Mini-Review: Safari 4 Beta Rules!

ByMike Moffit

Apple has released the fourth version of its Safari web browser as a public beta for both Macs and PCs. This impressive new version of Safari builds on its previous core features (speed, clean interface, integration with Apple’s other OS X-native services and programs). It also adds a bunch of new features, many of which are both fun and useful. I’ve been using Safari 4 for a few days, and so far I absolutely love it. It actually makes the act of browsing the web fun again.

First of all, Safari 4 is extremely fast. In fact, Cnet independently benchmarked Safari 4 and found it was the fastest mainstream browser on Mac or PC (running XP; it does not appear they tested it on Vista). Read about the benchmark test by clicking here. Safari 4 achieves these speed improvements via a new “Nitro JavaScript Engine,” along with speculative asset loading. I definitely notice Safari 4’s speediness. Pages load faster and scrolling is buttery-smooth. Safari’s speed improvement is a feature I’m sure I’ll appreciate every day.

Safari 4 has a cool (and useful) new feature called Top Sites. Top Sites automatically identifies your favorite sites and displays them as “a wall of stunning graphical previews.” Simply click the preview to visit a top site. Your Top Sites evolve and change as you browse, based on how often and how recently you visit a site. This is a fun feature that also provides a surprisingly efficient way to browse the web. It was also interesting to see what my most-visited sites are. You can edit your Top Sites as needed. (No need to let people know that Tmz.com is really your most visited website.)

Top Sites is similar to a feature seen in Google’s slower Chrome web browser, which is only available on Windows. Some have said that Apple is ripping off Chrome. Actually, Chrome is based on WebKit, which Apple developed. I have no idea how Chrome might have implemented Top Sites, as it’s not available for the Mac!

Safari 4 offers new ways for managing and navigating bookmarks. The biggest change is the addition of Cover Flow to the bookmarks window. Cover Flow displays your bookmarks and history as large graphical previews, so you can pick out a website instantly. While this may sound wan, it actually works great and (again) makes web browsing more interactive and fun.

You can also use Cover Flow to flip through you’re browsing history. Again, this is a surprisingly effective and natural way to view browsing history.

Safari 4 is 100% compliant with the Acid tests that determine whether a web browser complies with emerging Internet standards. Safari has passed the Acid 2 tests, and is currently the first and only web browser to pass Acid 3.

Safari 4 also offers HTML 5 offline support. Web developers can now create applications that can be used even when you don’t have access to the internet. These applications and data can be stored in a traditional SQL-like database serving as an application cache or as a “super cookie,” which stores data in the familiar cookie format. This means access to rich, interactive websites, even when you don’t have an internet connection.

The last new “feature” of Safari 4 has been controversial—the displacement of Tabs placed under the bookmarks bar to the top of the bookmarks bar. Many people hate this. It is possible to change this in your Mac’s terminal. I thought it would bother me, but I’m neutral on it. I don’t think it makes sense, but it doesn’t impede my ability to browse. The other great new features (and speed) make up for this odd change. Perhaps in time, Tabs placed under the bookmark bar will seem strange to me. It’s worth noting that Google’s Chrome browser also has tabs placed at the top of the browsing window.

Obviously, I’m smitten with Safari. Between this new version of Safari and iLife ’09, I feel like I have a speedy new computer.

Read more and download the Safari 4 beta by clicking here.

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  • SPECIALS | 02/27/09 – 03/03/09

    View specials while on-hand supplies last. Please note that some specials may not be available in our retail stores; check for availability.

    See all specials on our “Specials Page.”:http://www.smalldog.com/specials

  • _Dear Friends,_

    I went from the stifling heat and humidity of Zanzibar through 42 hours of traveling to arrive back in the Green Mountains to welcome the latest Nor’easter. Everyone was giving me a hard time about how I seem to bring the bad weather every time I return from my winter breaks.

    I had the most awesome trip ever. I spent my 60th birthday at the Ngorongoro Crater, the Olduvai Gorge and sitting on the banks of a river not more than 10 feet from 250 hippos. I took a bijillion photos and had the time of my life. Thanks go out to Chet Newbold, our Olympus Camera rep for loaning me a SP-565UZ. The UZ stands for ultrazoom. I’ll be putting some of my photos up on the net as soon as I organize them, but I got some awesome shots with this lightweight (but very powerful) camera. There were people shooting with gigantic lenses, but the UZ got me very close to the action!

    The hippos were certainly the highlight for me, but I had close encounters with lions, baboons, giraffes and many other animals. There were three very poignant moments for me in this trip. The first was at the Olduvai Gorge. This is the site of the discovery of footsteps of our ancestors from 3.6 million years ago. While these steps, preserved in solid ash from the volcano, are now carefully re-buried to protect them, it was amazing to realize I was spending my 60th birthday at this historical location.

    The same day I had the privilege to visit a Maasai village and meet a young prince/warrior named Ollie. The Maasai are one of the last remaining herding nomadic people. They live in houses constructed of sticks, ash and dung and live a very primitive and difficult life. Ollie was educated but returned to his people, his English was much better than my Swahili and we managed to have an interesting discussion. When I told him I was from the USA, he immediately started talking about Obama. He told me that he had hope. Hope that the USA would stop being a warlike nation and return to a peaceful nation. He talked about how important it was to respect other peoples beliefs even if they are different and alien from your own, rather than attempting to impose our beliefs upon others. He talked about respect for the dignity of man. His eloquence was astounding and it made it very clear to me that our President has an enormous burden upon his shoulders. He has been elected the stewart of the world’s hopes.

    The third remarkable moment was when I visited Stone Town in Zanzibar. There, I visited the slave market which now has a cathedral built on top of it. Nevertheless, I was taken to the dungeon underneath were slaves were held in deplorable inhumand conditions prior to being auctioned off. Grace and I were in tears by the time we left the market, to think that such a short time ago people could treat other people so inhumanly was just overwhelming.

    I was totally out of communication except for the time I called my mom on my birthday (a tradition I have done for all my adult years to thank her for bearing me) and once in the middle of the Serengeti when I bought a 1/2 hour of internet time to send an email to wish Hapy a happy birthday. The internet was a lot slow–it took most of that 1/2 hour just to send that mail.

    The “Chill Pill”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/71679 was a great addition to our gear. It gave us music in the tent at night or on the beach in Zanzibar and the sound was fantastic. The rechargeable compact speaker worked amazingly well! I also took the FastMac TruePower iV with me which is a battery backup for the iPhone. While I had no connectivity with the iPhone, I used it to play games and to learn Swahili. The TruePower iV not only powers the iPhone but charges it as well and with the large 3100 amp-hour battery it was also able to charge the Chill Pill in a pinch. I even used the included flash to take a picture with the iPhone at night.

    It was good to get back home and back to Small Dog where the crew did a great job keeping things going in my absence. Plans are moving forward for our next big eWaste recycling day. Did you know that our eWaste collection day is the largest one-day event in the country? We are trying to round up some additional sponsors to help defray the cost because we keep smashing our old collection records and don’t expect anything different this year!

  • Use Disk Utility To Encrypt Files

    Here’s a tip for easily creating encrypted Disk Images, which are used to store sensitive files on your Mac. I thought of this Mac Treat as I began to scan my 2008 tax documents onto my MacBook Pro. I want to password-protect these documents, since they contain many personal details, such as my social security number, address, etc. If someone stole my MacBook Pro and was able to get past my Mac’s login password, they’d have everything needed to steal my identity. Of course, maybe they’d be doing me a favor by stealing my identity, but still.

    A “Disk Image”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Disk_Image can be thought of as a special folder that allows both file compression along with the option for password protection. A Disk Image is often used to distribute software over the internet. When you open a Disk Image, it is “mounted” as a drive within the Finder, and shows up as a drive on your Mac’s desktop. Disk Images have the .dmg extension.

    I used OS 10.5 for this article, but this should work just the same for 10.3, 10.4, and even 10.2.

    1. Launch Disk Utility, which is typically located in your Mac’s Application Folder.

    2. Click on the “New Image” button, or navigate to the menu bar at the top of the screen and choose File > New > Blank Disk Image

    3. In the new window that opens, name the new Disk Image (under Save As), then choose a Volume Size (I usually choose 610MB so I can burn the image to CD; you can choose a Disk Image as large as 8GB for dual-layer DVDs).

    4. Next, choose your encryption. I always use 128-AES encryption. If you don’t choose encryption here, your image won’t be encrypted.

    5. Finally, choose “sparse Disk Image” under Image Format. I leave the other options fixed on their default settings.

    6. Click “Create” or “OK” (depending on the OS you’re using).

    7. In the new window that opens, enter a strong password. Make sure to deselect the “Remember Password” option. If you need help choosing a password, click the image of the key to launch the Password Assistant application.

    *Don’t forget this password, because there is no way to open the image without it.*

    8. Quit Disk Utility and navigate to your Mac’s desktop, where you’ll see two new files – the Disk Image where you stash your files (in 10.5, typically an icon that looks like a white CD drive) and the Disk Image installer (which typically looks like a hard drive icon).

    9. Test your new Disk Image by double-clicking it and supplying the password (note that if you selected “remember password” above, you won’t be prompted to enter the password). Add a few files.

    Next, to continue testing the Disk Image, drag the mounted Disk Image into the Trash to eject it. Leave the Disk Image installer that looks like a hard drive icon on your desktop. When the Disk Image is ejected, double click on the Disk Image installer to re-mount the Disk Image. Enter your password and make sure your files are all there.

    ??Note: files added to your encrypted Disk Image are copies of the original files. The original files will continue to exist on your Mac until you delete them. Don’t delete any files until you’re sure they’ve been copied into the encrypted Disk Image.??

    10. So long as everything works, you can now use the Disk Image just like you’d use any other folder or flash key. You can move the Disk Image into your Mac’s Documents folder, or even onto a real flash key.

    Also, make sure to back up this encrypted Disk Image, so your important files won’t be lost if your computer is stolen or suffers irreparable harm!

  • Ed took care of my pups and house while I was gone, and I am so fortunate to have him available since he likes my pups, and my pups like him (and Spy). It was great to get home after a marathon of flying, waiting and flying some more.

    I’m going to spend some time out in the snow this weekend and some organizing my pictures so I can share them. Grace and I are going to make an iPhoto book, too.

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
    _Don, Kali & Ed_

  • Facebook and Twitter Contest Winners!

    This past week, we selected two of our fans from Facebook and one of our followers on Twitter to win a Mac and iPod-related gift pack. We pick new winners every month. This month, the goodies are packed in a “Burton Lil’ Buddy.”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/71119

    The Facebook winners are Andrew W. from Seattle, WA and James W. from Lincoln, VT; our Twitter winner is David F. from St. Paul, MN. Congratulations, all!

    We select random winners from people who are already connected to us on Twitter and Facebook (on Facebook, we select one from our local database and one from any of the 50 states). We enjoy these social networks, as they give us a new way to communicate with our far-flung friends as well as connect to our local community in a different way.

    In addition, we strictly limit the amount of sales-related info we send out through these networks.

    If you’re not already in our Facebook group, you can join here: “Small Dog Electronics on Facebook.”:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Small-Dog-Electronics/18904017006

    “Not on Facebook? Sign up here.”:http://www.facebook.com/

    A fan of Twitter? We post Mac tips, tricks, news, contests and more on “our Twitter feed.”:https://twitter.com/hellosmalldog

    “What is Twitter? Click here read more.”:http://www.twitter.com/

  • FEATURED SPECIAL | 02/27/09 – 03/03/09

    The ultra-portable MacBook Air is an object I have craved ever since it was announced at Macworld 2008. A few people use them around Small Dog and seem quite happy with them. I travel a fair amount, and would certainly appreciate the MacBook Air’s easy-to-pack profile. It’s still the thinnest computer in the world.

    For a limited time, we are offering the previous generation MacBook Air for only $1099.99. This is $700 less than the current MacBook Air, which primarily only offers faster graphics and a MiniDisplay port, as opposed to the original micro DVI port.

    If you don’t expect to edit video extensively (or play video games) on your computer, and you travel or commute often (or simply appreciate stunning design), than the MacBook Air just might be right for you.

    You can see the macBook Air for $1099.99 “by clicking here.”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/70760

    Below you can see a special bundle we’ve created with the MacBook Air 1.6GHz, External SuperDrive, and free InterOffice Mac Sleeve for only $1249.99.