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I have been using Safari for Windows at work since it was released in 2007. I have tried to be patient with it, because I know Apple, except for iTunes, is not in the business of making applications for Windows. With the most recent release 3.2.1 in November of last year, I have not seen much improvement from the first version. Let’s keep in mind I am using Windows XP.

I am extremely hard on my browsers. I will have several instances of them open at one time with multiple tabs on each one. Java is crucial to me being able to preform my job, which involves being logged into several devices via URL at the same time. If you have worked with a router via a web browser before, you can get an idea of what I am saying, but multiply that by 25.

That being established, let’s talk about the performance of Safari versus Internet Exploder 6, which is my alternative at work. We do not use Internet Exploder 7 due to incompatibility with some portions of our intranet build. I like the look and feel of Safari over IE any day of the week. I especially like the built in Google search that Safari has, which is missing in IE 6. I know IE 7 has this feature, but I don’t have that option.

Safari will crash on me between three and six times a night for various reasons. Most of the time I don’t know why it crashes, because it will simple freeze and stop responding to input. Other times I get the wonderful “Safari needs to quit” dialog box. Either way, it’s a pain in the butt to have to restart everything I have open in Safari.

On the other hand, IE 6 only crashes when I try to open a PDF file or go to a site that uses flash. At least I can predict that and avoid it. Safari does not give any warning at all.

Bottom line here is if you are forced to use Windows like I am, then I cannot recommend Safari at this time. It is just too buggy to be a good alternative to Internet Exploder. I understand some of it has to do with the image on the machine I am using and various other factors, but in my experience, Safari just plain sucks for Windows currently. In the same boat? I would like to hear your opinions.