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Apple Releases WebKit
rohanl writes "Apple has responded to recent criticisms from the KHTML developers by providing a live CVS repository (including all history) of WebCore, JavaScriptCore and the newly open sourced WebKit, public mailing list, irc channel and bug database. Details at the new webkit.opendarwin.org"
I think we need to wait and see if this is anymore use the KHTML developers before we go proclaiming Apple as the good guys... :)
Personally I hope it is, as it is a good show of how two groups with different agenda's can benefit from Open Source.
Jan
Jan
I'm so glad WebKit turns out as BSD. GNUstep doesn't have enough developer, ie. to maintain its own gswebkit tree. But now it seems it has everything to go web browsing, free webkit and ObjC++.
It's noticeably faster than the version that ships with Tiger (and yes, it passes Acid2 :)
Do we know for certain that Apple's move to Intel is about DRM? You say it as though it were gospel but is this deepest of cynical views actually warranted? I don't think it necessarily is, although it could be useful in their wanting to ensure Mac OS X only runs on Macs, a policy which I thoroughly support (as I want Apple to stay in business).
:)
Fact is that some form of DRM is an essential prerequisite for an information-based economy, regardless of what the 'information wants to be free' types spout over here. I don't particularly like it, and I understand the fundamental problem with it (the black and white nature of computers versus the grey world of legal interpretation), but I do accept that it is necessary.
And I'd certainly choose Apple's over Microsoft's any day, because I believe that Apple is less inclined to screw the consumer over. On that I can only hope I'm right.
As to ThinkSecret, I've outlined my views on it before, but if you really think that free speech trumps any and all other rights then you won't mind if I publish your name, address, phone number and any other information you might like to keep secret because, well, my right to free speech trumps yours of privacy, right? On the other hand, if you do want your right to privacy, why shouldn't companies be able to keep certain things under wraps? (Note that I'm not advocating Enron-style behaviour - that is a very different kind of thing, but let's not muddy the waters here by calling ThinkSecret an outlet for whistleblowers. It's not. Really. It's not.)
Incidentally, as regards the switch, just make it. Assuming you're on Windows at the moment, you've got nothing to hold you back - it's really quite staggering the difference it makes to day-to-day tasks, but often quite hard to quantify using actual words. If you knew the pain, the stress, most of all the frustration I feel when I use Windows now....
If on Linux, I suppose ideological constraints more than anything would keep someone on that platform. As to the 'experience', well, these days I find I have so much more time to do what I want to do, rather than forever tweaking Linux's innards. (See here for more.)
iqu
[As Cies Breijs said]
My congratulations to all parties. Apple for beeing cooperative, and for giving back. To Zack Rusin http://www.kdedevelopers.org/blog/14 for sharing his opinion and reasoning, which openen up this issue.
If would be 'cool' if KDE-Konq and OSX-Safari use the same codebase for HTML-rendering and running JavaScripts. It would be 'cool' is KDE and Apple coders would work together on this.
Yet... if this will not be the case it already is a big help that both parties can view each others cvses/svns and bug databases.
I think once again Apple shows it really wants to play nice/fair with free/open-source movement.
Thanks for the good news :)
"Safari's tabbed browsing isn't as elegant."
Doing a feature comparison between the two browsers' implementation of tabbed browsing, all I can come up with is as follows:
Favicons
Safari: Not supported
Firefox: Site's favicon is displayed in tab
Verdict: Win for Firefox
Close button
Is there a single other significant difference?Safari: Each tab has its own close button
Firefox: Single close button to the extreme right of the tabs bar closes the active tab
Verdict: Win for Safari