BrowseX

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Rhino
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Joined: Wed 04 May 2005, 13:28
Location: Cincinnati, OH, USA
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BrowseX

#1 Post by Rhino »

On the advice of a fellow puppian, I installed BrowseX (insert juvenile giggling here) and am giving it a look.

I got the file http://browsex.com and put used tkZip to untar it in its own directory /root/my-applications/brx. When you run the install script it puts several folders there, so it is best to give it its own /brx directory so removal can be swift and simple. I had to manually unzip it using rxvt and the unzip brx.zip in its directory.

Before you run the install script, be sure you have the tkhtml.pup file installed.

In Rxvt, Run sh install and away you go.

There are a few bugs I noticed immediately. I had to set preferences...network to internal DNS caching. It also doesn't like my mousewheel when I scroll to the top or bottom of a page and brings up a pupup error/debug window. I was using Fluxbox and foudn it performed better with fvwm95.

Pros:
--It is written in tcl/tk like mush of Puppy so should save on shared libraries.
--Lots of widgets can be inserted easily I would imagine
--It has mail, talk (phone?) and address book all written in tcl/tk
--tabbed browsing
--4Mb

Cons: (so far)
--Looks dated kinda like Dillo
-- buggy, but may be fixable
--doesn't seem to work with our chat on the forum out of the box. I'm sure it would need a plug-in if that is even an option.
--seems a little slow to get to a new webpage...maybe that is just me. SUper fast once cached though
-- With Mozilla, Firefox and Opera, who needs another browser?

Summary:
I'll play with it this weekend and post my experiences with it. It might be a browser to watch due to its customizability, but certainly is not ready for prime-time Puppy at the moment. Puppy is too polished and this seems not quite as user friendly as Mozilla et al. It might be a very respectable replacement for Dillo however and something that could move along with the project as a second browser due to the ability to add in functionality with tcl/tk

I'll keep you posted.

Walt H

re: BrowseX

#2 Post by Walt H »

I'm not sure, but it seems this project may no longer be in active development, at least judging from the web site. The BrowseX home page says it was last updated January 30, 2003, and the press clippings are from even earlier.

Unfortunately, this seems to be the nature of the beast in Linux: lots of worthwhile projects begin but most bite the dust before they ever really get rolling or, even worse, just as soon as they develop a loyal following, as seems to be the case with my current distro of choice, Feather Linux. The developer has stepped away from the project and no one has stepped in to fill the void. (Unfortunately, I lack the necessary skills.) Hence my visits to the kennel to see what's new with Puppy and see whether it might be a good fit as a replacement OS.

Walt
walt_huntsman [at] myrealbox [dot] com

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Rhino
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#3 Post by Rhino »

I think you are correct on the demise of the BrowseX project. And sorry to hear that about Feather Linux. I'm not too up on my understanding of this open-source stuff, but what is to keep someone from taking the source code from BrowseX and modifying it (mostly squashing bugs) into something useful under a new name. How does this work?

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BarryK
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#4 Post by BarryK »

Yeah, I corresponded with the developer of BrowseX about a year ago, and he stated that he has moved on. So, it's dead.
Basically only html 3.2 also.
No Javascript, so the chat room won't work.

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Lobster
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Light wait over, 'bout Featherweight, way in

#5 Post by Lobster »

As far as I am aware the chat room (click chat - 3rd row of text on this screen) uses flash. However implementing javascript is a major undertaking for a browser that does not have it. It is used on a lot of websites. There was a wonderful little browser called "Light" (I think there is info on the Puppy Projects page) but this project too is dead. I got it working and was saddened by its demise. It was cute. As Rhino says we have 3 fine browser options and I believe there are cut down versions of Mozlla such as Kaleon that are (still?) being developed.

Look at Dangerous Rons Featherweight for a potential replacement and developer of Feather. I liked featherweight a lot but never managed to install to HD. Think of it as a cut down bare essential Knoppix. Long term I fear it may not be viable :(

The long term stability and viability of a distro is developer dependent. That is why we require people to experiment with tweaking, to look under the hood and explore avenues that interest them.

What I am thinking of developing for Power Puppy (Puppy promotion and special development for hardened Pups), perhaps if John Murga or other keen Pups are interested, is a sort of on line database of projects. Their position and status. Areas that need exploring and attention. People going a particular way - their progress reports and so on.

:)
Puppy Raspup 8.2Final 8)
Puppy Links Page http://www.smokey01.com/bruceb/puppy.html :D

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