Now that the iPhone madness is somewhat behind us, let's revisit the public beta of Safari 3... on PC. It was quite the shocker when Steve Jobs announced at WWDC that Apple's porting their web browser to the Windows platform--and the big question is still: Why?
While a software suite like iLife has the potential to bring in revenue, in this era web browsers are given away. So the move isn't as simple as selling a piece of software. The prevailing rational for a Windows version of Safari has been to provide developers a testbed for AJAX iPhone applications. Which strikes me as absurd.
While all modern browsers have their differences (and quirks), for the most part they (attempt) to follow the same standards and provide similar functionality. It's not like Macs running Safari, or even iPhones, are in short supply. So I don't really buy this theory.
Here's another theory I don't buy: A few have suggested the Safari browser will contribute to the Apple halo effect--as in Safari is so great, Windows users will trade in their computers for Macs.
Of course, I do have my own theory... First off, there isn't much to v3--it looks and acts very similar to the prior version. There are a few obvious enhancements such as resizable text fields, but probably not enough to warrant a new version number. Which leads me to believe we haven't yet seen everything v3 will have to offer.
Now let's combine that nugget with .Mac--which was originally ahead of its time in online storage and sharing, but has since languished in the Web 2.0 era. So I'm envisioning the Safari 3 browser as a cross-platform entrance, Ã la Flock, to a modernized .Mac Flickr+YouTube+del.icio.us-like mashup. Who's taking wagers?
While a software suite like iLife has the potential to bring in revenue, in this era web browsers are given away. So the move isn't as simple as selling a piece of software. The prevailing rational for a Windows version of Safari has been to provide developers a testbed for AJAX iPhone applications. Which strikes me as absurd.
While all modern browsers have their differences (and quirks), for the most part they (attempt) to follow the same standards and provide similar functionality. It's not like Macs running Safari, or even iPhones, are in short supply. So I don't really buy this theory.
Here's another theory I don't buy: A few have suggested the Safari browser will contribute to the Apple halo effect--as in Safari is so great, Windows users will trade in their computers for Macs.
Of course, I do have my own theory... First off, there isn't much to v3--it looks and acts very similar to the prior version. There are a few obvious enhancements such as resizable text fields, but probably not enough to warrant a new version number. Which leads me to believe we haven't yet seen everything v3 will have to offer.
Now let's combine that nugget with .Mac--which was originally ahead of its time in online storage and sharing, but has since languished in the Web 2.0 era. So I'm envisioning the Safari 3 browser as a cross-platform entrance, Ã la Flock, to a modernized .Mac Flickr+YouTube+del.icio.us-like mashup. Who's taking wagers?
--Dave Z.
