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Filed under: Windows, Linux, Open Source, Browsers

Midori - a lightweight Webkit-based browser - lands on Windows

While I like Google Chrome, there are plenty of Webkit-based alternatives out there. One I enjoy using on my Crunchbang system is Midori - an efficient and highly customizable browser that made the jump to Windows just a couple months ago.

It's important to note that Midori is still in the alpha stage - recently hitting 0.1.10 on Linux and the Windows binaries now on 0.1.8. If you're after absolute stability, Midori might not be your thing. I experienced the occasional crash while playing with the interface, though it was plenty stable while surfing and utilizing web apps.

With the same six tabs open in Midori and Firefox 3.5.3 - including GMail and two javascript-heavy web apps - Midori used about 80Mb less memory, peaking at about 99Mb total. The browser doesn't quite have Chrome's rendering zippiness, but it's still respectably fast.

So what else can Midori do? Apart from the expected features like tabbed browsing, and bookmark and history management it's got support for Userscripts, Userstyles, the Netscape plugin architecture, and extensions. Search options can be customized as well and you can assign a token (i.e. preface with g to search with google).

Want to learn more about Midori yourself? Check the FAQ over at XFCE.org or download it yourself and take Midori for a spin!

Filed under: Features, Windows, Freeware, Browsers, Lists

14 portable web browsers for Windows

Just about everyone has a usb flash drive by now. Apart from all that data you're packing (which you no doubt have encrypted in case your drive gets lost -- but that's a post for another day), why not pack up your favorite web browser and take it along for the ride.

There are a lot more options than you think - here are 13 different options for users of Windows PCs. Don't see your choice on the list? Share it with us in the comments!

Mozilla

Portable Firefox (current) [download] and Portable Minefield [download]
John T. Haller's Portable Apps project is always right on top of the latest Firefox updates, so it's the place to go if you need the Fox in your pocket. The most recent unstable branch is provided as well, in case you want to test it without installing.

PocketFlock v2 [download]
The kicked-up Firefox remix for social networking types is also available in a portable version, thanks to enthusiast Dave Ferrite.

Read more →

Filed under: Internet, Security, Windows, Macintosh, Apple, Browser Tips

Safari 3.0.1 Beta relased with security fixes

Safari for WindowsYou know how Apple users all get kind of smug about how they don't have nearly as many security issues as Windows users? Well, Apple either wanted to demonstrate how much that has to do with your operating system or just made a complete gaffe. Because when the company released the Safari web browser for Windows earlier this week, it only took a few hours for users to find several major security flaws.

Today Apple released Safari 3.0.1 beta, with the following security fixes:
  • Fixed a flaw that executed arbitrary code when visiting a malicious website
  • Fixed a flaw that led to unexpected termination of an application when visiting a malicious website
  • Fixed a flaw that allowed cross-site scripting when visiting a malicious website
For the most part the security flaws only affect the Windows version of the browser. The first flaw could lead to Safari unexpectedly quitting on you when you're using a Mac, but that's about as bad as it gets if you're running OS X. We'd still recommend upgrading, or better yet, using Firefox.

[via TechBlog]

Filed under: Design, Developer, Internet, Web services, Microsoft, Mozilla

Rallying for a better web experience at XTech 2007

Xtech 2007A couple of prominent web design gurus have announced a mini conference on "Web Browsers, Standards and Interop" during XTech 2007 in Paris on May 15th. The idea is to get browser vendors, web developers and designers all in the same room to spend a day talking about about how to make life easier for each other and, most importantly for website visitors. Ultimately, the organizers want a return to "the original platform and user agent agnostic vision of the Web."

That may sound like pie in the sky, but the organizers have made a good start: Microsoft, the Mozilla Foundation, and Opera Software have already committed to attending. Hopefully, the Apple WebKit developers and the KHTML team won't be far behind. Ideally, of course, some standards organizations would be involved, too. And who knows? Since this is all happening in Paris, some members of ISO and ECMA working groups just might stop by.

Personally, I'm excited about this. This conversation is about twelve years overdue. I don't expect to wake up on the morning of May 16th and discover that Trident and Gecko render CSS the same way, but it's a good first step in the right direction.

Featured Time Waster

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

View more Time Wasters

Featured Galleries

Defective by Design, London: Protest Pictures
Microsoft Security Essentials
Chromium Pre-Alpha on CrunchBang Linux
Safari 4 Beta
10 Firefox themes that don't suck
IE8 RC1
Download Squad at the Crunchies After-Party
Download Squad at the Crunchies
WordPress 2.7
Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals
Windows 7 Hands On
Comodo Internet Security
Android First-look: Amazon.com MP3 Store
Android First-look: Twitroid
Google Reader Android
Android Hands-On
Twine 1.0
Photoshop Express Beta
Mozilla Birthday Cake
Palm stuff
Adobe Lightroom 1.1

 


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