Amiga.org

Amiga News and Community Announcements => Amiga News and Community Announcements => Amiga Software News => Topic started by: Matt on September 12, 2002, 10:39:46 PM

Title: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: Matt on September 12, 2002, 10:39:46 PM
The official IBrowse homepage (http://www.ibrowse-dev.net/) has been updated with a Frequently Asked Questions section

IBrowse FAQ (http://www.ibrowse-dev.net/faq.php)

Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: Cluke on September 12, 2002, 11:00:59 PM
Hey, didn't I already read this FAQ about 2 years ago?
Just release the bloody thing!! ;-)

Note I am not an IBrowse basher, 2.2 has served me well since I bought it but I'm *still* waiting for SSL all this time (particularly annoying since even 1.x has SSL)
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: 4pLaY on September 12, 2002, 11:09:37 PM
Not even CSS! sigh
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: Desler on September 12, 2002, 11:20:45 PM
In my opinion they should have kept this FAQ for themselves

q: will there be ppc support
a: not as long as we can sell it under 680xx

q: will there be printing abilities, flash, layers etc..
a: Haha no way dude

q: Is it the complete version which gets shipped with aos4.0
a: NO no no No how would we be able to get rich on that. Its only a taster

q: So basically your product sucks
a: uhm yes. but only until version 625121.1 gets released

 :-(  :-(  :-(  This faq really disappointed me. I really do hope its 2 years old.
Maybe I should chech the progress with Aweb :-D
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: ikir on September 12, 2002, 11:42:58 PM
I hope that IBrowse 2.3 will fantastic. it's ####.
Actual Voyager is much better! it can view tru type font, engine already recognize css, it has flash.....

i browse don't have nothing special! ####!!!!!

I'm very sad..... :-(
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: Orgin on September 12, 2002, 11:49:54 PM
I guess you'll have to wait for 3.0 ;)

/Björn
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: carls on September 12, 2002, 11:50:36 PM
I'm just hoping for more and better JavaScript support. CSS can wait IMHO.
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: futaura on September 12, 2002, 11:51:50 PM
I would suggest you delay your evaluation until IBrowse 2.3 + feature list has been released, and you'll see for yourself that's it's not all that bad.  It's not as if the developers have been sitting there twiddling their thumbs for 2 years - a lot of hard work has been put into IBrowse since 2.2 was released.  What isn't mentioned in the FAQ is the improved Javascript support ("improved" being a bit of an understatement).

As for PPC support - that will come in IB3.0.  IB2.3 is too late in the development cycle to start worrying about changing the source code so that it works with GCC and OS4/PPC.  The FAQ also mentions that postscript printing has been improved, so it's untrue to say there's no printing capability.
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: 4pLaY on September 12, 2002, 11:53:15 PM
What they are making for 3.0 was things i was EXPECTING in 2.3 this is really bad but what could you expect? it isnt like we had any up 2 date browser on AmigaOS ever! maybe the open Aweb can change this not that they have released anything yet wich makes me wonder if theyre still arguing about what to do.
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: xeron on September 13, 2002, 12:14:01 AM
Quote

What they are making for 3.0 was things i was EXPECTING in 2.3 this is really bad but what could you expect?


I'm sorry? You were EXPECTING CSS and PPC for 2.3? No wonder you were disappointed...

As for the guy with the lame parody of the FAQ, they said PPC and CSS would be available for IBrowse 3.0, and they didn't say "we'll never get rich like that", they said "Steffan doesn't expect anything for 2.3, its a free upgrade for 2.2 users".
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: Desler on September 13, 2002, 12:24:06 AM
Quote
they didn't say "we'll never get rich like that", they said "Steffan doesn't expect anything for 2.3, its a free upgrade for 2.2 users".

Fair enough i may have been a bit to quick

Quote
Is the release of IBrowse 2.3 in AmigaOS4 the full version ? No, it's a special OEM version for AmigaOS4 - not as restricted as the demo, but not the full release

But then I dont understand why the Aos4 version is not a full version. If the reason is not for the individual user to buy a full version then please enlighten me
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: System on September 13, 2002, 12:30:12 AM
I'm very sad to hear that it's just a 68k version for OS4...and restricted too!

I hope Aweb or even Mozilla will appear PPC-native on AmigaOS4!

I think nowadays browser is quite essential part of OS...so why it has to be SO limited!!!??? :-?
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: xeron on September 13, 2002, 12:39:41 AM
Quote

I think nowadays browser is quite essential part of OS


You know what? Browsers are not an essential part of an OS. Neither are super-mediaplayers, games, a cd full of skins, or instant messenger clients. Although, I'm sure MS don't agree :-)

Browsers are an essential thing to have available FOR an OS, however..
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: xeron on September 13, 2002, 12:43:11 AM
Quote

But then I dont understand why the Aos4 version is not a full version. If the reason is not for the individual user to buy a full version then please enlighten me


IBrowse 2.3 is free if you are a registered IBrowse user. Sounds fair to me.

Oh what, so because they don't give away their hard work for free to people who have never paid to use IBrowse, they are greedy money grabbing people intent on getting rich? Pleeeease! How is anyone ever going to get rich from writing Amiga apps?
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: Desler on September 13, 2002, 12:57:08 AM
Quote
Oh what, so because they don't give away their hard work for free to people who have never paid to use IBrowse, they are greedy money grabbing people intent on getting rich?

Of course they should get paied for their work, thats not my point. My point is:

1. Just getting your browser as 'The official' amiga browser is worth a lot of money. Even if they dont get  a penny directly from amiga, people will preferebly buy new versions of IBrowse when they are available

2.They said themselves that the specs of ver 2.3 where downsized in order to release it with aos 4. So whats the point in downsizing it FURTHER by making a limitid version, when its obvious that the real goodies will be shipped with ver3.0 of IBrowse :-?
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: futaura on September 13, 2002, 12:58:14 AM
Quote:
But then I dont understand why the Aos4 version is not a full version. If the reason is not for the individual user to buy a full version then please enlighten me


Hyperion are probably paying Stefan a small fee to include a restricted version with the OS, and that fee fits inside Hyperion's budget for OS4 based on the retail price.  Now, I'm sure if Hyperion were prepared to pay Stefan somewhere near the full retail price of IBrowse per copy of OS4 sold, then the full version could be included.  But, that would of course mean the price of OS4 would have to go up to accomodate for the IBrowse costs.  Obviously, there are many more serious reasons why it would not be a good idea to include a full version, like competition issues, for example.

In summary, you get what you pay for - you can't expect a moreorless free fully-featured copy of IBrowse to be supplied with OS4 - you're paying for OS4, not IBrowse.  But, the fact that Hyperion a presumably paying Stefan a small fee, is reflected by the fact that the OEM version won't be as restricted as the demo version (SSL is disabled in the demo, but won't be in the OS4 OEM version, for example).
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: futaura on September 13, 2002, 01:09:36 AM
Quote:
2.They said themselves that the specs of ver 2.3 where downsized in order to release it with aos 4. So whats the point in downsizing it FURTHER by making a limitid version, when its obvious that the real goodies will be shipped with ver3.0 of IBrowse



Where did it say that?  For starters, IBrowse 2.3 will be released before OS4, so the feature set has absolutely nothing to do with OS4 issues.  If you're referring to the plugin API comments - in no way have 2.3 specs been "downsized".  How can features in 2.3 be "downsized" if they have never actually existed or been completed?  In fact, the actual IBrowse 2.3 specs are far higher than originally planned.
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: CD32Freak on September 13, 2002, 02:52:36 AM
Quote
Why has the development of IBrowse 2.3 taken so long ?
Stefan took up skydiving :)
I guess that's the same reason why AmigaOS 4.0 has been delayed..lol :lol: ;-)
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: novaburst on September 13, 2002, 03:43:08 AM
I'm a little confused, so I was hoping someone would help me out here.
Since there isn't going to be a PPC version of IBrowse, what does that mean?  Isn't the AmigaOne going to be PPC? If this is just a 68k version, then it will just run on classic hardware? Does that mean there will not be a browser that runs on the AmigaOne?

Thanks for the help!
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: xeron on September 13, 2002, 03:51:10 AM
Quote

I'm a little confused, so I was hoping someone would help me out here.
Since there isn't going to be a PPC version of IBrowse, what does that mean? Isn't the AmigaOne going to be PPC? If this is just a 68k version, then it will just run on classic hardware? Does that mean there will not be a browser that runs on the AmigaOne?


IBrowse 2.3 will be a 680x0 application that will run natively on classic Amigas, and under the petunia 68k emulation layer of OS4.

You probably won't even be able to tell is 68k when running under OS4, though. IBrowse is a very fast browser as it is...
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: 4pLaY on September 13, 2002, 05:13:02 AM
It looks real good for outsiders when they hear that the browser comming with the OS is just running under emulation! what it Apple was to do the same? i can see the headlines now.
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: xeron on September 13, 2002, 05:17:25 AM
Quote

It looks real good for outsiders when they hear that the browser comming with the OS is just running under emulation! what it Apple was to do the same? i can see the headlines now.


But Amiga is not Apple, OS4 is at best a hobby OS, and to an Amiga newbie, they wouldn't even KNOW it was emulated.

Just be pleased that that all 3 of the main Amiga browsers are actually BEING developed! For a while it looked like we were going to be stuck with AWeb 3.3 and IBrowse 2.2!

PPC and CSS is promised for both AWeb and IBrowse, but it is a very big task to get these done, especially by such small teams!

The authors of these browsers don't owe us ANYTHING! They are doing what they can for the remaining Amiga community, and I salute them.
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: J on September 13, 2002, 05:22:41 AM
Quote
It looks real good for outsiders when they hear that the browser comming with the OS is just running under emulation! what it Apple was to do the same?


Apple *did* do the same when the moved to PPC. Okay, Apple didn't actually produce a browser but they included a 68k emulator in the OS to run 68k Apps. And Apple did all this years ago.

I can't say I'm impressed by the iBrowse FAQ. It doesn't really make a positive impression. I mean CSS I can understand but Flash, PPC I thought would've beena priority. Again, I can sort off understand time contraints they have.

Having said that, if Amiga OS wants to be taken seriously, it needs a fully featured Web browser and a MS Office compatable office suite.

J
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: lordgoata on September 13, 2002, 06:20:38 AM
Quote
I can't say I'm impressed by the iBrowse FAQ.


It's not meant to impress, it's meant to answer frequently asked questions. There is not one item on the FAQ that has not been covered on the IBrowse mailing list, but I tried to ensure the answers gave as much information as possible, where I knew there would be areas of discussion.

Quote
It doesn't really make a positive impression.


Depends on your point of view, I mean it answers all the questions people have been asking, they know what will, and what won't be in the release. Everyone always complains there isn't enough information, or people promise things and don't deliver in the Amiga community, so I tried to be as clear about things as I could.

Feature wise it may be dissappointing in that there is no CSS etc, but it was never said it would have CSS, and anytime anyone has asked, the answer has always been no.

Quote
I mean CSS I can understand but Flash


It was asked if the API was complete enough to at least do a Flash plugin, but alas it's not at this time.

Quote
PPC I thought would've beena priority


PPC was never planned, Stefan said he'd have to change compilers (I'm not a programmer so don't know the technical details, perhaps Oliver can explain that a bit more if required). The problem here was the announcement made about IBrowse PPC in OS4. Stefan was on holiday at the time, the first he heard of it was when he returned!

I'm sorry so many people feel that the FAQ has put a negative spin on the 2.3 release. That was not our (or mine - I compiled it) intention in any way, it was simply to clear up some common questions and missconceptions, and to provide some information for new visitors to the site (and the 100+ new subscribers to the mailing list since the site was "announced").

Best Regards,
Dave Fisher

PS. This is my first post here, so don't be too hard on me  ;-)
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: Argo on September 13, 2002, 06:51:27 AM
Quote
I think nowadays browser is quite essential part of OS...


wrong, a web browser should never be part of the OS. Though it is an essential piece of software to have....
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: Argo on September 13, 2002, 06:55:55 AM
Quote
Although, I'm sure MS don't agree


I think they are stuck with the mentality from the beginning of the Computing Era, that since there isn't alot of software the OS has to provide all usability...
Come on, you remember the days when they had computers that had builtin programs...  MS have just made one amemdment to this philosophy, there version is better and should be the one used... I'm waiting for them to integrate Office suite into Windows. I guess though with the legal actions that have been taken against them, they'll have to "hide" it.
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: System on September 13, 2002, 06:58:17 AM
Quote
You know what? Browsers are not an essential part of an OS. Neither are super-mediaplayers, games, a cd full of skins, or instant messenger clients. Although, I'm sure MS don't agree

Browsers are an essential thing to have available FOR an OS, however..

Yeah...I didn't meant that the browser should be integrated! :-o

But it would be nice to have full PPC native browser included.

On Amiga market it seems that browser developement is stopped or there's no money in it. Aweb is now free and what comes to Voayger...

Anyway my point is...WHY not full version straight out of box (OS)   :-)

If there's new users coming to Amiga...I bet they want full versions too! It's much easier than mess with keyfiles etc.
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: Elektro on September 13, 2002, 11:53:51 AM
I agree with mz. If Amiga wants to attract new users it will have to adopt to other platforms. Paying for absolutely everything is history (like it or not).

Users, not sponsors...
Title: Re: IBrowse FAQ
Post by: J on September 13, 2002, 09:51:29 PM
Quote

I'm sorry so many people feel that the FAQ has put a negative spin on the 2.3 release. That was not our (or mine - I compiled it) intention in any way, it was simply to clear up some common questions and missconceptions, and to provide some information for new visitors to the site (and the 100+ new subscribers to the mailing list since the site was "announced").


Thanks for your response. I guess it's preferable to release an honest FAQ than BS the community more with special features that don't exist.

The PPC situation seems to be typical of the Amiga scene at the moment - a PR cock-up. :-x  I wish people would get the facts right before annoucing things..especially about other people's products  :-x

I look forward to the day when we have an Amiga Browser, PPC version with Flash, CSS etc. Hopefully it won't be *too* long  :-)