6 ms·

Calling the browser 'Safari' is weird, if you think about it. I remember trying to teach my mom how to use the iPad to access the internet: "First press the ho

by yen223 14y ago

Calling the browser 'Safari' is weird, if you think about it. I remember trying to teach my mom how to use the iPad to access the internet: "First press the home button" "Ok" "Now tap on Safari" "But I don't want to see animals" "..." And that's when I realized why Internet Explorer was so successful.

namank 14y ago
Do it again and see the reaction now. Safari is not for one time use.
zephjc 14y ago
I don't know - when I first heard the name, 'Safari' made sense to me after a moment of thinking about it. Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, and Safari - all named around the theme of discovery.
- donmelton 14y ago
  Or sports utility vehicles.
  - sigkill 14y ago
    Wow, that's actually spot on. 1. Lincoln Navigator - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Navigator http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Navigator 2. Ford Explorer - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Explorer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Explorer 3. Tata Safari - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Safari http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Safari
Someone 14y ago
Well, it fits with the theme. "Safari" is Swahili for "journey" or "trip" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safari#Etymology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safari#Etymology) That fits it in with the browsers of the time: Netscape Navigator Internet Explorer I would guess the code name 'Alexander' came from 'Alexander the Great', who not only traveled a lot, but also conquered, just like Safari was aiming to conquer the Internet. They must have ignored the 'die young' aspect of that connotation. Safari also has the right feelings associated with it with almost everybody. Some will think "hah, killing elephants", others will think "paying people to help me watch elephants, so that they no longer need or want to kill them", but nobody (nowadays) will associate negative thoughts (exploiting the natives; killing rare animals) with it. And, apparently, there also is a link with surfing the ocean: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfin_Safari http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfin_Safari. I think that may have led to thinking of the name, but I doubt that is strong enough to choose the name.
- donmelton 14y ago
  I'll write another post about why we called it "Alexander." You're not far from the mark about it being related to "Alexander the Great." But not for the reason you think.
  - gioele 14y ago
    Given that Safari/WebKit is based on KHTML, I'd say that Alexander was named after KDE's Konqueror.
    - donmelton 14y ago
      Yes, that is the relationship. All of the components were named after (K)conquerors.
- bgarbiak 14y ago
  Well, I can't see how "killing elephants" is different than "exploiting the natives; killing rare animals". Safari is phonetically a very nice name, however it still bears negative connotations. At least for some people.
  - dirtyaura 14y ago
    Great names often have some negative connotations. Caterpillar is such an excellent name, that almost everybody remembers it once they have seen it. That can't be said about many other building machinery brands. But you can bet that when that name was proposed, somebody raised objections because "you can't name our powerful machines after an insect" Virgin Airlines has very negative connotations ("Virgin communicates that we are inexperienced and not safe to fly, and that's a show-stopper in airline industry, Mr. Branson. shouldn't we consider another brand for our airline subsidiary?") It takes balls to pick a great brand name, because almost all names have minus sides.
    - philwelch 14y ago
      Another example: "iPad".
rmk2 14y ago
> "But I don't want to see animals" If we do not count the typical geek crowd (HN, /. etc.), then I am pretty sure most people go online to do exactly that: go on a safari, see animals (baby animals! cats! cats! dogs! cats!), babies, and Facebook is sort of a safari, allowing you to observe your online friends in their natural habitat. ;)
sbmassey 14y ago
I vaguely associated it with "Surfin' Safari" and the Beach Boys.
- dakotasmith 14y ago
  Me too. At the time it was released, the metaphor of “surfing the web” was still very strong.
- mturmon 14y ago
  And there's this: https://www.webkit.org/blog/ https://www.webkit.org/blog/
city41 14y ago
I've always felt Microsoft has been very good at grabbing very generic, "standard" names: Word, Office, Windows, Internet Explorer, etc. These names become very iconic in and of themselves and they just "feel" like the market leader, whether you are familiar with them or not.
vacri 14y ago
I really wish that MS didn't also name their file manager 'Explorer'. "Okay, now open Explorer... no, not Internet Explorer..."

by yen223 14y ago

namank 14y ago

Do it again and see the reaction now. Safari is not for one time use.

zephjc 14y ago

I don't know - when I first heard the name, 'Safari' made sense to me after a moment of thinking about it. Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, and Safari - all named around the theme of discovery.

donmelton 14y ago
Or sports utility vehicles.
- sigkill 14y ago
  Wow, that's actually spot on. 1. Lincoln Navigator - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Navigator http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Navigator 2. Ford Explorer - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Explorer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Explorer 3. Tata Safari - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Safari http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Safari

Someone 14y ago

Well, it fits with the theme. "Safari" is Swahili for "journey" or "trip" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safari#Etymology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safari#Etymology) That fits it in with the browsers of the time: Netscape Navigator Internet Explorer I would guess the code name 'Alexander' came from 'Alexander the Great', who not only traveled a lot, but also conquered, just like Safari was aiming to conquer the Internet. They must have ignored the 'die young' aspect of that connotation. Safari also has the right feelings associated with it with almost everybody. Some will think "hah, killing elephants", others will think "paying people to help me watch elephants, so that they no longer need or want to kill them", but nobody (nowadays) will associate negative thoughts (exploiting the natives; killing rare animals) with it. And, apparently, there also is a link with surfing the ocean: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfin_Safari http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfin_Safari. I think that may have led to thinking of the name, but I doubt that is strong enough to choose the name.

donmelton 14y ago
I'll write another post about why we called it "Alexander." You're not far from the mark about it being related to "Alexander the Great." But not for the reason you think.
- gioele 14y ago
  Given that Safari/WebKit is based on KHTML, I'd say that Alexander was named after KDE's Konqueror.
  - donmelton 14y ago
    Yes, that is the relationship. All of the components were named after (K)conquerors.
bgarbiak 14y ago
Well, I can't see how "killing elephants" is different than "exploiting the natives; killing rare animals". Safari is phonetically a very nice name, however it still bears negative connotations. At least for some people.
- dirtyaura 14y ago
  Great names often have some negative connotations. Caterpillar is such an excellent name, that almost everybody remembers it once they have seen it. That can't be said about many other building machinery brands. But you can bet that when that name was proposed, somebody raised objections because "you can't name our powerful machines after an insect" Virgin Airlines has very negative connotations ("Virgin communicates that we are inexperienced and not safe to fly, and that's a show-stopper in airline industry, Mr. Branson. shouldn't we consider another brand for our airline subsidiary?") It takes balls to pick a great brand name, because almost all names have minus sides.
  - philwelch 14y ago
    Another example: "iPad".

rmk2 14y ago

> "But I don't want to see animals" If we do not count the typical geek crowd (HN, /. etc.), then I am pretty sure most people go online to do exactly that: go on a safari, see animals (baby animals! cats! cats! dogs! cats!), babies, and Facebook is sort of a safari, allowing you to observe your online friends in their natural habitat. ;)

sbmassey 14y ago

I vaguely associated it with "Surfin' Safari" and the Beach Boys.

dakotasmith 14y ago
Me too. At the time it was released, the metaphor of “surfing the web” was still very strong.
mturmon 14y ago
And there's this: https://www.webkit.org/blog/ https://www.webkit.org/blog/

city41 14y ago

I've always felt Microsoft has been very good at grabbing very generic, "standard" names: Word, Office, Windows, Internet Explorer, etc. These names become very iconic in and of themselves and they just "feel" like the market leader, whether you are familiar with them or not.

vacri 14y ago

I really wish that MS didn't also name their file manager 'Explorer'. "Okay, now open Explorer... no, not Internet Explorer..."