Bug 19706 – Windows Unlike Mac Install

• Status: RESOLVED
• Resolution: INVALID
• Component: Evangelism

[Dave Cronk]

Webkit on the Mac installs like Safari and looks like Safari.  Webkit on Windows requires several nerdy steps.  Firefox handles beta installs just like normal installs on both the Mac and Windows.  Since it's important to win over developers on Windows, Webkit should install on Windows in the same way it does on the Mac.  The present install makes it look like Windows is an afterthought.

[Matt Lilek]

> Webkit on the Mac installs like Safari and looks like Safari.
WebKit and Safari are two different things.  The nightlies you download are for use WITH Safari, they do not replace Safari.

> Webkit on Windows requires several nerdy steps.
Unzipping a file and double clicking a batch file?

> Firefox handles beta installs just like normal installs on both the Mac and Windows.
The nightlies aren't "betas", they are just builds from whatever was the current svn revision at the time it was built.  They don't go thru any QA process or stabilization before they're uploaded, unlike a beta.  Not to mention that a Firefox download is both the engine and the browser, not just the engine.

> Since it's important to win over developers on Windows, Webkit
> should install on Windows in the same way it does on the Mac.
The nightlies aren't really meant for third party application developers.  They're for people that would like to test a newer version of WebKit with Safari.  Really, if someone *did* download a nightly and try to link their project against it, it would be easier on Windows than Mac since the frameworks are buried in the launcher bundle instead of right there in the unzipped contents.

> The present install makes it look like Windows is an afterthought.
Patches for improving the nightlies on Windows are always welcome.  Issues with the Windows Installer-style Safari application install should be filed at <https://bugreport.apple.com/>