Is Safari the best of both worlds?

Is Safari the best of both worlds?

Apple released a new version of the web browser Safari (http://www.apple.com/safari/) today. Normally I wouldn't care. Safari is speedy, but I only use it for testing; Firefox is extremely pen-friendly with the right extensions. However, certain new features in Safari have piqued my interest.

CSS Animation: (http://webkit.org/blog/138/css-animation/) These are simple transition effects that are triggered by changes in elements, such as a hyperlink that changes when you hover the cursor over it. Normally the change happens instantly, but with CSS animation, an effect, such as a fade, can appear in transition. This could prove useful to someone who makes creative use of hyperlinks with minimal scripting.

Web fonts: (http://webkit.org/blog/124/downloadable-fonts/) I include a text conversion of my inked entries out of necessity. Search engines search text. Without it, that search box on my blog is mostly useless. I accept that, but I wouldn't mind the option of having the text look like my handwriting via a self-made font. Can't do that now unless everyone downloads my fact, but it would be possible with a web-based font.

So what's this have to do with "best of both worlds"? Well, these features do not stem from the Safari front-end from Apple but from its rendering engine WebKit (http://webkit.org/), which is open source. While other browsers are either entirely open source (Firefox) (http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/) or proprietary (IE) (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/ie/default.mspx), Safari can benefit from community development while maintaining control over the interface in typical Apple fashion.

Also, Webkit is designed to run on both full-sized computers and mobile devices. While the Safari interface is different on the iPhone than on Mac/PC, the engine is the same. That's good for sites like mine that rely heavily on a fixed layout and presentation. It also means Apple doesn't have to deal with different web engines for different devices. One engine to power them all.

While Safari is neither as customizable as Firefox nor as entrenched as IE, it has great potential for more plug-ins (has some but not as many as FF) and is eating an extraordinarily large chunk of the mobile Internet market. Backed by the advancements in WebKit, that puts Safari in a very strong position in the new browser wars and should put more pressure on the other guys to support emerging functionality, which will enable me to have more fun with Links in Ink.
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