Safari 5.0.1 adds on add-ons as extension gallery opens

The Safari extension gallery is open for business. Safari 5.0.1 has arrived, bringing extensions to Apple's browser.

Unlike Firefox, installing a new add-on doesn't require you to restart the browser -- you simply install and start using the extension. You can disable and uninstall add-ons in an extensions tab in the preferences menu, accessed by clicking on the cog icon in the top right. One of Apple's sliding switches also lets you kill and reactivate all extensions in one go.

You can now download add-ons from the extensions gallery. There are official extensions for Twitter, Bing and eBay, along with a host of other bolt-ons, all built with HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript and approved by Apple. We like the nifty Facebook Photo Zoom, which embiggens photos from their thumbnails, saving you from having to scroll through the tortuous Facebook photo gallery.

Safari also offers a Cover Flow interface for your history, a reader option that pulls multi-page articles into one page, and a grid of 12 top sites that learns your favourites. Safari also has the attraction of syncing with its mobile version on your iPhone, although you can also sync your desktop Firefox browsing with the Firefox Home app. Download Safari for free from Apple's Web site.