(another) WebKit port of Browse

[Bobby Powers]

On Mon, Jul 7, 2008 at 7:58 PM, Eben Eliason <eben.eliason at gmail.com> wrote:
> 2008/7/7 Carol Lerche <cafl at msbit.com>:
>> The UI seems pretty important to me, but obviously that's a matter of
>> taste.  Not everyone likes tabbed browsing.  Correct operation of websites
>> that fail with the extant browser.  Direct availability of plugins and
>> addons.  One example:  scrapbook, a superb research tool.  Another example
>> Google Gears (according to a recent mail being ported, presumably  because
>> the browser is not standard).  I am not familiar with the Firefox codebase,
>> and perhaps all these things are directly available so long as the Firefox 3
>> engine is there, but if so, there desperately needs to be a detailed body of
>> documentation telling how to access these capabilities.
>
> I certainly acknowledge that a) the sparse UI isn't for everyone and
> b) the UI is young and still needs some more work (and more features).
>  It started out bare bones, and is slowly gaining important features
> as we go (recently URI autocompletion, find in page text, foundational
> support for global bookmarks, and other features appeared!).  It
> should also be noted that tabs were part of the initial design, and
> were taken out both to prevent abuse of RAM and because we thought
> that it might be confused adjacent to the link sharing feature, which
> we felt was a really important addition for our target audience and
> collaborative learning.  I'd consider adding them in light of recent
> engine improvements, assuming we can prove that kids navigate them
> naturally.
>
> Additionally, I'd love to see other individuals with interest porting
> other browsers to the XO.  I think someone was working on this with
> Opera.  Perhaps a more full featured Firefox could also be Sugarized.
> However, we designed the current Browse as is to be purposely sparse,
> to give kids the basics without overloading them with things that
> could get in the way. I think there's a place for Browse as a default
> browser, especially for kids under 8 or so, even if other more complex
> browsers appear as viable alternatives.

+1

> - Eben
>