“On June 11, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs stepped up his assault on [Microsoft]. In a speech before Apple developers, Jobs, clad in his traditional uniform of black turtleneck and jeans, announced new versions of Apple’s Safari Web browser for the ubiquitous Windows operating system. That gives PC users a no-risk way to sample Apple software (Safari is free), and possibly an incentive to switch to a Mac computer or buy an iPhone. And to make sure there are enough programs for interested buyers, Jobs also offered Safari’s underlying Web technologies to outside software developers so they could write programs for Apple products, including the iPhone, the company’s latest potential blockbuster product that goes on sale June 29,” Aaron Ricadela writes for BusinessWeek.
“Taken together, the moves could sway more companies to enter Apple’s orbit and potentially reignite a browser war that’s been dormant for several years,” Ricadela writes.
The battle isn’t just about browser market share. Windows users already have downloaded Apple’s iTunes music software more than 500 million times, according to Jobs. A fast-running Windows version of Safari could give Windows users a better taste of the company’s design aesthetic and technical chops, helping to reinvigorate sales of Apple computers,” Ricadela writes.
“Promoting Safari as the way for programmers to develop for the iPhone, and for Mac and Windows users to explore the Internet, could help Apple compete in a computer industry in which software is increasingly distributed online,” Ricadela writes. “Adam Gross, vice-president of developer marketing at Salesforce, says the software maker plans to create an iPhone version of the company’s lead management software for sales reps. Apple’s approach could make it simpler to extend the software for the iPhone compared with other mobile devices. ‘It’s going to be a lot easier to create apps for the iPhone than for other mobile platforms,’ says Gross.”
Ricadela writes, “If [Apple’s] plan gains adherents, it could intensify competition for Web browsers. And that could give Jobs yet another weapon to use against Microsoft, as both companies try to extend their influence beyond the desktop.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “LinuxGuy and Mac Prodigal Son” for the heads up.]
Interesting to see if the web apps for iPhone will run run in Safari on the desktop…
Interesting to see if the web apps for iPhone will run run in Safari on the desktop…
——————–
Of course they will, in fact, that is how Jobs suggested that developers test their web apps until iPhone is released.
developers, developers… oh you know how it goes. If you can write apps for iPhone, then is it easy to write apps for OSX?
I think this could be an easy way to test the waters to see how well received a version of OS X would be for all intel platforms would be.
If you own a PC and you down load the Win version of Safari, you could be a canidate for buying a copy of OS X. Imagine the possible impact on Apple’s sales and market share
I don’t think Microsoft has anything to worry about, but Mac users do. Apparantly some of the exploits found yesterday also work fine on Mac’s.
Why doesn’t Apple fuzz their code before release?
*sigh*
http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/06/12/0120230&from=rss
SJ wears a black mock turtleneck…..
Get it right…
Duke said: “I think this could be an easy way to test the waters to see how well received a version of OS X would be for all intel platforms would be.”
Please! Let’s not get into the “OSX as a stand-alone product” discussion again. Apple does NOT want to be supporting it on tens of millions of $500 PCs with who-knows-what for innards. I’m not even sure they want other companies selling cut-rate pseudo-Macs at 10% off the Mac price. Apple wants to sell Macs to the several million Windows users who buy top-end hardware. That’s where the money is. That’s one of the reasons OSX is so clean.
DLMeyer – the Voice of G.L.Horton’s Stage Page Pod Cast
“I don’t think Microsoft has anything to worry about, but Mac users do. Apparantly some of the exploits found yesterday also work fine on Mac’s.” – Peaceman
Its a BETA. It’s suppose to have bugs.
On the other hand Microsoft has pleanty to worry about, if Apple becomes a serious contender in the browser space, now that web applications are the waeve of the future in moblie computing; Web 2.0.
Its a BETA. It’s suppose to have bugs.
The exploits are also found on present copies of Safari 2 on Mac’s.
That’s what PeaceMan was trying to say.
Safari on Windows will make it MUCH easier for switchers.
No more asking for ‘the blue E’.
It’s BETA!!!
“The exploits are also found on present copies of Safari 2 on Mac’s.” – Baby Jane
Where does is say that? The report referenced reports that flaws were found in the BETA version of Sarfari 3 for Windows. The whole point of putting the BETA out there is to find the BUGS. So he found some, great, that’s just what Apple wanted.
“David Maynor, infamous for the Apple Wi-Fi hack, has discovered bugs in the Windows version of Safari mere hours after it was released.” – Slashdot
Infamous indeed. He never proved a thing on that Wi-Fi hack, other than he was looking for attention and here he goes again. But now he’s acting like finding bugs in a BETA is a failure on Apple’s part, when in fact it should have bugs to find.
“The exploit is robust mostly thanks to the lack of any kind of adanced security features in OSX,…” – Maynor
Blah, blah, blah… he has a bone to pick…
“I am about to make a declaration: Windows Vista is more secure than OSX 10.4.8. Anybody that tells you anything different should immediately be treated with the same disdain as finding a parking ticket on your car.” – Maynor
What a joke.
Read Maynor’s crap here…
“Bill Gates gave an interview where his fights back against some Apple’s misleading and deceptive marketing.” – Maynor
http://erratasec.blogspot.com/2007/02/bill-gates-fights-back-against-evil.html
Windows sucks, nothing deceptive about that.
If Microsoft takes this as a war, then they will release a version of IE for Mac, but I think in a very, very, very far future. And then, they will claim that Mac IE v. 9.0 will be 100% compatible with .NET software and thus, that Mac IE should be a MUST for Mac OS X. Of course, except for the Active X objects.
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Oh my. I hope developers realize that they have to program for the WEB, not IE, I mean, that they pages works well on EVERY platform, on every browser that complains with standards (Javascript, Java, etc.)
MW: filled
rsbell said “Interesting to see if the web apps for iPhone will run run in Safari on the desktop…”
Of course they will. Because there are no iPhone web apps. Thats why developers are pissed. The iPhone is CLOSED. There will be no iPhone innovative apps coming along. Why? Because AT&T wants it that way. No skype clients. No instant messenging. No VPN clients. No VNC clients. Why? Because AT&T wants to keep you on their data network and not allow you to use WiFi for anything other than basic email and web.
Enjoy your $600 email and web client.
PeaceMan
I don’t think Microsoft has anything to worry about, but Mac users do. Apparantly some of the exploits found yesterday also work fine on Mac’s
You can safely ignore Maynor. He’s an attention whore, and does not and will not inform vendors or even other interested parties of these so-called “vulnerabilities”, which means no one can verify what he claims to have done and how he did it.
Rememeber, this is the guy that gave us the “Apple WiFi hack”.
Until someone reputable releases info, it’s not really relevant.
Dont beleive the hype
‘It’s going to be a lot easier to create apps for the iPhone than for other mobile platforms,’ says Gross.”
Huh, looks like the FUD-sters had it wrong, again. So, we go from no third party apps to the easiest mobile platform to write apps for!
@John
You tool, you owe us $150 billion for copyright infringement.
Microsoft should not take this news as positive. By no means am I a Microsoft fan, but that company has set themselves up for this..
After the browser wars ended several years ago with the death of Netscape, Microsoft coasted on the fact that they were the only legitimate game in town. There were a few choices, but nothing that threatened Microsoft’s market dominance. That is until Mozilla Foundation released Firefox, which has created a market share of 15%. With Microsoft believing that their dominance was assured they disbanded the team that developed IE through the years.
Once Firefox began taking market share from them, did they finally respond by reforming the IE developing team. But how many years did they lose?
This dominate and forget mode has hit Windows as well. They dominate the OS market for a decade, self assured with their continued superiority, that they were only capable of releasing a poor imitation of the Mac OS X Tiger five years after their last major release. Vista is not the OS Microsoft envisioned when first setting out to create it. The fear that a more nimble company will come along and knock them from their self-proclaimed thrown is a real threat. But instead of creating products people want to use, they force people to use a product because they believe they have no choice, which in their mind. will continue their dominance.
With Apple releasing Safari for Windows and announcing a speed that doubles that of IE7, Apple has now delivered a threat that Microsoft cannot ignore. Why?
There are a lot of websites out their that require most web surfers to use IE6 or better. These choices were made by companies that saw that IE dominate the browser market. CNN and FoxNews use Windows Media for their film stories. Unless a Safari user has Flip4MAc or has installed Microsoft WM9, they won’t be able to watch it. With Mac market share growth and the estimate that Apple will sell 60 million iPhones by 2009 means that Apple could have 20-25% browser share in two and a half years. If Safari convinces just 1 out 5 Windows users to use Safari they could gain an additional 15% share. By the end of 2009 Apple could have 35-40% browser share. This will force those websites to make their sites capable for both browsers.
For Apple it is win-win situation. They may accelerate the Windows switcher campaign and keep the Windows market fresh with new ideas.
For Microsoft, on the other hand, Microsoft needs to look at this, not as a threat, but as a wake up call. I believe Microsoft still has something to offer the world, but need to understand that they no longer are the 800 pound gorilla they once were. No longer will people be forced to use mediocre products when given a choice and maybe that will spur them to actually create something people will go out of their way to get.
James, how can you stand to read that?
http://erratasec.blogspot.com/2007/02/bill-gates-fights-back-against-evil.html
I couldn’t get through the first paragraph! How anyone with language skills that bad can get so much press is beyond me.
But then again…
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushisms.htm
Whoa….now every malicious hacker out there will also target Safari. The hunt begins…….
That’s bad
I always laugh when I hear about browser market share, because last I checked, no one has charged for a browser for the better part of a decade.
I know it’s about control, but ultimately, what freakin difference does it make.
Mac OS X 112 vunerabilites so far
Maynor is right.
Apple is now all about marketing and nothing about security testing before release.
Exploits already written within a few hours of a release? Something is WRONG IN CUPERTINO!!
Apple had a great secure BSD unix base, why is all their top stuff and apps so insecure?
Is Apple trying to copy Microsoft’s success by building a loyal IT following that chases the bugs and gives them a job?
@ Moo
“…..because last I checked, no one has charged for a browser for the better part of a decade…..”
uhhh …. might wanna look here
@ Exploit Counter
What part of .. “ITS A BETA” .. dont you understand ?
Ron, >their self-proclaimed thrown is a real threat.>
Were they thrown off their throne? Or was it just a zune circling the toilet bowl?
Exploit Counter
You still with the MS MBU?
Safari on Windows :
1) Allow “iPhone” apps to run everywhere while developped only for safari.
2) Goes after firefox/others not after IE. Look at what part of the marketshare pie chart got eaten up by safari.
3) Most of th code probably already written inside iTunes anyhow for the music store window, Safari.exe probably just a separate container for the existing technology.
Doesn’t Apple make money by offering Google search? If you use Google through Safari, doesn’t Apple make some ad revenue through Google? I think they might. Maybe thats the reason they decided to develop and release Safari for Windows.
Wasn’t he wearing a maroon turtleneck or something? Not black, I’m pretty sure…judging from the Engadget pictures.
To quote a (modified) classic phrase:”Get close to your friends. Get closer to your enemies.”
Why just try to fight an empire (MIcrosoft) from the outside? Why not also “infiltrate” it, and destabilize it from the inside? That’s Jobs’ brilliant strategy. Quicktime, iTunes (and iPods), and now Safari for Windows.
And that too just days after the so-called “love fest” in the joint appearance with Bill Gates. Simply brilliant!
We really have to remember that the iTunes software is a modified Safari that connects to a WebObject based Web service with more than 500 Million downloads. Kick Ass!
Stop being so gay. Who gives a shit what kind of shirt Jobs is wearing at any given moment. A bunch of little girls. It’s embarrassing at times being a Mac user.
Safari on Windows is a great idea and the motives are two-fold for sure. I put the beta on a Windows box and it crashed on me once but after that it’ s been really good for a feature-complete beta release.
@g3m4nn
“Gay” is not a pejorative, and should not be used as such.
Other than that I agreed with your post.
mw “moral” as in the “moral majority” is neither.
“@ Exploit Counter
What part of .. “ITS A BETA” .. dont you understand ?”
Ah yes. Apoligize for Apple. Lame excuse.
What version of crack is this site smoking? Does anyone think that this security hole laden software is really any competition to anyone? Safari proves just how lost and confused Apple is about security. How on earth could Apple release such a brain dead product on the unsuspecting population? When will Apple be brought up on charges of national security for opening up so many security holes?
This proves without a doubt that OSX is the security hole master of the universe. The only reason that there are so few problems now is that up to now no one used these stupid computers. Now that Apple correctly switched to the only microprocessor worth using, more people are starting to look at their pretty (and very expensive) computers. Virus and malware developers are salivating at seeing how stupid Apple is at producing quality software and cannot wait to take over every Mac on the planet.
At least there is the hope of most people upgrading to Vista (which has an awesome security model) which will stem some of the virus attacks. With the pseudo engineering that went into Safari I can hardly wait to see what the iPhone is. Can’t wait to see what the hackers do with that horribly overpriced telephone.
Virus and malware developers are salivating at seeing how stupid Apple is at producing quality software and cannot wait to take over every Mac on the planet.
What a ridiculous jackass. Really. You should be ashamed to be that stupid.
Ballmer
Whoa….now every malicious hacker out there will also target Safari. The hunt begins…….
That’s bad
No, that’s good. The ridiculous dickwads gloating over the holes in Safari seem incapable of realising that the discovery of exploits makes a browser more, not less secure. Safari doesn’t run Active-X, and for that reason alone most of these exploits will never be more than proof of concept. And one by one, they will get fixed. And it won’t take almost two decades for Apple to fix them, unlike a certain illegal monopoly.
“They may accelerate the Windows switcher campaign “
I presume you mean increase the number of Mac OS X users who will switch to Windows now they can get their favorite browser on the platform.
“No, that’s good. The ridiculous dickwads gloating over the holes in Safari seem incapable of realising that the discovery of exploits makes a browser more, not less secure. “
So it would be that the ridiculous dickwads (like yourself) gloating over the holes in Windows are performing the same service.
If Microsoft released such a piece of crap as the Safari Beta, we’d never hear the end of it.
If Microsoft released such a piece of crap as the Safari Beta, we’d never hear the end of it.
They DID release a such a piece of crap! It was called Windows 95/2000/XP! NO OTHER PLATFORM was EVER full of the exploits holes and ridiculous extensions and software and NO OTHER OS EVER shipped with the tools for widespread malicious coding BUILT INTO THE OS!
It took MS more than a DECADE to do anything substantial about the open ports, Active X and NetBIOS b_llsh_t that made everyday internet use on Windows a complete hell.
NOTHING that is currently wrong with Safari will ever approach the complete and utter disregard for consumers displayed by Microsoft for years. And just to drive that point home, looky, looky, a Safari update already with the early exploits fixed.
HA!