Min Browser (Electron based)

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Midas
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Min Browser (Electron based)

#1 Post by Midas »

The homepage claims Min Browser requires either MacOS or Linux, but Github has Windows binaries available, so here... I am assuming non-portable (untested!) because Electron, ok? :)
author of https://minbrowser.github.io/min/ wrote:Meet Min. A smarter web browser. [...] Min is written entirely with CSS and JavaScript using Electron, and is open-source software, available on GitHub.
author of https://github.com/minbrowser/min wrote:Min is a smarter, faster web browser. It includes features such as: Information from DuckDuckGo in the searchbar. Built-in ad and tracker blocking. Fuzzy search. Full-text search for bookmarks. Reading list.Tabs improvements (tabs open to the right, and fade out when inactive).
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Min Browser latest 32 or 64-bits Windows release (currently v1.5.1) can be downloaded from https://github.com/minbrowser/min/releases.
Last edited by Midas on Sat Feb 24, 2018 5:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

freakazoid
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Re: Min Browser (Electron based)

#2 Post by freakazoid »

Neat looking browser.

Since it's powered by Electron, it's powered by Chromium. Not going to test it for now, but it looks promising.
is it stealth? ;)

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smaragdus
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Re: Min

#3 Post by smaragdus »

@Midas
I recently though that in terms of idiocy Opera Neon could not be matched (it was recently reviewed here), but no doubt Min is the most abominable nuisance called browser I have ever seen. In fact it is a disgrace to call such a thing a "browser", it is profanation and an insult to decades of software development. I have recently coined a new term for such stuff- evilware- it is evil to create software which tries to make the average dullard even dumber. Nowadays the degradation and degeneration in software is ubiquitous and it is most distinctly visible in the world of browsers- all of them compete to become dumber and dumber with every new release. Last night I wasted about half and hour trying to make "http://" visible in the address-bar of a Chromium-based browser before I got that it was impossible, that hiding "http://" is a feature! Yes, nowadays removing features is a feature. Yes, I am out of browsers. I am still using Firefox version 28.0 which is obsolete but I have almost no choice- K-Meleon, Pale Moon, SeaMonkey and Otter are the only alternatives, Midori seems abandoned.

Midas, why do you post about such trash? You approve this trend which Min represents best?

freakazoid
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Re: Min Browser (Electron based)

#4 Post by freakazoid »

The majority of users do not need an interface with buttons galore and tons of menus and options.

Only power users do, though I'm a power user and I prefer a minimal interface where I can quickly pull up a menu when required.

Why do you think minimal writing interfaces like FocusWriter, q10, TextRoom, etc. are popular with writers? Because they can get things done without distraction.
is it stealth? ;)

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smaragdus
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Re: Min

#5 Post by smaragdus »

@freakazoid

I have the observation that the majority of users will soon not need a browser at all- they will exclusively use "Apps"- Facebook app, Twitter app, Instagram app, YouTube app, Gmail app, etc. When I travel by bus I happen to peep at what others are doing on their mobile devices and I can't remember anyone browsing anything- just messengers and the social apps. The majority of users were not like that 10-15 years ago, they even used to be creative developing their own web-pages, experimenting with themes, plug-ins, scripts and the majority of these creators didn't consider themselves power users, it was just normal to be ingenious. But the masses underwent a massive social engineering so now it is normal to be dumb, to know nothing, to be interested in nothing beside the daily dirt and gossip, to be unwilling to learn anything, to be ready to sacrifice personal privacy because "I have nothing to hide" fallacy, the new mantra the modern idiots accepted with passion.

About me- I am not a power user, I am just a user. Buttons and options have never distracted me. When I want no distraction whatsoever I just hit F11 (all the browsers and text editors I use support it). With my outdated version of Firefox and with the help of the add-ons I use I can do anything I need from a browser- view EPUB, save pages as EPUB and MHT, copy plain text at right click, block elements of pages, view and delete cookies, block ads, download images and videos, open Gopher sites, connect to FTP sites, clean URLs automatically, scan sites for changes, subscribe to RSS feeds, view information of sites and much more. I do not expect the others, the majority, to have my needs and my usage. But I cannot and will not accept that the developer will deprive me of customization options, will remove features which were once available but were discarded because the ordinary idiots have never heard of them, do not need them or do not know how to use them.

About the distraction-free experience- I cannot imagine the average idiots using a full screen text editor, they never write anything outside their social sites and messengers, its is extremely unlikely that they will ever discover such editors and they will need help exiting the full screen mode and most likely will get panicky seeing the desktop disappear. I have seen only a single person using a full screen text editor (in fact I recommended one to him) but he is not the average Joe, he is a writer, a translator and a web-developer.

I still believe that the meaning of life is not becoming an idiot, a slave to the corporations which decide for me what I need and what I need not.

I was about to forget- I want to say a big "Fuck you!" to Mozilla and Opera who did their best to destroy the rich browser experience their once dedicated users loved so much. Did Mozilla and Opera gain market share making their browsers dumb? No. Sacrificing the needs of their devoted users they lost even more market share forcing their once devoted users to search for alternatives.

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Nh
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Re: Min Browser (Electron based)

#6 Post by Nh »

@smaragdus

I completely agree with you. I look at my children, and I wonder. And they also do not understand why I use Opera 12 (I wish that it was a modern version, v14-something), or Vivaldi. That's not all, the same situation is in other areas, everywhere, in the office programs, graphics programs, etc.. For example, in MS Excel strange that design issues are given more attention than issues associated with formulas.

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Midas
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Re: Min

#7 Post by Midas »

smaragdus wrote:Midas, why do you post about such trash? You approve this trend which Min represents best?
Let's just say I'm software agnostic -- and "for those who like this kind of things, this is the kind of thing they like"... :mrgreen:

Hell, I'm not even a Chrome/ium user. For all it's shortcomings, I remain firmly entrenched in the "Moz://a" camp.

You could say I am a bleeding heart equal opportunities supporter. All for the sake of freeware. Portable, preferably. ;)

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Midas
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Re: Min Browser (Electron based)

#8 Post by Midas »

Min Browser v1.7.0 released, dated 2018-01-16 (changelog and download at https://github.com/minbrowser/min/releases).

Specular
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Re: Min

#9 Post by Specular »

smaragdus wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2017 6:26 pmWhen I travel by bus I happen to peep at what others are doing on their mobile devices and I can't remember anyone browsing anything- just messengers and the social apps. The majority of users were not like that 10-15 years ago, they even used to be creative developing their own web-pages, experimenting with themes, plug-ins, scripts and the majority of these creators didn't consider themselves power users, it was just normal to be ingenious. But the masses underwent a massive social engineering so now it is normal to be dumb...
Realistically this Min browser is just some open source side project by some dev to be honest, I wouldn't take it as any kind of fundamental statement about the dumbing down of the masses but rather like many simple programs even here on the PF it probably began to satisfy some personal goal. And after all being creative and making things is a cool thing, right? :wink:

But on your point: what mostly occurred in that time from my perspective is the widespread rise of internet-connected devices, making it easier to see what the average person is doing casually on their devices since they're ubiquitous. This coincided with the advent of 'Web 2.0' and easier to use hardware interfaces where it became easier for regular users to contribute and exchange content online, which resulted in the wider public having a say in everything by way of videos/social media/blogs/comments/etc, but on the flip side also allowed more creative types to also engage online. Bit of a double-edged sword I suppose.

That's not to say that something like browsing social media is some enlightening activity but I feel it's more a reflection on how opening up online interactions reached the mainstream. There are still tons of people creating things though, perhaps now more visibly than ever.

I certainly share the desire for browser customizability however. If Opera could have maintained their original browser I would have stuck with it, but it couldn't grow a large enough userbase in later years to sustain continual development of their own engine—in part probably due to the ever-growing mainstream adoption and use of internet connected devices which in turn created a wider market for online websites/services which increasingly ended up testing mostly for only the most popular browsers. Back 10+ years ago there was less user interaction with online content comparatively and I suppose their engine could be kept manageable.

If we think about it though something like IE was always pretty simple, and for the longest time was the most popular browser. Firefox enjoyed some great success, and then Google created Chrome and pushed it hard across its widely used services and within a number of years took a significant chunk of IE's market share.

So as much as I always evangelized customizable browsers the reality is a lot of people just prefer something that loads sites well and is easy enough to use, and since most programs' functionality is underutilized a more straightforward browser becomes good enough for the average user. Which does affect the development focus as a result, unfortunately, since things still require testing and debugging and so a narrower focus makes it easier to maintain over time.

It's a shame Firefox gave up its rich customizability for a more limited API approach but Mozilla felt the security and performance benefits outweighted the downsides. Like you I'm sticking with an older version, in my case v54 Dev, but there are enough vulnerabilities that get found in software that eventually I'll have to migrate, despite Quantum lacking a range of equivalent addons currently.

bitcoin
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Re: Min

#10 Post by bitcoin »

smaragdus wrote: Mon Feb 06, 2017 6:26 pm But the masses underwent a massive social engineering so now it is normal to be dumb, to know nothing, to be interested in nothing beside the daily dirt and gossip, to be unwilling to learn anything......
i think this is true

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Midas
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Re: Min Browser (Electron based)

#11 Post by Midas »

Topic update: Min Browser v1.10 released (changelog at https://github.com/minbrowser/min/releases/).

This looked interesting...
Sandboxing is enabled for macOS and Windows starting in 1.9. Once we upgrade to Electron 5.0 (which includes support for mixed-sandbox mode on Linux), we should be able to enable it for all platforms.

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webfork
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Re: Min Browser (Electron based)

#12 Post by webfork »

This program is still in development with a release a few weeks ago:

https://github.com/minbrowser/min/releases/

The security feature Midas mentioned above appears to have gone live.
Midas wrote: Tue May 21, 2019 5:40 am
Sandboxing is enabled for macOS and Windows starting in 1.9. Once we upgrade to Electron 5.0 (which includes support for mixed-sandbox mode on Linux), we should be able to enable it for all platforms.

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