WebKit for Windows

Mike Skinner — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 10:10:00 +0000

The past week heralded the first public release of Safari 3 Beta for Windows.

Whilst I am primarily a Firefox user, this is fantastic news for web developers – we no longer need an OS X PC available to test our work. Previously I would need to test my web application at home, or take my Mac Mini into the office. It is also good news for the general masses who like a smooth and clean interface.

I have to give credit on the startup speed and page rendering time. It’s impressive, even for a beta. However with a beta also comes issues. For many, fonts just would not appear in web pages or on the Safari UI.

The unique thing about Safari for Windows is that is renders fonts similar to the way it would on OS X. The fonts in Safari will look different compared to those in Firefox, Opera or Internet Explorer. For an interesting read on why Microsoft and Apple render fonts differently, follow this link.

Thankfully, these instructions worked for me on both 3.0.0 and 3.0.1.

I just noticed that the WebKit Nightly Builds page has nightly builds for Windows. So if Apple releases aren’t fast enough to resolve issues you may be having, and you like the bleeding edge, take a trip to http://nightly.webkit.org/. I think the gold icon is way sexier than the silver one used by Safari – but maybe I don’t get out often enough?

futuretrack5: WebKit for Windows

WebKit for Windows