Fastest Web Browser For Now

Apple recently announced the availability of Safari 4 Beta for public download, which they claimed to be the world’s fastest browser. This is so, according to CNet’s benchmark of JavaScript rendering performance, using the SunSpider suite of JavaScript tests. Oddly enough, ComputerWorld’s testing using the same benchmark suite found Google’s Chrome to be just marginally faster. But certainly, the new Safari 4 Beta is running circles around IE8 and Firefox.

The new Safari 4 Beta is beautiful, although some of its ideas are borrowed from competitors. The browser tabs are not in the title bar, similar to Google’s Chrome, so it doesn’t take up screen space. It has Cover Flow, which pages through bookmarks and browsing history with screen previews much like album art in iTunes. Top Sites displays frequently visited sites with a beautiful wall of screen previews too. Sites that have since been updated are marked in the Top Sites wall. Safari 4 Beta feels snappier, probably because of its speedier JavaScript engine.

Safari 4 Beta boasts support for CSS animation and HTML5. It also scores full marks on the Acid3 Test, which tests a web browser’s compliance to web standards. Not many browsers score full marks.

So far I’m liking Safari 4 Beta very much, except for this one bug I’ve run into. In the WordPress web application, the editor’s “insert link” dialog box gets stuck, and you can’t enter text or click any links. Well, I hope someone gets around to fixing it soon, either the WordPress (or perhaps from the TinyMCE editor) or Safari folks. I can’t use Safari 4 Beta to write my blog posts if I have to insert or edit any links.