I was thinking specifically about -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;. Without this, Safari on macOS renders fonts using subpixel antialiasing (for backwards compatibility reasons I suppose, macOS abandoned it some years ago). As a result of applying this CSS snippet, fonts are rendered visually lighter and more consistent with other operating systems.
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But less consistent with the rest of the Mac. If you prefer the thinner font display, you can enable it system-wide on your Mac.
i personally thought the new website was a massive improvement over the old one. truly, i had no love for the previous design, it made me sad that that (and the design that came before that one) was the public-facing image of the Swift language for so many years.
i think there is absolutely nothing wrong with the âself-aggrandizingâ text in the landing page. if Swift doesnât promote itself, who else will? i wouldnât expect people to choose a programming language that not even its marketers have confidence in.
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I LOVE this new design. Itâs beautiful and does a much better job of selling the language as well as explaining why you might want to use it. I particularly enjoy seeing the big, honkinâ âInstallâ button up top which links to the swiftly install instructions.
The banner image looks gorgeous at big sizes, but I agree that thereâs a contrast/legibility issue with the top text when the size of the window forces it to overlap the white/pink part of the image.
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I think there is a distinction to be made between marketing speak that merely self-aggrandizes and statements that can be read as putting down the competition. It's fair to question if it reflects well on the community that as an opening bid we claim to be "the" or "the only" programming language with positive qualities X, Y, and Zâparticularly if some of those qualities are judged subjectively. Whether intended or not, some proportion of the audience will read into those statements the corollary: namely, that we find other languages lacking in those qualities.
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we⊠should be putting down the competition? that is what is meant by competition, after all.
i choose my cell carrier because it talks about how slow the other carriers are. i choose my insurance because it talks about how expensive the other insurers are. i think this is just an inherent part of participating in a free market system.
I avoided using the word "lie" when I was describing the text previously, because it felt a shade too harsh. But Swift describing itself as "the only language that can span from embedded and kernel, to server and apps" is a lie*. Self promotion is good, lying is bad because the reader knows it's a lie, and will assume everything else is a lie.
(* I suspect people will fall on different points on the "it's just marketing" to "lie" spectrum, and where they fall determines how they feel. It's not a huge deal, such things are only intended to get people to try it, and then be forgotten about. I feel that being plain is better, and the verbiage does make me personally cringe, but it's not the end of the world. I still think the design is a massive improvement.)
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I also think it is a massive improvement, some of the âissuesâ mentioned above will surely be iterated on if relevant over time, in future point releases - this was clearly a major release 
With regard to the verbiage, I think the key point for a visitor is whether they feel they are a targeted use case for the language.
I was super happy to see the emphasis on server-side, embedded, etc, this is the correct approach to widen the pitch for the language to newcomers - especially important for those who might view Apple tech as insular. Really the right call - no one will doubt Swift will be great for building Apple-specific apps, even if that is not front and center on the language web site. (Then at Apple.com I would expect a different emphasis). Kudos.
The corollary to this is then that the important thing is âwow, swift really targets my server-side/embedded/xxx platformâ, not that it is âthe only oneâ that can do it - I donât really care. I care if it targets what I need it for.
For our customers, having server-side development on Linux there is super important (the macOS support is taken for granted!).
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Great new look. Some details of the layout maybe should get improved, but above all, the texts mentioned above should be corrected very soon (starting with âSwift is the powerful âŠâ which does not make much sense to me in this form).
The redesigned website looks great. Love the design and animations. Congratulations to everyone involved!
Looks good, but the marketing hype should be toned down.
Provide information as much and accurate as possible, but let the users decide. 
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Random data point: I see that the redesign was on the orange site a few days ago. The hyperbole was immediately noticed.
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we⊠should be putting down the competition? that is what is meant by competition , after all.
I thought competition meant trying to make the best product, not lying and defacing (marketing lies are still lies, it doesn't excuse them). This aggressive and dishonest attitude usually makes things worse for everyone as the focus becomes fighting instead of innovating.
Instead of lying and putting others down, let's try explaining what value we bring to the table.
I believe in cooperation to improve things and build a better world, not lies and deceit.
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âSwift is the only language that scales from embedded devices and kernels to apps and cloud infrastructureâ isnât a lie, itâs just Puffery.
you could write an entire embedded-to-cloud spanning stack in x86_64 assembly, that doesnât mean it will be easy or enjoyable. the word only here comes with an implicit want to use â no reasonable person could conclude that only should be taken literally in that sentence since it would be a nonsensical statement â any language could be used to build anything, what we are really comparing here is how easy and/or enjoyable the language is to use to accomplish that goal.
puffery is a component of presentation in marketing. not including puffery in your marketing materials is a lot like showing up to a first date in sweats and no makeup. at some level, itâs an indicator of effort, it shows that you actually care about the potential customerâs perception of your product.
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general praising speech, typically produced by a seller, which is not expected to be relied upon
a statement that no reasonable person would take seriously
Is this desirable?
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No, it isn't, I've submitted a pull to tone it down.
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well, think about all the advertisements you are bombarded with every day. some of these ads are more effective than others.
when i get a hair product ad, the ad shows a video of a glamorous supermodel with a breathy voice who says if i buy the product then i will have supermodel hair! is this an honest depiction? of course not, buying a bottle of hair product will not turn me into a supermodel. but at an emotional level, this type of ad works, and itâs a lot more effective than a earnest analysis of the pharmacological tradeoffs of using that particular hair product. if the potential customer is interested in that information, they can always read the label on the back of the bottle. but you do not lead an advertisement with a balanced analysis of tradeoffs.
well, think about all the advertisements you are bombarded with every day. some of these ads are more effective than others.
Counterpoint: are we targeting consumers or developers and businesses?
Iâm not going to chose my technology stack based on feeling, if Iâm gonna invest a lot of money in something I donât care about marketing I want to know the tradeoffs.
Rust couldâve called itself a lot of things but it called itself âA language empowering everyone to build reliable and efficient software.â instead of the only one. Thatâs also marketing but it doesnât take me for an idiot.
Other examples:
â.NET is the free, open-source, cross-platform framework for building modern apps and powerful cloud services.â
âOracle Java is the #1 programming language and development platform. It reduces costs, shortens development timeframes, drives innovation, and improves application services. Java continues to be the development platform of choice for enterprises and developers.â
This is a lie as itâs no longer #1, this is one of the many reasons I donât like Java.
Kotlin is âConcise. Multiplatform. Fun.â
âZig is a general-purpose programming language and toolchain for maintaining robust , optimal and reusable software.â
âPython is a programming language that lets you work quickly and integrate systems more effectively.â
I feel those are a lot more reasonable and also donât set you up with huge expectations that multiplies your frustration when the compiler crashes or the build system canât adapt to your existing project.
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âweâ are targeting both, but the website homepage is going to be primarily geared towards âconsumerishâ casual audiences more so than businesses.
businesses would probably be choosing a programming language based on the experiences of their employees, and the content on the homepage probably wouldnât factor into their decision at all.
compiler crashes and the shortcomings of SwiftPM are absolutely not things we should be mentioning in our 60 second pitch.
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Of course not, but we know they exist so letâs not set unrealistic expectations on ourselves either.
I absolutely love Swift and I want to share and teach it but Iâd be uncomfortable recommending it with this marketing in place.
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