpenCL support to accelerate apps with the help of that idling graphics processor. Oh, and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange too. All in all, a worthy update, especially for the price.

P.S. Requires Intel-based Mac.

Windows 7 E coming to Europe without Internet Explorer

by Ross Miller posted Jun 11th 2009 at 10:11PM

Likely being mindful of the ever-watchful eye of the European Union, Microsoft's announced its Euro version of Windows 7, affectionately and officially dubbed Windows 7 E, will not come packaged with Internet Explorer, or any other browser for that matter. Of course that's not the whole story, as OEMs will be provided free copies of IE8 to bundle themselves alongside / instead of other browser options, and consumers can pick up their own copies via CD, FTP, or retail channels. This is undoubtedly in response to the antitrust cases the EU keeps throwing Microsoft's way, and while we wouldn't be surprised to see it end up on almost every European computer sold, we do wonder if this will at all speed up IE's already rapidly diminishing share in the war of web browsers.

Safari 4 released today, offering 'unparalled speed'

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Jun 8th 2009 at 12:32PM

Among the torrent of news is the announcement that Safari 4 ships today, boasting "unparalleled speed," especially when compared to IE8 (this is Apple talking, not us). Included in the new browser is a full history search, featuring a cover flow view of the user's browsing history (as well as a full spotlight search). And it looks like they've thought a lot about the browser when building the new OS -- In Snow Leopard, Safari runs as a 64-bit application, "boosting performance by up to 50 percent." Also in SL, Safari plug-ins run as separate processes. When a plug-in crashes, the browser remains intact, meaning you can just reload the page, not the browser itself. Available today (as in, right now) for Leopard, Tiger, and -- of course -- Windows.

Gallery: Safari 4 press shots

Continue reading Safari 4 released today, offering 'unparalled speed'

Google's new Gmail mobile web app sports offline message caching, lots of floaty goodness

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Apr 7th 2009 at 3:12PM

If you've been losing sleep in eager anticipation of the new Gmail for mobile, rest assured that you'll sleep soundly tonight. With support for both Android phones and iPhone / iPod Touch OS 2.2.1, the gang over at the Google mobile blog are justifiably proud of the new app. Expect nothing less than a more robust cache that utilizes Gears (for Android) and SQLite databases (for iPhones / touches) to allow you to compose messages and access recently read messages without a network connection, an improved look and feel, and the all new "floaty bar" (their name, not ours) that keeps popular menu commands from scrolling off screen, as this bad boy rolls out progressively over the course of the day. Most interestingly, using the new Gmail on your devices doesn't require any tweaks or installs -- it's utilizing HTML5 (and its offline storage APIs) already present in the browser. Google is just turning on the juice behind the scenes. And for those of you who are resistant to change, fear not -- the previous version is still available. Check it out for yourself over at gmail.com, but not before peeping that super-sweet video after the break.

Continue reading Google's new Gmail mobile web app sports offline message caching, lots of floaty goodness

The Pwn2Own trifecta: Safari, IE 8, and Firefox exploited on day 1

by Thomas Ricker posted Mar 19th 2009 at 5:59AM

That didn't take long. One day into the Pwn2Own hacking competition at CanSecWest and already Apple, Microsoft, and Mozilla have been sent packing to their respective labs to work on security issues in their browsers. In a repeat performance, Charlie Miller pocketed a $5,000 cash prize and a fully-patched MacBook by splitting it wide, and gaining full control of the device after a user clicked on his malicious link. Another white-hatter by the name Nils (pictured) toppled Internet Explorer 8 running on a Windows 7 laptop -- again, the five grand and compromised VAIO P laptop are now his to keep as compensation for turning over the malicious code. So much for "protection that no other browser can match," eh Mr. Ballmer? Nils then demonstrated a second Safari exploit before hacking Firefox later in the afternoon netting him a cool $15k by the close of day one. Only Google's Chrome was left unscathed -- Opera isn't part of the contest. This year's contest will also offer a $10,000 prize for every vulnerability successfully exploited in Windows Mobile, Android, Symbian, and the iPhone and BlackBerry OSes. In other words: this contest that runs through Friday isn't over by any stretch.

[Via ZDNET]

Google demos offline Gmail for iPhone, Android at MWC

by Jacob Schulman posted Feb 18th 2009 at 6:47PM

If you were thinking offline Gmail on your desktop was the greatest thing since sliced bread, prepare yourselves people. If an MWC keynote from Google's VP of engineering, Vic Gundotra, is any indication, the same functionality might be coming soon to an iPhone / Android phone near you. Amongst other things, the souped up web app boasts an overhauled interface, supports labels, and of course, offline access. Despite our own hunch that Google's just using black magic and voodoo to make this happen, Gundotra claims that it's all made possible through HTML5 standards -- AppCache being the biggie. This development certainly opens the doors to more offline-enabled web apps in the future -- Docs, anyone?. Of course, we know Apple has a thing about people messing with its own apps, so it's probably going to take some time / knee-breaking to get them to come around, but for some reason, we don't think it'll take as long with Android. There's a demo video available after the break, and please, try to contain yourselves.

Continue reading Google demos offline Gmail for iPhone, Android at MWC

Leica's Safari Special Edition M8.2 wears olive drab, is anything but

by Tim Stevens posted Jan 27th 2009 at 8:28AM

Back in 2006 we were charmed by the classic looks and new-school tech offered by Leica's M8, and then again last year by its successor, the M8.2. Now the company has another update to woo us, confirmation of last year's rumor of an even more visually arresting version, the M8.2 Safari Special Edition. Its olive drab exterior makes it look like something you'd find slung around the neck of the Ernie Pyle's German WWII counterpart, an included waterproof bag means you can safely take this along for your next jungle adventure, and its 28mm f/2.8 ASPH lens should work well for capturing whatever you find out there -- big or small. Only 500 of these are set to be made, one of which can be yours for a typically excessive Leica price of $10,000.

[Via Impress]

Lowrance rolls out Outback, Safari, Sierra GPS units

by Donald Melanson posted Jan 23rd 2009 at 3:06AM

Anyone that dreads the thought of needing to take a GPS beyond the comfy confines of their vehicle will likely want to steer clear of these, but the more adventurous out there will no doubt find plenty to like in Lowrance's new trio of GPS units. Appropriately (if unimaginatively) dubbed the Outback, Safari, and Sierra, these each boast 2.7-inch LCDs, along with a microSD card slot, all the usual outdoor-friendly GPS features, and some nifty additions like a barometric altimeter and 3D electronic compass on the higher end models. Look for them to be available in May for between $230 and $550.

iPhone gets tweaked Safari in firmware 2.2

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 27th 2008 at 9:55PM

We're going down our "things that absolutely must change on the iPhone" list, and yeah, "redo the Safari toolbar" isn't anywhere on there. Not even at the very bottom. Cupertino works in mysterious ways, though, and they've decided in firmware 2.2 that it's time to muck with the positioning of the text boxes so that the address bar and search bar both appear at all times without needing to first tap in the area. They've also moved the refresh button inside the address bar itself, which should truly revolutionize our browsing experience yet again. Apple, screw copy / paste -- we're officially stoked.

[Via Wired, thanks Konstantin]

Debunk: BlackBerry Bold's browser on WiFi actually not that slow

by Nilay Patel posted Aug 21st 2008 at 1:22PM

Now that the BlackBerry Bold's made its official North American debut, there's a lot of talk about a video Mobile Computer did of the Bold getting blown away browsing head to head with an iPhone 3G over WiFi -- but there's a slight problem there: the Bold was actually using 3G and EDGE. Yeah, that's not a fair fight -- and given how flaky the iPhone 3G's data speeds can be, it actually reflects quite well on the Bold. Head to head on WiFi, the Bold does seem a tick slower, but we'll let you judge that for yourselves -- videos after the break.

Read - BGR browser vid
Read - Mobile Computer browser vid

Continue reading Debunk: BlackBerry Bold's browser on WiFi actually not that slow

Snow Leopard screenshots emerge, reveal Web App functionality

by Paul Miller posted Jun 21st 2008 at 6:46PM

A few dubious screens from Apple's upcoming OS X mini-update "Snow Leopard" popped up the other week, but now we're staring at a full-on collection of shots from the folks at German site Apfeltalk. They seem legit enough, but given the fact that Snow Leopard's improvements primary are under the hood, there's not a ton to see. Most interesting is a new Safari 4.0 feature to "Save as Web Application," which creates a Safari-lite, double-clickable application out of any webpage, similar to Firefox's Prism. Google Docs, anyone? Other features shown off in the screenshots include Exchange integration and Javascript benchmarks, but it's clear to see that Apple has perhaps a tiny bit more in store for Snow Leopard than what it's letting on.

[Thanks, John]

About that Samsung L870 Safari browser thing...

by Thomas Ricker posted May 30th 2008 at 3:04AM

We now have official word from Samsung regarding the browser on its new Samsung L870 slider. You may recall that the Samsung-issued press release listed "Safari browser (full browsing)" as a feature. Now the clarification:

"Actually, L870 is equipped with S60 OSS browser, also known as S60 safari browser because both are using same webcore platform. Sorry again for the unclear specification, and bothering you with this."

Of course, the S60 browser has never been known, even informally, as the "S60 safari browser," but we'll let Samsung bang heads together internally over that one.

Samsung L870 S60 slider features Webkit-based browser

by Thomas Ricker posted May 28th 2008 at 5:29AM

Yup, you read that right. We're not talking about just any Webkit-based browser, Samsung's long-rumored L870 slider features a full "Safari" browser (which we'll take to mean Webkit). The 13.5-mm thin phone pumps Symbian v9.3 and S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 at its core with a 3 megapixel camera, 2.4-inch QVGA display, FM radio, Stereo Bluetooth, and microSD expansion. Unfortunately, this pup is tri-band GSM with single-band UMTS/HSDPA 3.6Mbps support so it'll be heading to Europe around the August time frame.

Update: As per the full press release (posted after the break), Samsung claimed that they'd brought mobile Safari to this device. Technically feasible, we suppose, but far more unlikely than some clueless PR flack screwing up the release. We'll let you know if Samsung HQ has anything differently to say about the matter, but until then we're calling this Webkit, not Safari.

Update 2: Yup, it's Webkit all right.

Continue reading Samsung L870 S60 slider features Webkit-based browser

PWN 2 OWN over: MacBook Air gets seized in 2 minutes flat

by Darren Murph posted Mar 27th 2008 at 5:57PM

And just think -- last year you were singing Dino Dai Zovi's praises for taking control of a MacBook Pro in nine whole hours. This year, the PWN 2 OWN hacking competition at CanSecWest was over nearly as quickly as the second day started, as famed iPhone hacker Charlie Miller showed the MacBook Air on display who its father really was. Apparently Mr. Miller visited a website which contained his exploit code (presumably via a crossover cable connected to a nearby MacBook), which then "allowed him to seize control of the computer, as about 20 onlookers [read: unashamed nerds] cheered him on." Of note, contestants could only use software that came pre-loaded on the OS, so obviously it was Safari that fell victim here. Nevertheless, he was forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement that'll keep him quiet until "TippingPoint can notify the vendor," but at least he'll have $10,000 and a new laptop to cuddle with during his silent spell.

New iPhone and iPod touch Safari exploit discovered

by Joshua Topolsky posted Feb 7th 2008 at 9:18AM

It's difficult to tell if this is just a little fear-mongering, or cause for real concern, but it looks like there's another iPhone / touch exploit out there lurking on the unseen horizons of those device's browsers. According to reports, a memory exploit -- similar to the previously-patched TIFF exploit -- has been discovered which affects units with firmware 1.0.2 all the way up to 1.1.3, thus carrying over to new 16GB iPhones and 32GB touches. Apparently, all you have to do is browse over to a site containing the malicious code, and it triggers a memory-exhausting script which causes the phone or iPod to crash. At this point, it doesn't appear to be anything more than a nuisance which can be easily circumvented by disabling JavaScript for Safari, though that hardly qualifies as a fix. To date, Apple hasn't issued a patch for the problem, but keep in mind it's only been a known issue since January 24th.

[Via iPhone World]