The Origins of the Name 'Safari'

[MacsRgr8]

Navigator is (was) a gr8 name.

Too bad it's now left in the dust...

I also like the simple name of "Omniweb".

Safari is, as already mentioned, in the same style as Navigator and Explorer. IMHO, Apple would have done well NOT to have gone that route but keep it simple, like in the style of Omniweb.
I don't know what have been best and I understand that many minds have tried to crack it, but Safari seems too much a "I don't know.... let's take on these traditional names referring to navigating / exploring the web, and make one up that seems in line".

OTOH, it is so familiar now, that we refer to any iOS and OS X update as "Safari IS snappier!"

 

[MacDav]

They should have used Netscape Navigator.

 

[markcres]

Going to make an Opera out of that story?

Or a nice Mosaic of the images?

 

[rufwork]

I think Jobs suggested Browser Man.

 

[milo]

The Navigator asked the Explorer, where are the hot Foxes on this here Safari...?

Under the front Chrome bumper of the Jeep.

Were they out hunting Lynx?

 

[JAPrufrock]

Filler

Yeah, it was a bit of fluff – but the iBrowse pun made it all worthwhile.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

Safari...what's that? The most widely used web browser/web engine technology in both mobile and desktop that has the best performance across multiple platforms. It was so damn good that Google decided to make a derivative browser that isn't nearly as good.

Fixed it. Chrome on iOS sucks. GUI is hard to use and isn't smooth. Gestures aren't useful and work half the time. Performance is meh. Safari is far superior. Now on Android where Safari is absent, I guess the only crappy thing left is Chrome. On Windows though, Chrome is king. I wish Apple paid more attention to Safari on Windows.

 

[needfx]

I can see some NDA clause quotes getting faxed over real soon

 

[tevion5]

well at least the comment section is good craic!

 

[ArchAndroid]

Fixed it. Chrome on iOS sucks. GUI is hard to use and isn't smooth. Gestures aren't useful and work half the time. Performance is meh. Safari is far superior.

Chrome on iOS isn't an indication of its maximal performance because Apple won't allow them to use their own JavaScript engines.

Chrome on iOS = Mobile Safari engine + Google Chrome bodywork.

Now on Android where Safari is absent, I guess the only crappy thing left is Chrome.

Chrome, Dolphin, Firefox, Maxthon, Opera, Sleipnir, Android Browser et cetera; all running their own optimised scripts for optimal performance.

On Windows though, Chrome is king. I wish Apple paid more attention to Safari on Windows.

Apple pays no attention to Safari for Windows because Windows users pay no attention to Safari for Windows.

 

[dontwalkhand]

should have been named POS

Point of Sale

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

Chrome on iOS isn't an indication of its maximal performance because Apple won't allow them to use their own JavaScript engines.

Chrome on iOS = Mobile Safari engine + Google Chrome bodywork.



Chrome, Dolphin, Firefox, Maxthon, Opera, Sleipnir, Android Browser et cetera; all running their own optimised scripts for optimal performance.



Apple pays no attention to Safari for Windows because Windows users pay no attention to Safari for Windows.

You displayed a complete lack of knowledge regarding how apps are written. And also, you repeat what I say... hardly original.

 

[bick]

cyber dog...

More interesting would be a story of how Apple came up with the name of their first web browser... Cyber Dog! Truly dumb and indicative of the state of affairs at Apple at the time..

 

[ArchAndroid]

You displayed a complete lack of knowledge regarding how apps are written. And also, you repeat what I say... hardly original.

Elucidate, please. I'm not even going to pretend to be some kind of connaisseur of iOS apps but from what I have gleaned, all browsers on iOS have to adhere to Apple's engines which are streamlined for Safari. As well as this, Apple's Nitro JavaScript engine is only allowed to be used by Safari, making other browsers seem more sluggish in comparison.
Google Chrome for iOS Is Slick, Smooth and Slow, Handicapped by Apple

It's very easy to say 'You're wrong' without clarifying why. So, if I'm incorrect, please correct me.

 

[newagemac]

Elucidate, please. I'm not even going to pretend to be some kind of connaisseur of iOS apps but from what I have gleaned, all browsers on iOS have to adhere to Apple's engines which are streamlined for Safari. As well as this, Apple's Nitro JavaScript engine is only allowed to be used by Safari, making other browsers seem more sluggish in comparison.
Google Chrome for iOS Is Slick, Smooth and Slow, Handicapped by Apple

It's very easy to say 'You're wrong' without clarifying why. So, if I'm incorrect, please correct me.

It really doesn't matter because Chrome is pretty terrible on both iOS AND Android. Most Android users I know use a different browser on their Android 4.0+ devices because of how slow and buggy it is.

Being a web developer, I can say for sure that the Android browser is well behind Safari as far as supporting modern web standards. There is no mobile browser out there currently supporting modern advances in HTML and CSS as well as mobile Safari.

 

[ArchAndroid]

It really doesn't matter because Chrome is pretty terrible on both iOS AND Android. Most Android users I know use a different browser on their Android 4.0+ devices because of how slow and buggy it is.

Being a web developer, I can say for sure that the Android browser is well behind Safari as far as supporting modern web standards. There is no mobile browser out there currently supporting modern advances in HTML and CSS as well as mobile Safari.

On my Galaxy S2 with ICS 4.0.4, I roll with Firefox and have Chrome as a backup; Android Browser is just there.

The point I was making I was trying to make was that there was a wide variety of optimised browsers on Android. I know Safari for iOS is one of the best; I was just saying that it's not head and shoulders above the competition.

 

[kjs862]

I like “Alexander” actually. Safari seemed weird at the time, and now I’m just used to it. Too bad this origin story is missing, you know, the origin.

“Alexandria” (after the ancient library) would have been a good name. The iOS version could be called “Ale...ria”.

Alexander would have been cool. I like using people names for computer stuff

 

[mrxak]

Interesting anecdote, too bad it doesn't actually give the origins of the name.

It's a good name though. Back then you had Navigator and Explorer. Safari fits the theme pretty well. You're going on a journey on the internet.

No idea what Mozilla, Firefox, and Chrome are supposed to mean. I would argue they are are pretty stupid names. An application name shouldn't just be some random word, or some random made-up word. A name should give some sort of idea about what the thing is, or at least be within the theme.

Photoshop, Numbers, Scrivener, Soundboard, Aperture, Transmit, Automator, TextWrangler, Keynote, Word, Stuffit, WireTap Studio... these are all good names.

Chrome, Skype, Adium, Cheddar, Trillian, Logic, Sparrow, Opera, Excel, Vuze... these are all terrible names because they are meaningless. If you didn't know what they were, you wouldn't be able to guess what they do.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I was at the keynote when Steve announced Safari, and I thought immediately of "Surfin' Safari." Knowing Steve's love of music I figured that was the hook for sure. But now it turns out not be true, or nobody really knows? Color me shocked. It seemed so obvious at the time.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

Elucidate, please. I'm not even going to pretend to be some kind of connaisseur of iOS apps but from what I have gleaned, all browsers on iOS have to adhere to Apple's engines which are streamlined for Safari. As well as this, Apple's Nitro JavaScript engine is only allowed to be used by Safari, making other browsers seem more sluggish in comparison.
Google Chrome for iOS Is Slick, Smooth and Slow, Handicapped by Apple

It's very easy to say 'You're wrong' without clarifying why. So, if I'm incorrect, please correct me.

Browsers don't run scripts. I write scripts both for work and for homework. There is a security reason as to why Apple doesn't allow 3rd party browsers to utilize Nitro. iOS would be more open to browser-based hacks/exploits if everyone could use Nitro. By limiting access to Nitro and using a far more limited/closed engine for 3rd party apps, they are strengthening security. So yes, while it does suck that 3rd party browsers have very poor performance compared to Safari native, it's security that is Apple's primary concern. Android is far more susceptible to hacks/exploits/viruses/malicious software than iOS because a) it's built on Linux which is opensource code that anyone can download b) Google posts the actual source code c) Google Play/Marketplace is not curated and anyone can sell apps with zero restrictions and d) there are so many devices, components, forks and customized versions of Android out there.

You seem to imply (if not, then just read this for info) that Apple is purposely hindering 3rd party browsers for no reason other than to promote Safari. Not the case.

 

[ConCat]

So....you mean.....everything Steve Jobs said was NOT solid gold at Apple? Like he actually did things that didn't stick or didn't work sometimes and had someone else do it instead? You mean not every single idea that came out of Apple and continues to come out of Apple after his death was not his idea necessarily?

Somebody better alert the media and Wall Street. They seem to think that Apple is doomed. (yet again)

Jony Ive mentioned this. Steve used to spout ideas till he came up with a good one. The difference is he didn't use his consumers to decide what was a good idea. He definitely wasn't a fountain of golden ideas as some people seem to think. He was human like the rest of us.

 

[DakotaGuy]

I'm guessing they ended up with Safari because the word sort of reminds you of Explorer. At that time they were basically switching the default browser from Explorer to Safari so it makes sense.

 

[philosopherdog]

Funny. Chrome runs the WebKit engine, which is the engine that is safari. Safari is a pretty damn amazing piece of engineering. Without WebKit and Safari we'd all be using IE mobile or Opera mobile. If anyone remembers the dark days of Windows CE and the IE browser you'll understand why mobile Safari was revolutionary. The mobile web would hardly look anything like it does today. Before it mobile browsing was not really possible. Try informing yourself before you post nonsense. Mobile Chrome is far from brilliant besides. Google seldom gets things right seems to me, aside from email and maybe search, but their search sucks pretty bad these days.

Safari...what's that? Oh right, that annoying app that keeps opening whenever I click a web link in other apps even though I have the far more versatile Chrome on the homescreen dock of my iPhone.

 

[Oohara]

Funny. Chrome runs the WebKit engine, which is the engine that is safari. Safari is a pretty damn amazing piece of engineering. Without WebKit and Safari we'd all be using IE mobile or Opera mobile. If anyone remembers the dark days of Windows CE and the IE browser you'll understand why mobile Safari was revolutionary. The mobile web would hardly look anything like it does today. Before it mobile browsing was not really possible. Try informing yourself before you post nonsense. Mobile Chrome is far from brilliant besides. Google seldom gets things right seems to me, aside from email and maybe search, but their search sucks pretty bad these days.

Inform myself? Why don't you go ahead and inform yourself. Here, have a look at what a versatile browser looks like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRHTQM_jjAk

Now open Safari on your iPhone, do a search for something you need to look up, then open new tabs for the first five links you want to compare, quickly sweep between them and... Oh right, you can't. You have to do two separate clicks to switch between tabs. That's pretty annoying.

Hmm...ok well, then open a new empty tab to see your bookmarks as icons, rearrange them to put your most needed ones at the top and... What, your bookmarks are just in one long, old school list? Oh. That's not quite as fast to use.

Then open a new empty tab and switch to your most viewed pages as icons, and.... Oh, can't do that either? Weird, Safari does it on the Mac, why not on the iPhone?

And pages open on other devices? Ah, got those squeezed into that anonymous list of all your other links? Too bad. Not quite as easy to navigate through as just flicking to the side from your normal links.

There is simply no debating that Chrome is the more versatile browser. Which, on a small screen format like the iPhone, is by far the most important factor. Safari may have a second of faster performance here and there, but that is outweighed by far by the UI being so slow to use compared to Chrome.

And Google's search "sucks pretty bad these days"? Sorry, but how do you expect anyone to take you seriously after a statement like that?

 

[greenyoga]

The origins of the name "Safari" sounds interesting.