Browsersphere

Did you know that Namoroka is the name of a national park in Madagascar?  Furthermore, and more appropriate to readers of Browsersphere, it has also been chosen as the codename for the next version of Firefox after Firefox 3.5.  While the initial version number is planned to be 3.6, that will most likely change depending on the scope of the changes slated for that particular version.  Based on the fact that the version, also being referred to as “Firefox.next,” is scheduled to be released in “early-to-mid 2010,” my best guess would be that Namoroka will eventually turn into Firefox 4.

The following notes on Namoroka stood out to me upon reading the release’s wiki page:

• Improving performance is one of the key goals (though, I’m pretty sure this is always the case).
• Personalization will be a focus:  “Act in the user’s interests, leveraging existing knowledge about their identity and browsing habits.”
• Certain aspects of the browsing experience may be baked into the browser itself instead of requiring interaction with the associated web page:  “Provide support for executing common web-based tasks, mash-up style, without having to visit a website.”
• There will be a focus on providing a shell for desktop-like web apps, likely similar to the Site Specific Browsers (SSBs) feature that Fluid enables:  “Act as the intermediary between web applications and the user’s OS desktop.”
• The release will be based on Gecko 1.9.2, a later version of the branch that was originally released with the first Firefox 3 alpha (Gran Paradiso) back in December of 2006.

Obviously, the version of Firefox in the limelight right now is version 3.5, but it is still interesting to look ahead every now and then and see what type of road is being paved for our collective web browsing future.  And yes, I know this post is very Firefox-centric, but I’ll certainly post with similar “glances ahead” for other browsers if I can just get my hands on the material.

Tags: Codenames, Features, Firefox, Firefox 3.5, Fluid, Future, Gecko, Gecko 1.9, Gran Paradiso, Namoroka, Site Specific Browsers

Despite almost feeling like I was there, thanks to the folks I’m following on Twitter, I was very interested in finding out more about what was discussed at the SXSW panel, Browser Wars III: The Platform Wins, which went down yesterday.  Now that I’ve read SXSW: Big Browsers Butt Heads, I think it’s pretty safe to say that no wars actually broke out (despite some people’s wishes).  There was some interesting discussion, though, ranging from Google’s choice to go with WebKit for Chrome instead of Gecko, to what web standards have in common with sausage, to how JavaScript performance became such a huge part of the browser wars of late.  Definitely give the article a read if you get a chance.

Tags: Articles, Browser Wars, Chrome, Gecko, JavaScript, Performance, SXSW, Twitter, Web Standards, WebKit

Since my last installment of Around the Browsersphere was posted back toward the beginning of May, there’s simply way too much going on to get all caught up without breaking things up a bit.  Therefore, this eleventh edition will focus solely on the “minor players,” or the web browsers not named Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera or Safari.

Avant

• There’ve been about four builds (builds 17-20) of Avant Browser 11.6 released in the past month.
• The Download Blog recommends Avant Browser for “XP users who want a Microsoft-based engine but think that Internet Explorer 7 is a pain.”
• A commenter at Lifehacker points out that Firefox 3’s new fullscreen mode is old news to Avant users.

Flock

• A Mac OS X user moving away from Firefox was pleasantly surprised by and subsequently switched to Flock.
• The Flock blog has announced support for a “deeply localized” version of Flock for German users.

Konqueror

• Linux Hater’s Blog, which I was referred to via Ben Goodger’s blog, rips into some of the usability shortcomings in Konqueror.
• Ruben Schade wonders why the evolt browser archive doesn’t include past versions of Konqueror.
• An Ubuntu user is trying to figure out how to clear Konqueror’s find file history.
• Tork allows you to browse anonymously in Konqueror (and other browsers?).
• Someone thinks that the folks who are triaging Konqueror bugs are contributing to more bugs being fixed than opened in KDE recently.
• Karpion is a Konqueror add-on that “utili[z]es the Open Phishing Database to provide the user with information and tools that help protect against phishing.”
• Someone thinks IE gets something right that Konqueror doesn’t…but that’s about all said person has to say.
• A site called Echoes explains how to add new web shortcuts in Konqueror.
• In a review of Konqueror 3.5.9, the same site calls Konqueror “the great Swiss knife.”
• Over a month ago, Konqueror got support for crash session recovery and session management.

Maxthon

• A sometimes-on-the-verge-of-incomprehensible blog (case in point) suggests that Maxthon is the mathmatical equivalent of IE added to Firefox.
• Maxthon’s CEO, Jeff Chen, has been quoted as saying that they are working on porting Maxthon to Linux (via Maxthon Blog).
• One user thinks Maxthon may be a good browser for translators.
• Another user thinks Maxthon and Firefox have different core goals.
• Someone created a Maxthon logo in “cool” colors.
• There’s a list of requested features from Maxthon 1.x that aren’t in Maxthon 2 in the Maxthon forum.
• Here’s some information on where you can go to chat with fellow Maxthon fans/users.
• Here are some interesting opinions stated as facts, if you’re into that sort of thing.
• Rod Trent was counting down the days ’til he could stop using Firefox 3, but he has enjoyed using Maxthon.
• This blog suggests that Maxthon is the best alternative to Internet Explorer.
• Here’s a friendly discussion on the differences between Maxthon Classic and Firefox 3 and Maxthon 2 and Firefox 2.

SeaMonkey

• The SeaMonkey team has started having semi-weekly status meetings.
• SeaMonkey 1.1.10 was released last week.

Others

• In a request for feedback on Avant, someone mentioned Deepnet Explorer, which claims to be “the world’s first browser with RSS news reader, P2P client integration and phishing alarm.”
• Orca Browser, which has been covered here previously, appears to have resurfaced a week ago as a form of Avant utilizing Gecko 1.9 – the same rendering engine used in Firefox 3 – as opposed to Avant’s use of the Trident rendering engine from Internet Explorer.
• Web Worker Daily points to the Off By One Browser, which has “a footprint of about a megabyte.”  I think I may have mentioned it here before because I recognize the website, but it doesn’t hurt to drop its name here again.

I’m hoping to catch up on the major players soon, so stay tuned.

Tags: Add-ons, Avant, Ben Goodger, Deepnet Explorer, Extensions, Features, Firefox 2, Firefox 3, Flock, Gecko, Gecko 1.9, IE7, Internet Explorer, Konqueror, Linux, Localization, Mac, Maxthon, Maxthon 2, Minor Players, Off By One, Opinion, OS X, Phishing, Releases, SeaMonkey, Trident, Ubuntu

Unfortunately, at least for fans of Avant Browser, there isn’t a whole lot to report about what’s been going on with the browser lately.

The latest version came out in September and was primarily a bug fix release.

However, in looking for anything new to report, I did stumble upon Orca Browser, which appears to be a “Gecko version of Avant Browser,” simply using the Gecko layout engine from Mozilla rather than Avant Browser’s traditional Trident engine.

I think we can file Orca Browser in the “minor players” category, since there doesn’t seem to be anything really official about it on the web, and the latest flurry of announcements seems to have come sometime in the 2005 time frame.

Interesting nonetheless for those of us who like to know what’s being developed and used out there in the browsersphere.

Tags: Avant, Extensions, Gecko, Minor Players, Trident