I wish that these features were available to scan bookmarks as well. That's a facility that needs work overall.

The acid test

Safari/WebKit is the first browser to pass for compatibility and completeness of a browser's implementation of CSS version 3. (These three screen images show the , the , and the ; a test run must produce a pixel-accurate duplicate of the reference rendering in order to pass.) Without that, we're stuck with the esoteric (but independent) Scalable Vector Graphics and the extremely resource-intensive (and proprietary) Flash. Leave it to slimmer, faster JavaScript. JavaScript tools are wanting in OS X. Thankfully, an integrated JavaScript console, debugger, and profiler have been added to WebKit. Although these leave much to be desired relative to native tools, they deliver more than print() can. The profiler is a particular standout.

A fast and pretty browser won't cut it for me. A browser -- and, indeed, any application that incorporates the linkable framework of that browser -- must place an equal emphasis on standards promotion and adoption, as well as accessibility. OS X's integrated Voice Assist and Universal Access preferences stand apart as mechanisms for inclusion for the visual and motor impaired. New to Safari 4 is support for ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications), which takes screen reading and modalities for atypical navigation to the next level, to Web 2.0/AJAX Web apps and sites.

I'm relieved to see full-page zoom, a sort of experimental WebKit feature, included in Safari 4 beta. The typical text-only zoom command persists, but is augmented by a zoom that enlarges (or shrinks) the entire page, as a mobile browser would. Safari users can also create a non-defeatable style sheet and set a minimum font size. That anyone should be denied access to the Internet because of disabilities makes me see red. That the disabled can be held up for usurious sums for specialized devices that are no more capable than a MacBook is a message I struggle to get out. Apple leads in accessibility as a standard feature.