Slashdot Mirror
Nokia Develops a New Browser on Apple WebKit
Althazzar writes "Nokia has built a new browser for their Symbian system based on the WebKit open source project from Apple, released last week. "Apple is pleased to assist Nokia in creating their new Series 60 browser based on the same KHTML open source technology that powers Apple's Safari"."
I have a built in web browser in my phone, but I never fired it up because it has fees that go along with its use.
God spoke to me.
But not nearly as exciting as it would be if Nokia would make a Series 60 phone that didn't have gnome-sized buttons or have them arranged in strange, unnatural ways.
Why can't Nokia make a decent Series 60 phone?! To boot, they're all ugly as sin.
I want Series 60, especially if it has a decent browser on it. But all the Series 60 phones are wonderful pieces of technology with garbage physical interfaces. It's so sad, considering how usable some of their lower-end models are.
Ironically, Nokia is the only phone manufacturer with a sane software interface.
WebKit doesn't meet KDE's coding standards. They're quite strict, in order to keep a clean codebase, wheras Apple has rushed features in to a certain extent. Also, KHTML is integrated into KDE, and a large part of the difference between it and WebKit is that Apple have done a lot of work to remove that integration (and add their own). I suspect the reason Nokia are using WebKit is it is mostly de-integrated. Porting to KDE would just mean adding all the integration back in. (kparts, kwallet, etc.). Not too much work, but pretty pointless because the result would be very similar to KHTML.
I am trolling
The first thing that came to my mind was the new dashboard widgets in Tiger. Remember, Dashboard widgets are written in Javascript, CSS, XML, and HTML. Each Widget is actual a webcore instance if my understanding is correct (or it's one big web core window). Couldn't be that difficult to make it work on this browser. And if you have seen the number of widgets out there (I was just @ WWDC), it is pretty amazing. And a lot of them would be perfect for cell phones. Just something to chew on...
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a difficult battle. - Plato
Am I going senile here, or is this the same Nokia that gave a large handout to the Mozilla corporation?
This move just doesn't seem to make any sense whatsoever to me, as if you believe the rumours, they had some kind of gecko based browser already up and running. All I can assume is that it just didn't cut the mustard.
Anyone know any more about this?
Sunday you're Thinking Different, Monday you're a huge tool, paying too much and waiting to think like everyone else.
Problem. You have to fix a program. You have 2 hours to fix it, if you are over 2 hours you are fired. The clean version of making a function more adaptible will take 3 hours to do. Vs. Copying and pasting the fuction and altering the bits and pieces and give it a simular name dostuff2(int x,int y, float z).
Time it takes to code in reallife is actually an issue. If you spend to much time then you go over budget, when you are over budget then your job quality is in question, when your job quality is in question there is a hire chance of getting fired. These are real factors that are not taught in Computer Science, because in the virtual world people have endless time to write their code and make it optimised, and clean. In real life, If it takes you twice as long to write a program that is 25% faster. It is usually cheaper to buy a computer that is twice as fast then pay for optimised code. Also with the cost of repairing bad code vs. writting clean code from the start If the tradeoff of fixing code will simular amount of time as it does writting clean code you get the advantage of spreading the money over a longer period of time alling more time to invest money and make more.
Real life sucks doesn't it.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
After using a S710a for a little while, I found these little glitches...
1. Use it closed. Open the switchblade. Notice that it's upside down now? WTF?
2. Microphone is in the front of the phone. Hold it against your face. Nobody can hear a word you say. You MUST either hold it away from your face or use a BT headset. Genius move there, when they easily could have put it on the bottom.
3. Volume controls are lacking for many functions. There is no way to turn down the deafening camera sound, or to adjust many other sound volumes.
4. Up and down arrows on side don't control volume when not on a call. That's just retarded.
5. Buttons are on the part of the switchblade that moves. So if you use it sometimes-open, sometimes-closed, half the time a button is in one place, half the time it is in another. This makes is very difficult to learn where a button is.
6. Data usage is enormous. I looked through the Cingular online menus and... used up my entire (paltry) 500 KB data allotment. I never actually got any data; just looked at the options.
7. Menus are clumsy. For example, you have to cruise for ever to try to find a picture you recently took. It is easier to open the camera, go to View, then close the camera. Stupidly, that is much easier than following the menus.
8. General comment on switchblade form factor... DUMB! You get all the disadvantages of a wand and a flip. The screen is always exposed, so likely to scratch; yet you have to open it to use the buttons. Extra fun when you are using it closed and need to press a button... slide it open, and the friggin' button is upside down above the screen.
Those are the only flaws I can recall, but I only used it briefly.
Still think it's a good phone?
But your point about Americans buying habits is well taken. We'd rather get a free phone and get stuck into an enormous monthly contract for crappy service than actually pay dollars for a phone. We'll fall for any gimmick except a genuine good deal.
But that said, it is still almost impossible to get a really good phone in the U.S. without going through a very shady reseller.