With the most recent update to Safari 3.2, Apple has added support in their user interface for extended validation SSL certificates, or EVSSL.
The problem with Safari 3.2′s implementation is that the UI is quite subtle, way in the upper-right hand corner. There’s no standard as to how to implement support for EV certs in browsers but clearly what Apple has done with Safari is mere compliance, not a thorough consideration of how best to show that information in the browser.
I’m biased but I clearly think Firefox 3.0′s implementation is better. No certificate mumbo-jumbo that no one outside of certificate authorities knows anything about. Clear and obvious language that is readable and understandable by anyone who would use a browser on the Internet.
Yeah, it seemed strange when I first saw it, but at least it will seem normal to long time Safari users (Since the padlock’s always been in the top right hand corner)
The Firefox dialog violates the user interface guidelines; this kind of modal dialogs is supposed to have the look the safari screenshot shows. The Firefox look is for non-modal panels with quick settings in applications that focus on visual information (like image editors).
The information in the dialog in the Firefox dialog is slightly better; the Safari dialog has not been updated for EV certificates.
The presentation of the presence of the EV certificate in Safari is better because it cannot be faked with a popup that has picture that looks like the navigation and no real navigation bar. It also doesn’t waste the amount of space Firefox’s solution does, and it doesn’t have the rounded corners that are another violation of the user interface guidelines (rounded corners are for search fields, normal fields like the address bar have square corners).
There is more to the Mac OS X user interface than glossy widgets. The purpose of these widgets has been carefully thought out, but it only works if the developers use them for the purpose they are supposed to be used for. Please, read the Mac OS X Human Interface Guidelines:
http://developer.apple.com/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/AppleHIGuidelines
Maybe it’s because Apple understands that EVSSL is (to put it kindly) not that important.