appMac, creator of wkiosk, announced a new version. This new version uses Apple Safari HTML engine, and is a free upgrade for customers of wKiosk 2. Version 2.2 is still available, and uses Gecko.
Wonder why they switched?
One should note it requires 10.3. So perhaps, they are utilizing the smaller package (no need to install WebCore, as it’s ships with 10.3). Unlike Gecko, which has to be included.
I’ve used it before, but today I gave Safari a real go. Despite the fact that some bugs exist, it does a pretty good job. My biggest complement goes to the UI. It’s clean, simple, and totally Apple. It shares the same DNA as Steve Jobs.
I also like the snapback and iSync functionality. Some nice little Apple features make web browsing pleasant. Rendering is pretty good, fast, clean, and pretty compatible.
Still though, I favor Camino. From the pages I tested (including my own) it loaded faster, and had the best rendering of the two browsers (both of which blow Internet Explorer away). The biggest incompatibilities I’ve noted are mainly with JavaScript not functioning properly (especially sites with large complex scripts) or some XHTML pages. All of which Camino and Mozilla do very well.
IMHO the winner is still Camino, and the entire Gecko line of browsers, although Safari gets an honorable mention. It’s UI features are clearly superior.
I don’t think many sites will cater to KHTML browsers though. I think it’s much more likely for them to test in Netscape or other Gecko browsers, than KHTML based browsers. As a result, Gecko based browsers will most likely always have an upper hand in compatibility, unless KHTML manages to really keep up, despite the never ending obstacles that lie in it’s way.
A side note: I’m need to check out OmniWeb (the WebCore version), and give that a go. I haven’t gotten to that yet.