Apple has released Safari 5.0.1, turning on Safari Extensions and introducing the Safari Extensions Gallery.
In June, Apple revealed that it would be adding support for third-party extensions, enabling them as a hidden option in Safari 5 to enable developers to build up a working repository.
That repository has now been collected as the Safari Extensions Gallery, accessible on the web, from the Safari menu or from the browser’s new Extensions preferences.
Users can download and install extensions from the gallery with a single click and they can subsequently be automatically updated. The new preferences panel allows for the enabling or disabling of individual — or all — the installed extensions.
Safari Extensions are built with HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript web standards, giving them all the same functionality as the best web apps. Every Safari Extension is signed with a digital certificate from Apple to prevent tampering and to verify that updates to the extension are from the original developer. Safari Extensions are sandboxed so they can’t access information on a user’s system or communicate with websites aside from those specified by the developer.
Safari 5.0.1 is available via Software Update. It also provides several security fixes and addresses a number of other issues, including the accuracy of Top Hit results, the stability of the Safari Reader shortcut, scrolling in MobileMe Mail, disappearing thumbnails on YouTube and more.
