On: Safari is released to the world

[mikeash]

A few hundred million iOS and Android devices would no longer be able to access the web.

[parfe → mikeash]

For about 8 seconds before Android users downloaded Firefox.

iOS on the other hand is a prison so I suppose those users would just be screwed.

[mikeash → parfe]

What exactly is your argument, that it's not important because people could use something else if they had to? Does anything qualify as "important" with that definition?

[parfe → mikeash]

Useful, sure. the original poster dubbed it "one of the most important pieces of software in the world."

[GHFigs → parfe]

There seems to be some confusion about what "it" refers to. You keep referring to Safari. The original poster referred to KHTML, which for most intents and purposes "turned into" WebKit. That's how I and apparently most others understood him to mean.

[mikeash → parfe]

That doesn't actually address either of my questions.

[ricardobeat → mikeash]

@bennytjia read this thread slowly.

WebKit, the rendering engine originally used in Safari (not Safari the application), nowadays powers Chrome, iOS, Android, BB and a hundred other browsers/platforms. In simple words: the absolute majority of mobile browsers use webkit, plus >50% of desktops/laptops.

[bennytjia → mikeash]

so please tell me how safari is important?

[micampe → bennytjia]

Not Safari. WebKit.