MINIX3 has received some new interesting ports. “Links, an advanced text-based www browser, and also Links-2, a version of links that displays webpages in an X window.” Screenshots included.
MINIX3 has received some new interesting ports. “Links, an advanced text-based www browser, and also Links-2, a version of links that displays webpages in an X window.” Screenshots included.
I use links2 (-g, in graphical mode) on several of my older boxes (including a Pentium 90 laptop with 48MB ram). It is great for graphically surfing the web on older machines. The graphics draw very quickly. It’s like instantaneous web surfing on an older machine. With javascript and HTTPS support, there aren’t many sights I can’t go to. Woo hoo!
Minix3 is growing up!
What the heck happened? I used to be able to comfortably read OSN in links. Now I can’t seem to login, unless I’m posting a comment. My thread and threshhold options are stored in the profile I can’t apparently get to anymore.
OSNews seems to have grouped Links into its list of phone, text, and PDA browsers, and they force it to use a “reduced functionality” version of the OSNews web site regardless of the browser’s actual capabilities.
I’ve complained about this situation for months. They apparently don’t care, and would rather pigeonhole it rather than deal with the situation intelligently.
Try hacking the browser ID string in the executable to say something other than “Links” and see if you get different results. I use “Linkz” myself (when I remember to use that version, anyway).
Edited 2007-03-09 06:58
So, this story motivated me to try out links2 again- this time on OS X, with Apple’s X server. To my surprise, it compiled out of the box, I didn’t have to install any new packages. Mind you, I’ve a lot of Linux-ish packages already there, but still. I configured with: “–enable-javascript –enable-graphics –with-x”.
Then I tried it for a while. And boy was I surprised.
Like fretinator says, there aren’t many sites you can’t go to. But there are a helluva lot of sites that don’t work very well, because of the lack of CSS. I used to use links2 w/ graphics as my primary browser- for a year or two I was running Linux, but had completely ditched X- I ran a very customized (but using available packages, no secret code of my own) Squeak Smalltalk basically as my GUI environment- whatever apps I couldn’t find written in Smalltalk I just ran out of a great xterm/telnet/vt100 app that you can get for Squeak… The one problem with me using a 100% Squeak setup is the lack of a good web browser for Squeak- you can run Links/w3m/etc from within the Squeak Xterm, but let’s face it, we’re used to graphics. So with Squeak on Framebuffer 1, I ran links2 -g on Framebuffer 2. That’s the rad thing about links2- you don’t need X, you can run it on the framebuffer or Svgalib. I had written a few lines of code so that when I clicked on a link in Squeak it opened up in a new tab on FB 2 in Links… It was really slick, very fast, and I got by on Linux completely without X, oddly enough.
I’d been debating doing something like that again one of these days, but after playing around with Links2 -g I’ll have to revise that plan. Maybe I’ll just use X w/ ion and two full-screen windows. Back in 2001-2003ish I had zero problems with Links2 for browsing the web- my bank, hotmail, and every other random site worked just fine. But that was before everyone went CSS, and now looking at a lot of pages is ugly and confusing, because there is no style applied, and oftentimes the CSS governs what you see- you go to MySpace (blech I know) and you see all sorts of stuff that’d be optional – New Messages, Event, Birthday, etc etc even if nothing is new. Stuff like that. Oh well, it was good while it lasted- but it’d be awesome to see something like Links2 brought into the new world. Even if it was just a welldone port of Gecko to a similar flexibility, being able to use X, svgalib, or the framebuffer.
Hmm…I just ran this….never had started links in the -g mode. Looks pretty fast.
Bad thing is, I’m spoiled by tabbed browsing. I didn’t see any tabbing options…is that functionality somewheres??
No, but you can right-click and open in a new window (if you are running X), which is pretty cool for a text-mode browser.
it’ll be good if we have an OSS kernel to spice up the software world. i mean the hurd wont be here for my grandkids
How archaic can you get? Text browsers? Come on guys, it’s 2007!
Browser: Links (2.1pre23; Linux 2.6.18 i686; 115×36)
situation: How archaic can you get? Text browsers? Come on guys, it’s 2007!
Are you sure your current browser is Links?
Whooooooosh = my sarcasm going over your head
lol, there’s another one down the page as well. Don’t you know by now? <IRONY> tags man, always!
“””How archaic can you get? Text browsers? Come on guys, it’s 2007!”””
Indeed. The one advantage that they might have had over graphical browsers the authors have negated by blocking on most every page while some question about cookies, or downloads, or filenames sits on the status line. Or block while some other informational message sits there for a few seconds before timing out.
I use Firefox and Epiphany because they are lightning fast compared to Lynx, Links, and Elinks.
Lynx is the worst, though.
Users of curses based browsers should expect to be treated as second class citizens, for any number of valid reasons.
Yes, I’m sure there is a .lynxrc file or something that I could vi.
But why not just use something that has a real chance of working on today’s web?
Edited 2007-03-10 16:31
It would be nice to see some regular updates and disection of the system itself – its scalability in regards to threading and so forth.
I don’t expect it to ever reach the hype of Linux, but if it can provide a stable and robust alternative to Linux, it would a great desktop to use.
Wetdream mode: Minix + Xorg + KDE 4.0
You got me convinced!
Dude, kde 4 is nothing but vaporware and promisses of greatness and people drool over it in blind faith. We’ve yet to see an actual screenshot of plasma. Yes, everything about KDE 4 sounds terrific on paper, but many things that sound terific on paper don’t ever even get to production stage, or turn out to be a complete disapointment, as i think will happen with KDE 4. E17, anyone?.
Given the curent state of the Free desktop landscape, give me minix + xorg + aiglx + gnome any day. (let the flamefest begin! >:>)
Anyway, it’s nice to see a free microkernel based OS making progress, because that’s the way to go, and is now obvious that the HURD isn’t going anywhere (what the hell happened to Fiasco?). Sticking everything plus the kitchen sink in kernel space for the sake of performance is insanity in this day and age.
Sorry about the typos, on Firefox 1.x.
I’m a Gnome Power User since Gnome 1.0 and I modded you down because of this part: kde 4 is nothing but vaporware
KDE4 is a lot more than vaporware. Duke Nukem Forever is vaporware but KDE4 is not.
MINIX + X.org + GNUstep + Windowmaker + Étoilé seems even better to me than Gnome or KDE. That’s my taste. EDE (Equinox Desktop Environment) has already been ported to MINIX3 – and I can understand why with the philosophy behind MINIX.
I’m a Gnome Power User since Gnome 1.0 and I modded you down because of this part: kde 4 is nothing but vaporware
And I gave him one back. It may not be what you want to hear or believe, but KDE4 has been in development since some time shortly after the last ice age and we haven’t even seen so much as an alpha, much less beta.
It hasn’t been in development that long actually. KDE3 isn’t that old either. And you are incorrect in regard to releases.
* An early preview release was released on August 18, last year (version 3.80.1)
* A technical preview release was released October 31, last year (3.80.2)
* and a third! preview release was released February 23, this year (3.80.3). That’s 2½ week ago.
And packages for opensuse are available here: http://software.opensuse.org/download/KDE:/KDE4/SUSE_Factory/x86_64…
And more information is here: http://www.kde.org/info/3.80.3.php
So you are very incorrect. KDE4 is not vaporware.
Read this for understanding of vaporware: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporware
I’m sick and tired of Gnome-zealots that ruin everything for the rest of us Gnome users and make us look really bad. Types like you and n0xx. noXX even made it clear he wanted a flame war. That alone is offensive – and makes him a troll. And your support of him makes you the same.
BTW: You also modded me down while you modded him up – just because you disagree with me… *sigh*
EDIT: Fixed a typo. And IMHO I think GNUstep+WM+Étoilé would be the best for MINIX, since they fit eachother perfectly in regard to philosophy.
Edited 2007-03-09 23:29
1. The preview releases were little more than abstract libs. No useable desktop whatsoever.
2. I hate Gnome. I have no idea where you got the idea that I was a Gnome zealot.
3. No I was not the one who modded you down, but you wasted no time doing so to my post. Not that I really care.
1) First you claimed there had been no releases whatsoever. I showed there had been three. You stand correct.
Now you claim the preview releases was little more than abstract libs (what ever “little more” means, and “abstract libs”).
Anyway, you are incorrect again.
The 3rd preview release contains: akregator, asteroids, dolphin, kaddressbook, kalarm, kanagram, kapptemplate, kate, kaudiocreator, kbabel, kbackgammon, kbattleship, kblackbox, kbounce, kbruch, kbugbuster, kcachegrind, kcalc, kcharselect, kcolorchooser, kcoloredit, kdf, keditbookmarks, kfax, khangman, khexeditor, kiconedit, klines, kmahjongg, kmail, kmines, knewsticker, knotes, kolourpaint, konqueror, konsole, kontact, kopete, korganizer, kpoker, kreversi, ksame, ksokoban, kspaceduel, ktuberling, kturtle, tux, kwalletmanager, kweather, kwordquiz, kworldclock, kwrite, superkaramba and kdevelop.
None of these are “abstract libraries”. Useable as in production ready desktop environment? Of course not. But usable as in “doing some work and find the bugs”? Yes, very much. Far ahead of most alternative OS’es.
You stand correct again.
2) So you hate software? That’s a sure sign of zealotry.
3) I got modded down at the same time you replied, and at the same you modded up the OP. And your second reply came at the same time my second post was modded down from 3 to 1. Everything indicates you are either lying og ignorant or both. Choose as you like.
Do you know what “vapourware’ actually means? it means that it doesn’t exist in any form.
KDE 4 does exist; you can download it right now, and features are being added all the time – as for Plasma, Plasma is merely an extension of karamba and super karamba to becoming the standard desktop, considering that Plasma is merely a culmination of kjs and konqueror, to actually implement it should be fairly easy.
With this being said, I think there needs to be a look into Minix, and its performance in regards to it being a Micro kernel and how it can perform under a heavy load and allocate resources in the most efficient manner to provide the end user with a level of ‘ten snappy’.
bnolsen- I just noticed this too when i was playing around with Links -g. I don’t know if it’s a ./configure option, but when I used to use links -g on the framebuffer it did indeed do tabs, and I know I’ve used text-links with tabs as well. I couldn’t find any config info within the menus, but I know it’s there somewhere…
Don’t knock text browsers! I love text based web browsers. They have no javascript, no ads (no images), no flash and no fluff. It renders web pages almost instantly. The font size at 80*25 char screen is very easy on my eyes.
Heeey… that’s also true for some graphical browsers. At least the flash thing
Links, Links2 and Lynx are no faster than osb-browser (the GTK+-WebCore reference browser).