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Meet Uzbl — a Web Browser With the Unix Philosophy
DigDuality writes "Dieter@be over at Arch Linux forums, a release engineer for Arch Linux, got inspired by this post. The idea? To create a browser based on the Unix philosophy: 'Write programs that do one thing and do it well, programs that work well together, programs to handle text streams because that is a universal interface,' among other points. The result? A fast, low-resource browser named Uzbl, based on WebKit, which passes the Acid3 Test with a perfect score. The browser is controlled (by default) by vim-like keybindings, not too dissimilar to vimperator for Firefox. Things like URL changing, loading/saving of bookmarks, saving history, and downloads are handled through external scripts that you write (though the Uzbl software does come with some nice scripts for you to use). It fits great in a tiling window manager and plays extremely well with dmenu. The learning curve is a bit steep, but once you get used to it, it's smooth sailing. Not bad for alpha software. Though built for Arch, it has been reported to work on Ubuntu."
Worse is better!
So it's not a web browser, but rather a HTML rendering widget you can use to write a web browser, or use in other programs? I think .NET has one of those based on the I.E engine...
Come as you are, do what you must, be who you will.
The goal isn't to gain popular market share.
I don't think they're looking for standard users, and kind of the whole point was to create a learning curve. This implies that it's targeted at powerusers and developers. With the script-integration, this could be useful for quickly churning out a limited-use kiosk with a few helper apps or something (e.g. a novelty photo booth with web integration).
Anyway, the price is right.
"They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
Novel ideas usually don't live on by themselves unless they become useful. The worst thing the developers did (besides the name) was create a "steep learning curve" for the common web browser. The best thing the developers could do is work with an existing product that already has market share and works great like Chrome (also based on Webkit) and make their additions to it in support of better key bindings.
That depends on whether the goal is to obtain the largest possible marketshare. If that is the goal, or if that is your sole definition of "useful," then what you say does apply. If they don't give a damn about competing head-on with the likes of IE or Firefox then what you say is completely irrelevant. What I don't understand is the (usually) unstated assumption that marketshare numbers are the only reason why anyone creates any piece of software. While it's important in terms of attracting developers and, in the case of browsers, for putting pressure on Microsoft to make IE more standards-compliant, there are many reasons why someone might write a browser and this includes reasons that wouldn't personally motivate you.
I see the same sentiment shown when some people discuss Linux as though its only purpose is to compete with Windows. They then act like Linux is a complete and utter failure if it doesn't bust up the Windows desktop monopoly. I disagree with this; Linux just "is." If it happens to displace Windows, that's great. If it doesn't, that's fine with me too. Though I have happily introduced folks to Linux who showed an interest in it, I'm not out to win converts; I just want something that works for me. There are those of us for whom Linux is a good solution, who have no dependency on any Microsoft products, and who are able to do our computing completely aloof from Microsoft, unaffected by any decision Microsoft makes. It's abundantly possible that this is intended to be a niche browser, designed for the relatively small number of users who are technically inclined and willing to tinker with something like a Web browser and its supporting scripts.
It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
it has been my experience that everything regarding steep learning curves in *nix, ends up revealing benefits those who never try will never know of. Try explaining to the average windows user how vim is better than notepad vs watching someone learn vim and having their face light up everytime they figure out they can do something very quickly that's impossible in a standard text editor
It *is* preferable to have a separate ad-blocker, that should be a no-brainer within the unix philosophy. What you're thinking of is a client/server model where right clicking the ad in the UI (which UI? Maybe there could be several to choose from) should initiate a conversation with the ad-blocker daemon.
Notepad is, and was designed to be, an extremely basic text editor. It doesn't have lots of features not because those would necessarily make it hard to use, but because they'd take resources to develop. It is just a simple program to display a text file, little more.
Now compare Vim to something like UltraEdit. Here you have a tons of features. Maybe even more than Vim has. However it is still simple to use the basics. You can fire it up and open up a file and edit it with no more effort than notepad. It is easy to do the simple stuff.
The real mark of well designed complex software is where the learning curve is variable, meaning it is only as steep as it needs to be for a given thing. Simple lings are easy to learn, more complex things are harder. You don't have to bash your head against a wall learning all sorts of complicated things to accomplish the basics. The complex capability is there, but it doesn't interfere with simple stuff.
That's why something like Vi fails to impress me. When I got my current job, I had to learn about it, since it is the only text editor that comes with Solaris by default. I was annoyed with it as it is the first and only text editor I've ever encountered that I couldn't edit text in without a manual. I tried to use it, and couldn't make it work. Our Solaris guy had to show me how it worked. He, like you, seemed to assume I'd love it once I learned about it because of its power. I challenged him to show me something it could do that UltraEdit couldn't. He wasn't able to come up with anything.
The real challenge to good software is to make things as easy as possible, and make it so the complicated doesn't interfere with the simple.
"The guy had an itch and he scratched it, there is nothing wrong in that. Not everything that is made has to be useful."
That's true, and so is the fact that Uzbl is about as attractive and useful as a dirty stranger scratching an itch.
A www browser controlled by vim-like key bindings? Well that isn't unique, there are other browsers which do that already, in fact you can do that even with Firefox or Opera, as well as some of the console based browsers. It's the kind of throwback 'feature' that excites impressionable students, idiots, and people who write desperately bad distro/free software reviews where they claim they "fall in love" with "wonderful" "awesome" "elegant" "smooth" "integrated" applications and distros (visit LXer.com for acres of that kind of inane verbiage).
The point was not to have vim-like keybindings. They can be changed easily. That is the point. Change is easy.
And the UNIX philosophy is "do one thing and do it well", not "duplicate something badly for no useful purpose" (c'mon, everyone knows that's the Arch philosophy).
You, sir, are the biggest fucking idiot I have met all day.
It doesn't dupe FF, IE, or Chrome. It displays web pages. That is ALL. Firefox displays them in tabs, along with having bookmarks, skins, downloads, and addons. All internally! IE has nearly as extensive a list (no skins) While Chrome does it with just tabs, downloads, and bookmarks. None of those things are necessary. I like slim. Slim is good. Uzbl is slim. Firefox is not. IE is not. Chrome is not. If you disagree, keep using IE/FF/Chrome. I don't want to.
It, actually is very attractive. Very, very attractive.
*runs off to play with Uzbl wmii scripts*
That's not the correct way to use vi. Command mode is normal mode. Never leave it in any other mode, including insert mode. Ever. Only use insert mode when you're actually inserting something.
There's also usually a status area which tells you which mode it's in as well.
http://sourcemage.org/ - Have fun