Internet browser

danielr · 12-05-2018, 04:28 PM

Does Koreader have an Internet browser? Is it possible to surf the Internet?

NiLuJe · 12-05-2018, 10:21 PM

@danielr: No. Wikipedia handling, and that's it.

Ken Maltby · 12-05-2018, 10:56 PM

KOReader actually interacts with "the net" in a number of ways that support reading, but in no way is it a place to do your "net surfing".

Luck;
Ken

mobama · 12-06-2018, 10:59 AM

Koreader prompts to open up wifi when you do OTA update and when you search Wikipedia. There is also Evernote plugin and probably more thingies that require internet.

But why not a webbrowser when Koreader already has a text editor and a terminal emulator? The browser could be yet another extension/plugin, e.g. compile some version of w3m to run in the terminal emulator and include it in the bundle.

NiLuJe · 12-06-2018, 12:54 PM

Because a brower engine is probably *the* single largest and most complex bit of software you'll ever find in today's computer devices, and experience has shown that it's basically a terrible experience on eInk, without investing massive time & efforts into it.

(Hell, I'd go so far as to say it's already a terrible experience on full-blown tablets, so...

).

pazos · 12-06-2018, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobama

But why not a webbrowser when Koreader already has a text editor and a terminal emulator? The browser could be yet another extension/plugin, e.g. compile some version of w3m to run in the terminal emulator and include it in the bundle.

A text browser would be a good idea and easy to implement but requires a full terminal emulator (with ANSI escape sequences, terminfo goodies, etc). Try to run top on KOReader terminal and you'll find we're not close to that. The terminal in KOReader is just to type commands and get an output, and works well for that purpose.

About the text editor, it is a great tool and supports lua syntax checking, which is nice because we can edit some KOReader files with the program running. But it isn't designed to be a general purpose tool. You could argue that adding hunspell to check grammar it would be a great idea, but IMO it doesn't worth the hussle.

Frenzie · 12-07-2018, 12:41 PM

@NiLuJe
Depends on the website. I think tweakers.net is pretty decent in the Nickel browser, and this very forum might not be horrible either. It'd be even better in a faster, lighter browser like Netsurf. One of the Nickel browser's biggest defects (unless they fixed it) is the lack of a way to page up/down, but that you have to drag scroll. Of course that means purely reading; it'd be imo pretty worthless for typing a reply like this.

Of course you wouldn't so much be browsing "the internet" as a more limited subset, although by and large the websites that are too heavy aren't worth loading in the first place. Anyway, I think it's a better use of time to integrate better with newsfeeds and wallabag and such than "the web".

I have vaguely considered the idea of integrating with https://freshrss.org/ (and other greader-API compatible services) as a plugin.

12-05-2018, 04:28 PM	#1
danielr Enthusiast Posts: 32 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2018 Device: Kobo Aura One	Internet browser Does Koreader have an Internet browser? Is it possible to surf the Internet?

12-06-2018, 12:54 PM	#5
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,477 Karma: 26012492 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	Because a brower engine is probably the single largest and most complex bit of software you'll ever find in today's computer devices, and experience has shown that it's basically a terrible experience on eInk, without investing massive time & efforts into it. (Hell, I'd go so far as to say it's already a terrible experience on full-blown tablets, so... ). Last edited by NiLuJe; 12-06-2018 at 12:56 PM.

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12-05-2018, 10:21 PM	#2
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,477 Karma: 26012492 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	@danielr: No. Wikipedia handling, and that's it.

12-05-2018, 10:56 PM	#3
Ken Maltby Wizard Posts: 4,465 Karma: 6900052 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: The Heart of Texas Device: Boox Note2, AuraHD, PDA,	KOReader actually interacts with "the net" in a number of ways that support reading, but in no way is it a place to do your "net surfing". Luck; Ken

12-06-2018, 10:59 AM	#4
mobama Evangelist Posts: 432 Karma: 2303460 Join Date: Aug 2017 Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 3, Onyx T76ML, Kobo H2O Edition 1, Kobo Mini	Koreader prompts to open up wifi when you do OTA update and when you search Wikipedia. There is also Evernote plugin and probably more thingies that require internet. But why not a webbrowser when Koreader already has a text editor and a terminal emulator? The browser could be yet another extension/plugin, e.g. compile some version of w3m to run in the terminal emulator and include it in the bundle.

12-07-2018, 12:41 PM	#7
Frenzie Wizard Posts: 1,613 Karma: 724945 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Antwerp Device: Kobo Aura H2O	@NiLuJe Depends on the website. I think tweakers.net is pretty decent in the Nickel browser, and this very forum might not be horrible either. It'd be even better in a faster, lighter browser like Netsurf. One of the Nickel browser's biggest defects (unless they fixed it) is the lack of a way to page up/down, but that you have to drag scroll. Of course that means purely reading; it'd be imo pretty worthless for typing a reply like this. Of course you wouldn't so much be browsing "the internet" as a more limited subset, although by and large the websites that are too heavy aren't worth loading in the first place. Anyway, I think it's a better use of time to integrate better with newsfeeds and wallabag and such than "the web". I have vaguely considered the idea of integrating with https://freshrss.org/ (and other greader-API compatible services) as a plugin.

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