Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Surveys and Polls
You're in Charge: What would you change about Safari?
Here comes another "You're in Charge" boys and girls. We've covered Mail and iChat so far, and this time around we want your thoughts on Safari. It's an excellent browser, and even more appealing if you have a .Mac account. While Firefox claims the extensibility crown, Safari is certainly no stranger to add-ons and plug-ins, as PimpMySafari.com can attest to.But even with the tools available, and Safari's graduation from the Acid2 test with 10.4.3, I'm sure you all still have wishes, dreams and requests for Safari's abilities, and we'd like to hear them. With the healthy community of plug-in developers out there, chances are someone with skillz might be listening too. So have at it, TUAW readers: you're in charge - what would you change about Safari?
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Ted said 8:05AM on 11-16-2005
It would be nice if it properly supported the post editing components of both blogger.com and Wordpress.
Reply
markus said 8:18AM on 11-16-2005
i hear you on this. i'd love if safary would even handle the basic BB Coda Tags in a right manner - like in todays board software. not to dream of the web based rich text editors
Reply
XiozTzu said 8:33AM on 11-16-2005
* Make extensions easier to install, like Firefox
* Enhance SafariBlock to be on par with Adblock Plus functionality so I don't have to mess with manually blocking ads.
* Put a text search bar on the bottom of window, again like Firefox.
* Make Safari compatible with windows so I can use it at work.
Reply
Klar said 8:36AM on 11-16-2005
I wish sometimes that I could drag tabs into a different order, or even to a different window for better organization.
I would also echo comments 1 and 2.
Reply
arkowi said 8:36AM on 11-16-2005
1. start with firefox.
2. make firefox faster.
3. replace firefox icon with safari icon.
4. enjoy.
Reply
Joe Clark said 8:45AM on 11-16-2005
Save my damned tabs.
Reply
section8 said 8:48AM on 11-16-2005
Colorized source codes!
Reply
Elroy Jetson said 8:52AM on 11-16-2005
1. XUL for Safari
2. reordering of tabs
3. site sharing with other Safari users (collaboration with overlay and interactive chat)
Reply
Eric said 8:56AM on 11-16-2005
1. Mail-like metal feel, not brushed metal.
2. Save open tabs and content for next launch preference.
3. Allow different search engines, like Firefox.
4. Allow for better cookie removal/retention.
5. Make the first time you click on Bookmarks work instantly, not delayed, even if this means a slightly slower launch time.
6. Make "Private Browsing" passworded, so this can only be accessed by people who know the password. Private Browsing is not good for office environments and for families with kids.
7. Install with Quicktime, RealPlayer and Windows Media Player plugins already installed and ready to go. Having to do this yourself to see some video content is a drag.
8. Inform the user when updated Realplayer and Windows Media Player plugins are available and allow these to be installed automatically.
9. Have a preference to add a Bookmark to a folder in alphabetical order and not just to the end of the list for that folder.
10. Allow Tabs to be moved and even dropped onto other Safari windows.
Reply
jomy said 8:57AM on 11-16-2005
Port it to Windows.
Millions of PC users have fallen in love with iTunes and ditched Windows Media. I'd give them the opportunity to ditch IE as well.
As long as 85% of the population uses IE on Windows, lazy web developers are going to develop sites that are incompatible with other platforms. This is a major road block to switching. Have you visited gap.com or oldnavy.com lately using Safari?
Reply
Lola said 8:58AM on 11-16-2005
No more colorized beach balls, especially when loading RSS feeds. And make it easier to manage RSS feeds.
Reply
ScottBruin said 9:00AM on 11-16-2005
- favicons in the bookmark bar (like Camino) would be nice
- other search sites available in the search bar
- built in Sogudi (http://www.kitzkikz.com/Sogudi)
- search as you type (i.e. like Firefox's)
- bookmarking that made more sense
- "add bookmark here" for each submenu in the Bookmars menu and in bookmarks bar
and most importantly...
- change right-click on back button to how it used to be (i.e. same as click and hold)
Reply
Mike Lauder said 9:07AM on 11-16-2005
Stop Safari opening links from other applications in a new tab of the foremost window if it doesn't have the location bar displayed. It's really annoying when it opens new tabs in a small pop-up window that you're using for something else!
Reply
Shahin Shokoui said 9:29AM on 11-16-2005
Advanced cookies handling / draggable tabs / favicons
And right Ted:
It would be nice if it properly supported the post editing components of both blogger.com and Wordpress.
Reply
LD said 9:36AM on 11-16-2005
I would make it based off the Mozilla project. More specifically I would make it Firefox, completely compatible with all Firefox's extensions. There are a million browsers out there, Safari offers me nothing, certainly not worth the extra effort Apple has put into it simply to call it their own.
Reply
icerabbit said 9:38AM on 11-16-2005
1. Stability.
Every few days (or sooner or later) I have to crash Safari because it becomes unresponsive, and starts taking up to 100% or more cpu power when new tabs or windows are requested. It beachballs until all new tabs have been fully loaded. Force-quit. Restart Safari. Request same bookmarks. All is well.
It's like Safari collapses under its own weight, and just eats up more and more memory till it can't function any more. It's doing it as I type this with Safari taking 90+% CPU 313MB real memory and 645MB Virtual memory on a DP 2.5 G5 with 2.5 GB RAM.
2. Full screen maximization without having to drag the window open further or resorting to a javascript hack. Let the green plus circle maximize the window. I have the same opinion for all apps. The zoom thing switching between two states doesn't do it for me.
3. Rearranging tab order
Reply
mdavey said 9:50AM on 11-16-2005
If I could only make one change:
1. XUL support
Otherwise, these as well:
2. Rearrange tabs and save them
3. Search box in status bar like Firefox
4. Configuration option for full-screen bahavour (choose between current behaviour and proper full-screen behavour)
5. Kiosk mode
Reply
Jacques Lema said 9:54AM on 11-16-2005
Definitely support for firefox extensions or at least another open way to make extensions. I constantly launch firefox for the plugins: WMLBrowser, Developer Tools and so on.
Reply
Rory said 10:00AM on 11-16-2005
I would like to see built in alerts for when you close a window. I currently use the Taboo plugin to get them but it should really be a built in feature.
Reply
Jim said 10:04AM on 11-16-2005
Graphical history browsing
Searchable history
These are all dittos (in order of desire):
Put a text search bar on the bottom of window, again like Firefox.
Save my damned tabs.
Allow Tabs to be moved and even dropped onto other Safari windows.
Make extensions easier to install, like Firefox
Install with Quicktime, RealPlayer and Windows Media Player plugins already installed and ready to go. Having to do this yourself to see some video content is a drag.?Make Safari compatible with windows so I can use it at work.
Fix memory issues (see above post)
Reply