linuxhaxor.net— In the spirit of linux and open source (not so much for opera), it is only fair that we are aware of alternate options for linux browsers out there.
Jul 2, 2008View in Crawl 4
I use Linux because I support free software. However, free software advocates forget that users have the freedom to use proprietary software along with free software tools, so long as they don't violate the free software license by distribution of non-free software. Philosophically, I would love to only use free software, but in reality, I bought a proprietary video card that needs a proprietary driver, and gosh darn it, I am going to use a proprietary driver so that I can enjoy my $600 purchase.
skipgog, it's because of the Great Firefox Paradox®.Firefox is great because it can be almost infinitely expanded by add-ons. Those add features that it lacks on its default install, making it possible to equal or surpass Opera's feature set, keeping only what you like.However, whenever someone complains about memory or performance issues, add-ons are to blame. There are some add-ons that weren't fully tested in every possible situation, so they can leak memory or lock Firefox. Even worse, those will be reported as Firefox bugs, NOT as bugs of the extension that caused the problem, so it's possible that the developer never hears about the bug and is never able to fix it. Therefore, by adding all of the Opera functionality to Firefox, you may lose reliability, performance, or both (and I'm sure you have seen it happen, the "FF uses 1GB of RAM when idle" myth came from this).Opera, on the other hand, is developed as a single entity. Whenever a bug is found, it can more easily be assigned to whomever can actually fix it. Besides, you remove the possibility of the interaction between two or more addons being responsible for whatever is the problem. It's simpler to manage a monolithic code than an infinitely fragmented one, specially when those fragments don't necessarily have any form of contact between them.You (or I) may not agree with the reasoning, but sure as hell it's a valid reason to use Opera.
Since there isn't much more than a list here can I ask something. I have read Linux articles forever. I finally found one distro that enticed me to downlowd a bootable disc. It was Beatrix. Sounded easy to use and it was... very minimalistic for web browsing chatting and e-mail. Seemed great. That distro was abandoned...too bad really. It was great for grandma. But moving from having it on disc to the hard drive and then getting just a few customizations just threw me. For those who enjoy just how the computer works this is not a big deal...I get that. Just the partitioning thing was hard tho. If I could have had that installed and it would set up easy I would be using it right now. I don't follow Linux like I used to. I keep waiting for the headline that says... If you are a computer moron and lazy to learn, here is your Linux. Is that close? Windows is fine. 98 was easy enough and XP is better. But I don't need windows but 10% of the time. I have this monster open just type this. Is the learning curve lesser now? Know what I am asking?
ubuwalker31Jul 2, 2008
I use Linux because I support free software. However, free software advocates forget that users have the freedom to use proprietary software along with free software tools, so long as they don't violate the free software license by distribution of non-free software. Philosophically, I would love to only use free software, but in reality, I bought a proprietary video card that needs a proprietary driver, and gosh darn it, I am going to use a proprietary driver so that I can enjoy my $600 purchase.
stevemaxJul 2, 2008
skipgog, it's because of the Great Firefox Paradox®.Firefox is great because it can be almost infinitely expanded by add-ons. Those add features that it lacks on its default install, making it possible to equal or surpass Opera's feature set, keeping only what you like.However, whenever someone complains about memory or performance issues, add-ons are to blame. There are some add-ons that weren't fully tested in every possible situation, so they can leak memory or lock Firefox. Even worse, those will be reported as Firefox bugs, NOT as bugs of the extension that caused the problem, so it's possible that the developer never hears about the bug and is never able to fix it. Therefore, by adding all of the Opera functionality to Firefox, you may lose reliability, performance, or both (and I'm sure you have seen it happen, the "FF uses 1GB of RAM when idle" myth came from this).Opera, on the other hand, is developed as a single entity. Whenever a bug is found, it can more easily be assigned to whomever can actually fix it. Besides, you remove the possibility of the interaction between two or more addons being responsible for whatever is the problem. It's simpler to manage a monolithic code than an infinitely fragmented one, specially when those fragments don't necessarily have any form of contact between them.You (or I) may not agree with the reasoning, but sure as hell it's a valid reason to use Opera.
eric3kJul 2, 2008
Since there isn't much more than a list here can I ask something. I have read Linux articles forever. I finally found one distro that enticed me to downlowd a bootable disc. It was Beatrix. Sounded easy to use and it was... very minimalistic for web browsing chatting and e-mail. Seemed great. That distro was abandoned...too bad really. It was great for grandma. But moving from having it on disc to the hard drive and then getting just a few customizations just threw me. For those who enjoy just how the computer works this is not a big deal...I get that. Just the partitioning thing was hard tho. If I could have had that installed and it would set up easy I would be using it right now. I don't follow Linux like I used to. I keep waiting for the headline that says... If you are a computer moron and lazy to learn, here is your Linux. Is that close? Windows is fine. 98 was easy enough and XP is better. But I don't need windows but 10% of the time. I have this monster open just type this. Is the learning curve lesser now? Know what I am asking?
knet88Jul 2, 2008
I agree with you, but since you asked, I'll digg you down.
knet88Jul 2, 2008
Buried because they're hatin' on Firefox.
antdudeJul 2, 2008
What about eLinks? <a class="user" href="http://elinks.or.cz/">http://elinks.or.cz/</a>
ademanJul 3, 2008
bah, i view with cat, and more if i'm really feeling n00bish.
Closed AccountJul 24, 2008
I like it too, but it is not on the list...
withacupofcoffeDec 6, 2009
Site is gone. Sheesh, and it's only been a year and a half.