Safari 4 hidden preferences
There's quite a debate going on in the Mac web over Safari 4's new user interface. Personally, I think the new tab implementation is hideous, so I was glad to see that Caius Durling has discovered a bevy of hidden preferences for Safari 4.With a few quick Terminal commands you can restore sanity to your tabs, bring back the old URL completion behavior, remove CoverFlow from the Bookmarks view, and few other neat tricks. On the other hand, if crazy tabs float your boat, they're easy enough to restore in the same way.
[via Download Squad]
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There's quite a debate going on in the Mac web over Safari 4's new user interface. Personally, I think the new tab implementation is...
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I really love the cover flow and having my preferred 12 sites pinned to it. The blue star when there is an update is great. My productivity has increased. http://www.zune-converter.org I pretty much hate all the changes, topsites, coverflow for history, tabs at the top, completion, etc. I've never used coverflow in iTunes and don't like it much on my iPhone either.
May 12 2009 at 12:04 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI hate the new tabs. I definitely think they should be optional. Also, I don't understand why people are complaining about screen real estate. I have a 13" MacBook and it's perfectly fine. I can see everything I need to. Are you guys really that lazy to not scroll down a few extra pixels?
February 27 2009 at 4:50 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyIt's a damn shame they have still yes to add alphabetizing for the bookmarks!
February 26 2009 at 7:02 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyTHANK GOD!!! I have my tabs back!!!
February 26 2009 at 1:41 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyMore Browser space? More screen space? Seriously?...
Hasnt most everyone moved onto at least a 21 inch monitor, if not a 24?...or even running their Mac to an HDTV using a wireless keyboard and mouse?
In trying to create more browser space, I think theyre going backwards. Safari is already about the cleanest browser with the most space.
Whats next? Creating a faster loading version for those that are still on dialup?
On my iMac at home, space isn't an issue, however, on my 13" macbook it is. Remember the sales figures for Apple Laptops, a large percentage of mac users are using laptops, not desktops.
February 26 2009 at 11:53 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyAnd that 22 pixels they saved really is huge!
February 26 2009 at 1:07 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI like the new tabs. They've taken some getting used to; so did tabs when they first appeared.
I am already getting used to the Show Top Sites feature. My approach has been to have a bookmark list of sites I like to read every morning; I open all sites in the list, leading to a bunch of opening tabs and a wait. Now I can scan through all of them and open them one at a time.
Up until recently I have used OmniWeb. I liked that my Bookmarks bar has coloured folders, maybe allowing the user to have the option for colored tabs and/or bookmark bar folders would make the top of the screen be a little easier to work with?
I am now cursed with a slow ADSL connection and the progress bar is a lot more frustrating now that I no longer have a 16-20 meg connection but on balance, I think I would like it as an option. It should still be in the URL address space.
Other than that, I really like Safari 4. OmniWeb uses a sidebar with page previewsas tabs and I have grown accustomed to using the page previews to quickly spot and click the page that I want when I have multiple tabs - so Top sites and cover flow could mean the end for Omni. (Esp since they have now made their Browser Freeware) I know, crazy to pay for a browser but I really did like it but since I am now finding more pages that are incompatible with OmniWeb, I may opt for Safari over Firefox in the long term.
For anyone that finds it tough to launch Safari 4 after install, I found that removing the plug-ins sorted the problem immediately and no crashes since.
I feel the tabs are not only aesthetically displeasing, but found they also had several usability issues:
1) When glancing up from a page to find another tab to open, the new tab position introduced 'noise' between the webpage and the tabs, adding an unnecessary distraction.
2) Tab sizes change more frequently with the new tabs, meaning you have to keep adjusting what you're aiming at.
3) I kept trying to change tabs, but instead of selecting a tab I'd move the whole window round the screen. Why? Because with the new tab location, if your cursor is in motion when you click a tab, it doesn't make that tab active, instead it moves the window.
4) I switch back from Mail or TweetDeck or whatever by clicking on the top bar of the Safari window, previously it didn't matter where on the bar I clicked, it would take me back to the tab I was using. Now, I have to look for the active tab and click on that instead.
5) Rearranging tabs used to be a synch, aim anywhere at the tab and drag. Now I have to aim at a specific point in the tab. Grrr!
My other main annoyance with the redesign was changing the location of the refresh button (no, I can't be bothered to move my hand to the keyboard to press cmd-R). Luckily the hack to restore the progress bar also allows you to get the refresh button back if you then customise your toolbar. Yay and hooray!
I think it's great, it looks, and works great.
I test browsers, all that I can. I thought Google Chrome was great, and Opera has always been great, and very robustly featured. I really don't like firefox.
Seeing Safari 4 is great, I think it captures several browsing elements and refines them with the new code and UI. Java performs better as well.
I really appreciate the presentation of "Top Sites" and the offering of cover flow, although I could see that being toggle able, like in iTunes.
Wasn't going to try it because of 1 password not working. But now that they fixed that, I'm going to give it a whirl.
February 25 2009 at 11:03 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHot Apps on TUAW
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