Of course, now that it’s no longer a Mac-only browser, it’s share has grown as a few (admittedly brave) folks downloaded it for their PCs. Even still, the vast majority of Safari users were Mac users who used Safari by default because they were too lazy to actually choose another (better) browser.

On Tuesday, Apple announced the beta for Safari 4 for both Windows and Mac. Apple has pulled out all the stops to make Safari an attractive browser that people will actually want to use. Heavy on new technical features as well as eye candy, this is quite possibly the first time Safari has resembled a browser that has the brilliant minds behind Apple’s design. Granted, most of the features just appearing now have been in other browsers. This time, however, Apple has put its own spin on them to make them, well… just work.

The first difference greeting users (after a brief, yet fancy, intro movie) is that Safari now offers better visual integration with the Window’s OS, featuring a standard title bar with buttons. While the chrome of Apple’s applications remains on the rest of the window, it is less distracting than before. Also, instead of a tab bar, tabs show up in the title bar like in Google Chrome (a feature Apple calls “Tabs on Top”). While I’m not a personal fan of this style because it prevents tab rearranging, it does take up less screen real estate.

The address bar and search box now have “AwesomeBar” like features, suggesting visited sites and bookmarks. When typing in addresses. The new home screen for empty windows and tabs shows the users’ most visited sites, a feature that Opera users have had for a long time, and intrepid Firefox users can add via plug-in. The screen is constantly updated over time, but can be customized by pinning or hiding links. Clicking on one of the tabs animates it as it moves to fill the window, a small piece of eye candy that is utterly cool to watch. Actually, the browser is full of these small animations that the average user doesn’t notice consciously, but make for a better visual experience, something Apple has always incorporated into its products.

Users can now look through and search their histories and bookmarks using Coverflow. Each entry has a screen shot saved for it. I find this interface for viewing bookmarks and histories actually to be more intuitive for both the average user who is likely to be a bit daunted by the system file structure as well as for native OS X users.

Something I found interesting and rather unique is the built-in RSS viewer. The in-browser RSS reader allows users to scroll through the stories, adjust them for length, sort them by any number of descriptors, and even search them, all from the same window. And while most users who know what RSS is will likely keep using a separate reader, these features are still very useful for quick browsing.

On the technical side, Apple claims that the new Nitro Engine renders Javascript faster than every other browser, and includes benchmarks to support their claims. In a completely biased and unscientific survey, I thought surfing through AJAX heavy sites like Gmail, Google Calendar, and Facebook was indeed snappy, so I’m likely to believe Apple assertions.

Safari still lacks an add-on architecture, which is perhaps Firefox’s best attribute, and the largest thing to keep Safari from gaining significant browser share. Otherwise, Apple has picked the best features of the browsers on the market and wrapped them up in a slick package that certainly deserves a look.

Zack didn’t like computers.

At age 3, he was diagnosed with severe autism. His parents decided to send him to a specialized school, where he could get one-on-one attention. It was there that he was first introduced to computers.

“It was impossible for Zack to use a computer,” said his grandfather, John LeSieur. “He was throwing the mouse and throwing the keyboard [in frustration].”

LeSieur is the owner of PeopleCD, a software production company that creates programs to build an interaction between the Internet and software application. PeopleCD’s released the beta of its first program, a child-friendly web browser called KidCD, in late 2006.

When the beta was released, LeSieur let his grandson try it out on their home computer and was shocked by the result.

Zack loved it.

Now, LeSieur tells stories of how Zack will go up to the computer, turn it on, and start playing around with the computer on his own. “[The computer] is a tool that he really likes and enjoys, and that he never shows any violence for, which is really good for mom,” said LeSieur.

“He was able to get the results he was looking for,” he said. “Since it’s a full screen application, the only thing he could do was to click on an icon to get results. [Zack] was very happy with his results.”

Zack is now 6, and he didn’t like the updated version his grandfather created, KidCD 2.0. Other young children who had been using KidCD 1.0 had a hard time changing the browser pages to view the other icons accessible and had just been clicking on those they could see. LeSieur changed the settings so that the icons would switch every hour to allow a variety of websites. It was this feature Zack did not care for.

“Autistic children like things when they are very organized. It’s in place, and they know they fill find a result right there,” LeSieur said.

In order to continue the successful relations Zack was having with the computer, his grandfather came up with an alternate version of 2.0. In this version, the main page was an aquarium (Zack’s favorite), and included mouse animation and stationary icons.

“He was so happy, even if [he] doesn’t speak, you can see it from what he’s doing and how many times per day he goes back to the computer,” LeSieur said.

Thus, in April, the ZAC Browser was born.

Since LeSieur made the browser accessible from his website, zacbrowser.com, over 150,000 people have installed the free program on their computer.

“I can tell you it’s amazing how many e-mails per day we get from people where it has just changed their world,” he said.

Named for his grandson, Zac also stands for “Zone for Autistic Children”.

Autism is described by the National Autism Association as a bio-neurological developmental disability that generally appears before age three, impacting the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction, communication skills, and cognitive function. Individuals with autism typically have difficulties with communication and social interactions.

“People are always watching for a magic teaching tool [for autism],” said Temple Grandin, science professor at Colorado University, who has autism and is seen as a poster child for adults living with the affliction. “A computer is not the magic tool. A first grade teacher is.”

Grandin said she sees the ZAC Browser as a helpful alternative for autistic children, but not a stand-alone solution for development in autistic children.

“A computer program is not your primary way that you teach young autistic children,” she said.

While Grandin acknowledged that the ZAC browser is a great activity for autistic children, especially in place of video games, she emphasized that nothing can replace one-on-one interactions with other people.

Symptoms of autism as described by the Autism Society of America are notably little to no eye contact and lack of interest in forming relationships. Children who are diagnosed with autism need to be taught things like taking turns, manners and sharing.

“They’ve got to learn not to be rude,” Grandin said.

Those types of concepts are hard to teach over a web browser.

“A lot of autistic kids are spending a lot of time on video games, but you can’t get them to do anything else,” Grandin said.

Still, a few hours on the ZAC Browser can be very beneficial for an autistic child. The browser’s filter does not allow access negative or violent websites, and those available are geared towards education. Since he first started using the browser, Zack has learned new words and started speaking more.

He has also not been violent toward the computer since his grandfather installed the ZAC Browser.

As the first web browser created specifically for those with autism, Zac has already reached amazing success with those who have accessed it, LeSieur sees the ZAC Browser as changing the future of how software is created.

The ZAC Browser has helped adults with autism as well. A woman, who identified herself only as “Mwoolhiser” on the ZAC Browser forums, told other posters of her son Robbie’s success story. At 31 years old, Robbie loved the computer but was tpp easily distracted by so many options. After his mother downloaded the ZAC Browser, Robbie was using the computer by himself within 35 minutes.

When used in accompaniment with other teaching tools, the ZAC Browser can be a great way to teach autistic children. Nothing can replace the effect human contact has in positively influencing those with autism.

Grandin’s advice to parents: A lot of computer monitors flicker, a phenomenon that we tend not to notice with our eyes. Due to the eye problems that is oftentimes a symptom of autism, many autistic children notice the flicker that we do not, and this can lead to violence towards computers. While this type of outburst is not true for every autistic child, when given the choice between a laptop and a regular table-top monitor, 20 percent of autistic children choose the monitor. Laptop screens, by contrast, are made differently than other monitors and do not produce the same flicker. In order to prevent damage to the laptop keyboard, try hooking up an external keyboard for your child to use.

For other helpful tips from Dr. Temple Grandin, visit her “Teacher’s Tips” section on Autism.com.

Download the Zac Browser free from BlastMagazine.com

“Safari loads web pages 1.9 times faster than IE 7 and 1.7 times faster than Firefox 2,” Apple said in a statement. “Safari also runs JavaScript up to six times faster than other browsers, and is the first browser to support the latest innovative web standards needed to deliver the next generation of highly interactive Web 2.0 experiences.”

“Safari 3.1 for Mac and Windows is blazingly fast, easy to use and features an elegant user interface,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “And best of all, Safari supports the latest audio, video and animation standards for an industry-leading Web 2.0 experience.”

Safari 3.1 is the first browser to support video and audio tags in HTML 5 and the first to support CSS Animations. Safari also supports CSS Web Fonts, giving designers limitless choices of fonts to create stunning new web sites, Apple said.

Download it now at http://www.apple.com/safari