The new version of the default Mac browser, Safari RSS, that will be included in the newly announced Tiger operating system, will provide the ability to read RSS feeds — both RSS and Atom protocols — without leaving your browser. Safari will also integrate RSS-autodiscovery (Safari will automatically recognize if a website offers an RSS feed and, if so, provide an RSS button in the address bar that takes you to that feed) and the ability to view and sort RSS newsfeeds results from within the Safari browser. According to major news reports from the ongoing Apple Developers Conference, a high-touch addition in Safari RSS is the presence of a slider that allows the end user to select how long the newsfeeds excerpts presented in Safari RSS should be. Apple has also intelligently integrated an RSS search facility, something that I myself deem to be a critical tool of any effective RSS newsreader. With Apple taking RSS so-close to its slick browser, to the point of integrating RSS in its name, there is little doubt that RSS will further increase its foothold and rapid acceptance in the marketplace.

Some people have wondered if Safari RSS will hurt standalone RSS clients. Although I think Safari will be a satisfactory RSS client for many users, its functionality is nowhere near as complete as a that of a good standalone RSS client, such as the excellent NetNewsWire. Power users are going to want more than what Safari RSS offers, so I think there’s room for both, especially in an expanding market.

[Non-keynote] Safari RSS will also offer a new “Private Browsing” feature. When activated, Safari doesn’t keep track of any information from your browsing: No history, caches, information entered into forms, passwords, etc., are saved. Finally, in a welcome change for many, many Mac users, Safari RSS will provide the ability to save Web pages as archives — including all images and links — for later viewing.