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I switched to Firefox in part because XUL-based extensions can heavily customize the user interface. Things like Tile Tabs, Tab Mix Plus, and other extensions h

I switched to Firefox in part because XUL-based extensions can heavily customize the user interface. Things like Tile Tabs, Tab Mix Plus, and other extensions have been extremely useful to me. Despite my dislike of XUL as a language, I'm sad to see XUL extensions go; I suspect that WebExtensions will, like Google Chrome extensions, be much more limited. In fact, I had always hoped that FF would move in the opposite direction, and split itself apart into a bundle of extensions, so that even more customization could be possible. I've also always enjoyed being able to run the latest versions of extensions, which sometimes take a while to get Mozilla's approval. Are there any plans to maintain a fork of Firefox that will not include these changes?

jasonhansel 11y ago
In short, I would like to find a web browser that follows the Unix philosophy to a greater extent than Firefox/Chrome/IE.
- amk_ 11y ago
  Vivaldi? Midori?
  - jasonhansel 11y ago
    IIRC, Vivaldi uses Chrome extensions, which have the same limitations as the new Firefox WebExtensions. Not sure about Midori.
- catern 11y ago
  I don't really know why, but I have some small optimism that Servo might enable such a browser. The only other candidate browser engine is Webkit, which is already too huge to be part of a small Unixy browser. Maybe Servo, as a project that people are actively hacking on, might work. Alternatively, maybe https://github.com/breach/breach_core https://github.com/breach/breach_core though their website is down, so maybe the project is dead...
  - pcwalton 11y ago
    I think that any browser that can render the modern Web will necessarily be too big to really be called "Unixy". But Servo is an exceptionally modular browser engine, as is obvious upon building it. We're up to 150 crate dependencies and counting, most of which are independent of the browser engine.
    - jasonhansel 11y ago
      One option I have found is surf (http://surf.suckless.org/ http://surf.suckless.org/), but it seems too limited for me to use it on a regular basis. Really, what I'd like is a browser in which almost all components (tabs, bookmarks, etc.) are just extensions around a simple (Servo-based?) core. Servo is awesome, by the way -- I look forward to seeing what comes next!
    - jb613 11y ago
      perhaps the "modern Web" is the problem. Really, it should be simple - http requests + html + css + js. Decades of "features" have resulted that we can't build browsers from components.
- brighteyes 11y ago
  None of the major browsers are really modular in the Unix way. There are some research browsers that are much more modular, though, like IBOS and Servo, http://web.engr.illinois.edu/~kingst/sasse12.pdf http://web.engr.illinois.edu/~kingst/sasse12.pdf https://github.com/servo/servo https://github.com/servo/servo
- GFK_of_xmaspast 11y ago
  wget piped to less.
  - jasonhansel 11y ago
    Maybe I should just switch to Lynx :)
  - Qwertious 11y ago
    To state the obvious, that won't have Javascript support.
    - GFK_of_xmaspast 11y ago
      Javascript is not compatible with the Unix Philosophy.

jasonhansel 11y ago

In short, I would like to find a web browser that follows the Unix philosophy to a greater extent than Firefox/Chrome/IE.

amk_ 11y ago
Vivaldi? Midori?
- jasonhansel 11y ago
  IIRC, Vivaldi uses Chrome extensions, which have the same limitations as the new Firefox WebExtensions. Not sure about Midori.
catern 11y ago
I don't really know why, but I have some small optimism that Servo might enable such a browser. The only other candidate browser engine is Webkit, which is already too huge to be part of a small Unixy browser. Maybe Servo, as a project that people are actively hacking on, might work. Alternatively, maybe https://github.com/breach/breach_core https://github.com/breach/breach_core though their website is down, so maybe the project is dead...
- pcwalton 11y ago
  I think that any browser that can render the modern Web will necessarily be too big to really be called "Unixy". But Servo is an exceptionally modular browser engine, as is obvious upon building it. We're up to 150 crate dependencies and counting, most of which are independent of the browser engine.
  - jasonhansel 11y ago
    One option I have found is surf (http://surf.suckless.org/ http://surf.suckless.org/), but it seems too limited for me to use it on a regular basis. Really, what I'd like is a browser in which almost all components (tabs, bookmarks, etc.) are just extensions around a simple (Servo-based?) core. Servo is awesome, by the way -- I look forward to seeing what comes next!
  - jb613 11y ago
    perhaps the "modern Web" is the problem. Really, it should be simple - http requests + html + css + js. Decades of "features" have resulted that we can't build browsers from components.
brighteyes 11y ago
None of the major browsers are really modular in the Unix way. There are some research browsers that are much more modular, though, like IBOS and Servo, http://web.engr.illinois.edu/~kingst/sasse12.pdf http://web.engr.illinois.edu/~kingst/sasse12.pdf https://github.com/servo/servo https://github.com/servo/servo
GFK_of_xmaspast 11y ago
wget piped to less.
- jasonhansel 11y ago
  Maybe I should just switch to Lynx :)
- Qwertious 11y ago
  To state the obvious, that won't have Javascript support.
  - GFK_of_xmaspast 11y ago
    Javascript is not compatible with the Unix Philosophy.