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10 Oddly Useful Specialty Web Browsers

Posted by timothy on from the pornovation dept.

snydeq writes "InfoWorld's Peter Wayner looks beyond Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari, and IE to uncover 10 alternative browsers that offer specialized advantages for 3-D searching, social networking, easy scriptability, powerful page manipulation, and the like. Each provides a targeted browsing environment, enabling users to browse Web tables into spreadsheets, browse leaner, browser in text, browse socially, browse musically, or browse smarter on the Mac. 'A purist might object that these hybrids are not much different from a standard browser with extra plug-ins. There's some truth to this, but not always — some of the unique capabilities can only be done deep inside the software. In any case, the job of parsing the terms and creating an exact definition of the Web browser isn't as much fun as embracing the idea that there are dozens of alternatives.'"

8 of 72 comments (clear)

  1. They forgot Pivot! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    http://getpivot.com/

  2. How about a "Facebook Firewall" browser? by david.emery · · Score: 2, Interesting

    A browser that is specifically set up to completely firewall websites from each other?

    1. Re:How about a "Facebook Firewall" browser? by js3 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I put 127.0.0.1 facebook.com (and for www.facebook.com) and it's amazing how much my Back browser button gets messed up because almost every link on numerous websites foward to facebook.

      --
      did you forget to take your meds?
  3. CSSEdit by bckspc · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I use CSSEdit all the time. Its core is a Webkit browser that shows a live preview of CSS changes you make. It's great for AJAX-y, DHTML-y dynamically driven sites that don't always have HTML "pages" to debug.

    It's a bit like the Web Developer toolbar for Firefox, but a standalone browser / app for OS X focused solely on CSS and, IMHO, a bit easier to use.

    No connection to the company. Just a very satisfied user.

  4. Dillo by jones_supa · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Even though it lacks crucial features like JavaScript and plugins, one should try Dillo just to experience how extremely fast a graphical browser can be.

  5. Shameless plug by commodore64_love · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I recommend Mozilla seaMonkey. It has the same core engine as Firefox 4, but with the functionality/appearance of classic Mozilla Netscape, and only half the memory usage of FF (~150,000 vs ~300,000 kilobytes).

    Another browser Ive tried is Mozilla Songbird, which is really more of a music player than a browser but it's good for those of us who like noise in our ears all day long.

    --
    "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
  6. they forgot one i know of by FudRucker · · Score: 2, Interesting

    K-Meleon

    it uses mozilla's gecko engine, even more bare bones than firefox, a little rough around the edges but overall an ok browser. (windows only)

    --
    Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
  7. Conkeror by djupdal · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I rarely see anyone mention conkeror, my favourite browser: http://conkeror.org/

    It is the only browser I have tried I can comfortably use without a mouse. Once you learn the emacs-like keybindings, browsing with keyboard is really fast.