Despite the recent uproar over Apple's debatably dubious tactic of installing Safari on PCs via Software Update, as an "upgrade" to software users didn't have, the tactic seems to have worked. Usage of the Windows version of the browser has tripled since the 3.1 update, per Apple 2.0's report, growing from 0.07% to 0.21% during March and April.

We're hoping that Safari usage continues to expand, but perhaps without the Software Update shenanigans (and the UI for updates on the Windows side has been revised to reduce the likelihood of accidental Safariage). CSS compatibility and speed put Safari in a class to compete with Firefox on both Mac and PC platforms. Of course, those all-important features don't determine marketshare; being bundled with Windows installs seems to do the trick, though (see Internet Explorer). We have our doubts that Microsoft is going to incorporate Safari into its bundling plans any time soon.

[via MacNN]

Shall I compare thee to a yellow sticky note?

Thou art more foreboding and less indicative of closure.

Rough winds do shake retail commerce before May

And downtime hath all too short a date.

Sometimes too excited the yellow sticky shines

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd

And sometimes when credit-cards decline

By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;

Thy momentary downtime does not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair new product;

Nor shall Apple introduce what wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou waitest;

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,

Fair 3M's scrap of parchment shall cheer thee.