Web browsers
We recommend the use of Apple Safari on Mac OS X and Microsoft Internet Explorer on classic Mac OS.
Our desktop support staff cannot provide support for every Web browser, despite the fact that they may look similar and behave much the same way.
If a particular Web application on campus does not support or is not certified on your browser of choice, the Web application may still function, or you may need to choose a different browser to complete your work. You should always consult the browser requirements for the Web application you are using to determine if your browser is compatible.
A modern Web browser is one that should support at least:
- HTML version 4
- Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
- Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption
- JavaScript
- Java (preferably Java 2 Standard Edition, generally provided by the operating system on the Mac platform)
Mac OS X
Apple Safari
In general, we support Apple Safari on Mac OS X, as of Mac OS X 10.3 and later. This is the browser included with the operating system. It is being actively developed by Apple, and is based on open source frameworks (such as KHTML) from the Konqueror browser on Linux. Apple is also throwing its weight behind Safari, working with enterprise Web applications vendors to ensure that the browser works well with their systems.
If you are using Mac OS X 10.3 and later, Safari is included with the operating system. Version 1.3 of Safari, which is part of and requires Mac OS X 10.3.9, should be considered a healthy minimum version for everyday use. Mac OS X 10.4 includes at least Safari 2.0, and is preferable in most situations. Mac OS X 10.2 users can install Safari by downloading it from Apple, but this older edition of Safari is not as compatible as 1.3 or 2.0, and thus we cannot fully recommend it. Updates to Safari are available through the Mac OS X Software Update mechanism, and should be installed because they generally provide important security updates to the browser.
However, not every Web application at RIT will run -- or is certified by its vendor to run -- on Safari. There may also be problems with some applications with the version of Safari you are be using, particular if you have not kept it updated or are using Mac OS X 10.2. The latest version of Safari tends to run on and be tied to the most current version of Mac OS X.
Therefore, we strongly suggest that you upgrade to Mac OS X 10.3.9 or 10.4 to get the latest possible version of Safari available on Mac OS X. We urge you to contact us to report problems with Web applications in this browser, as we have an active relationship with Apple that can lead to fixes and improvements that will benefit Mac OS X users on campus.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Microsoft Internet Explorer also comes pre-installed on Mac OS X 10.1 through many editions of 10.3. We continue to support this browser in a legacy sense, but cannot fully recommend its use. We have a good rapport with Microsoft's Macintosh business unit (MacBU), but they have unfortunately decided to end development of Internet Explorer at version 5.2.3 due to debut of Safari. We may see updates if there are gross security problems with this application, but otherwise, we expect no further releases of it. Therefore, if you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer on Mac OS X, we suggest you begin finding another browser that suits your needs (and we suggest Safari).
Internet Explorer is pre-installed in Mac OS X. Updates to it are are available through the Mac OS X Software Update mechanism. It will not necessarily be available on Mac OS X 10.4 or newer operating systems.
Other unsupported browsers
A popular alternative browser that Mozilla Firefox, which runs on Mac OS X and other platforms. As of this writing, we do not support Firefox on Mac OS X, but realize that there is great interest in it. The installation and updates for Firefox are available from GetFirefox.org. If you install and use Firefox, we do strongly recommend keeping it up to date, for compatibility and security reasons.
We do not currently support other alternative browsers on Mac OS X, including the Mozilla suite, Mozilla Camino, Opera, OmniGroup's OmniWeb, iCab and others.
Mac OS classic
As of this writing, we focus our support for Web browsers on the "Mac OS classic" platform solely on Microsoft Internet Explorer 5. If you do not have the latest version of this browser for Mac OS 8 or 9, you may download it (while still available) from Microsoft MacTopia.
If your work involves heavy use of the World Wide Web, we believe you will be best served by upgrading to Mac OS X. This will give you a greater selection of modern Web browsers, which support the latest Web standards and security.
