Which Browser

[juniorm33]

Sorry not sure if this was worthy of a new topic or not....

What will be the default browser installed?

What are you looking for in your browser?
Memory foot print
Performance
Basic browsing/All the bells and whistles
Plugins
Gestures
And sure you could say all the above but just wondering what your priorities are and which browser would be most suitable. Could run full firefox with all the plugins available, or would you prefer say chrome, fennec, is konqueror still going, what about opera etc?
I don't know the state of browsers on Linux, it's been a few years since I've used it.

 

[Gary13579]

Performance = low memory > basic browsing > gestures > plugins.

Plugins are really, highly overrated imho. AdBlock can be done outside of the browser, and you don't need virus protection like NoScript on a Linux machine... so, there really isn't anything else I'd want.

Chromium will overall be the best browser, assuming it runs decently on an ARM CPU (which it should).

 

[Jourdy288]

It depends on the speed of the computer, internet connection, and what I'm looking to accomplish. I usually use Flock, it has a bigger footprint than Firefox, but is compatible with almost all FF plugins, plus it comes with a bunch of other great built in features.
But if I want speed, Chrome/Safari is the way to go.

 

[marshal]

Webkit-based is probably the way to go performance wise.

That being said the gecko based browser on the nokia n800 is pretty decent... actually much more usable that Fennec (which is still in beta). Fennec has always felt quite slow to me and really disappointed me. Unless they make some quick progress I fail to see how Mozilla could be competitive with it on the mobile market.

 

[tristan.clark]

The only reason to run anti-virus on a Linux box is to stop virus spreading to Windows boxes.

A light weight browser that might be useful to some, especially if you don't have much bandwidth could be Dillo. http://www.dillo.org/

 

[Gary13579]

The only reason to run anti-virus on a Linux box is to stop virus spreading to Windows boxes.

What? Why are you bringing up anti virus' in a topic about web browsers?

And why did you completely get that statement wrong?

 

[lulzfish]

The only reason to run anti-virus on a Linux box is to stop virus spreading to Windows boxes.

A light weight browser that might be useful to some, especially if you don't have much bandwidth could be Dillo. http://www.dillo.org/

Sea turtles eat a wide variety of food.

The default browser is said to be Firefox 3, but I think I'm going to use either Chromium (Not sure how this is set up, but Chrome is partially open so we'll see) or Arora, which is a badass Qt-Webkit browser that came out of nowhere a few years ago. It's quite nice, but the Ubuntu package is broken, so I've only been able to use it in a VM. Come to think of it, it'll probably run in Windows, too. Who knows.

 

[Squidge]

you don't need virus protection like NoScript on a Linux machine...

The only reason to run anti-virus on a Linux box is to stop virus spreading to Windows boxes.

What? Why are you bringing up anti virus' in a topic about web browsers?

It was relevent and on-topic, unlike your response

Firefox will be the default, but there will be other options.

As for plugins, I would agree on such a limited device, but its less messing about with the software if we just allow it so you can use things like Adblock and peoples other favourite plugins. It's pointless trying to cram them into the browser as it'll only cause a nightmare to update later and people not wanting them to complain.

 

[Gary13579]

My post was off topic? I suggest re-reading what I was talking about....

NoScript is an addon for FireFox which prevents the use of Javascript on all pages, except ones in a white list. This prevents any exploits within the JavaScript engine from being used to install viruses. When we are talking about addons, this is a very big and widely used addon, but it is not needed for Linux machines, so I brought it up.

And it is not an antivirus. It simply helps prevent a gigantic hole in which it's possible to GET viruses.

 

[-Tj-]

Plugins are really, highly overrated imho. AdBlock can be done outside of the browser, and you don't need virus protection like NoScript on a Linux machine... so, there really isn't anything else I'd want.

I have 14 plugins that I use regularly, 3 of which I use on a daily basis. I wouldn't call them overrated since they've made my internet life way easier than other browsers have, even with the occasional memory leak.

 

[Gary13579]

Plugins are really, highly overrated imho. AdBlock can be done outside of the browser, and you don't need virus protection like NoScript on a Linux machine... so, there really isn't anything else I'd want.

I have 14 plugins that I use regularly, 3 of which I use on a daily basis. I wouldn't call them overrated since they've made my internet life way easier than other browsers have, even with the occasional memory leak.

Would you mind sharing what those plugins are? At least the 3 you use daily.

 

[-Tj-]

Sure, in order on the addon list:

Adblock Plus*
Converter
DownThemAll!
Firefox Companion for eBay
Flashblock*
FoxReplace
Google Toolbar for Firefox*
Grab and Drag
Greasemonkey
Menu Editor*
Pearl Crescent Page Saver Basic
Save Image in Folder
Tab Kit*
Update Scanner*

The ones I marked with * are the ones I use the most frequently. The rest are more casual convenience. There's a few more I haven't listed that are there "just in case".

Edit: I just realized these are extensions I listed, not plugins, so maybe I misunderstood. I'll leave the list just in case.

 

[musicalwoods]

I would be a very sad person if I didn't have:

Greasemonkey*
AdblockPlus*
User Agent Switcher
FastestFox (Loads next page after reading 2/3rd of the one you are on (Seamless GP32X threads and Google searches)
Weave (History, Bookmark sync)
Grab and Drag
CompactMenu2

*Availiable with Mozilla-based browsers and Chromium


Greasemonkey by far is the most important. I have made many scripts for sites I visit regularly that make them more small-screen friendly.

 

[mindlord]

The only plugin I use is adblock plus. If there was a way to strip Firefox down even more, like no history, bookmarks, or even theming... I'd be happy.

 

[Gary13579]

FastestFox (Loads next page after reading 2/3rd of the one you are on (Seamless GP32X threads and Google searches)

Precaching is a nasty and stupid technology. It wastes bandwidth and breaks shit left and right. Not to mention, it shouldn't even work on gp32x. If it does, you have some *serious* issues ahead.

 

[emil10001]

I use Noscript and Tab kit. Noscript is helpful for more than just virus prevention, I use it to keep my bandwidth usage down, which is important when I'm tethered to my phone. It makes a *big* difference in load times on some sites with Noscript enabled, and thus, has improved my browsing experience.

Tab Kit is awesome because on my laptop I usually have a ton of tabs open (in the hundreds?), and it helps me organize them, but that wouldn't really be much of an issue on the pandora.

 

[Gary13579]

I use Noscript and Tab kit. Noscript is helpful for more than just virus prevention, I use it to keep my bandwidth usage down, which is important when I'm tethered to my phone. It makes a *big* difference in load times on some sites with Noscript enabled, and thus, has improved my browsing experience.

You might wanna look into a proxy server for tethering. I run a standard SOCKSv5 proxy on a server which re encodes images to be lower quality, gzip's all webpages (most servers don't gzip... I still want to know why), removes javascript etc.

If it causes problems I can pass it params, say I had this: http://www.google.com/search?q=test

To disable javascript removal, I'd do: google.com/search?q=test&js=true , to remove image transcoding: google.com/search?q=test&img=high, etc...

 

[WizardStan]

And it is not an antivirus. It simply helps prevent a gigantic hole in which it's possible to GET viruses.

There have basically been two viruses* in the history of Linux, and they have long since been patched away. There have been others, but they didn't gain any kind of traction. "One theft does not constitute a crime spree" sort of thing.
It isn't impossible to get a virus on a Linux, there's just so many layers of security done right that it may as well be. Your Pandora probably has a better chance of being stolen than of getting a virus.

*For the definition of virus that means self propagation. If you download a file of questionable origin and then execute it as root, you deserve what you get.

 

[Kramy]

you don't need virus protection like NoScript on a Linux machine...

The only reason to run anti-virus on a Linux box is to stop virus spreading to Windows boxes.

What? Why are you bringing up anti virus' in a topic about web browsers?

It was relevent and on-topic, unlike your response

Firefox will be the default, but there will be other options.

As for plugins, I would agree on such a limited device, but its less messing about with the software if we just allow it so you can use things like Adblock and peoples other favourite plugins. It's pointless trying to cram them into the browser as it'll only cause a nightmare to update later and people not wanting them to complain.

But a properly locked down Windows box doesn't need antivirus, either.

I find many linux users have an "invulnerable OS" syndrome. Linux may be largely virus immune, but it's still malware vulnerable. Apparently malware on corporate PCs is a ~50/50 split between Linux/Unix and Windows. The difference is, most is custom tailored for the business that it is attacking or spying on.

Would you mind sharing what those plugins are? At least the 3 you use daily.

• Adblock Plus
• Canadian English Dictionary
• Colourful Tabs
• DOM Inspector
• Download Statusbar
• FireFTP
• FlagFox
• Ghostery
• Gmail Notifier
• Greasemonkey
• IE NetRender
• IE Tab
• Lazarus
• Menu Editor
• Snap Links Plus
• User Agent Switcher

*For the definition of virus that means self propagation. If you download a file of questionable origin and then execute it as root, you deserve what you get.

This is what gets most Windows users. That and using programs with gaping holes in them.

If you avoid those two things, and have a firewalled router, it's possible to go years running admin privs without AV, without catching a thing.

The biggest causes of infection are stupidity and misconfiguration.

 

[Prometheus]

Regarding Firefox add-ons, I wouldn't dream of being without NoScript, Flashblock, and Adblock on any of my machines (none of which run Windows, as an aside). I just stick to the old adage of "Better safe than sorry", as being complacent about security is daft, in my book.