14 DAY TRIAL // Minutes into the release of Mac OS X Lion, the Support Downloads area of Apple’s website saw the addition of two new Safari versions for Snow Leopard and Leopard users respectively. Windows PC users get the latest enhancements as well.
To get one thing out of the way as quickly as possible, Safari 5.0.6 for Leopard is a rather boring update that focuses on improving the stability, compatibility, and security, of the Apple-developed web browser.
That’s not to say Leopard users shouldn’t consider updating - it’s actually quite necessary to ensure the applications performs well) - but it’s not as exciting as the Safari 5.1 release for Snow Leopard users who get everything Apple threw inside the Lion version of the web browser.
For starters, Apple highlights four key additions:
Reading List: Easily add webpages and links to your Reading List to browse when you have time.
New Process Architecture: Safari has been re-engineered for improved stability and responsiveness.
Resume: In the General pane of Safari preferences, you can now choose to launch Safari with the windows from your last browsing session.
Better Privacy: A new Privacy pane in Safari preferences makes it easy to remove data that websites can leave on your system.
For the more savvy user, the Mac maker further outlines some of the new features inside Safari for Snow Leopard.
For example, users will now be able to fill out forms quickly while keeping their personal information private via a Private AutoFill feature that should put apps like 1Password out of commission.
A cleverly-designed Find option lets you choose whether you want to search for text that contains / starts with the text that you type in the search field.
The drag-and-drop downloads function speaks for itself, which leaves the updated web technologies (full-screen webpages, media caching with the HTML5 application cache, MathML, CSS3 enhancements etc.) and the new Extension APIs that round up the list of new additions inside Safari.
Download Safari for Snow Leopard (Free)