Topic: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

Is there a browser built into the chumby?  One that could just view simplified web pages?  Seems like it'd be easier to built quick widgets using a web page rather than custom flash.  Don't get me wrong, there's LOTS of stuff that's much better done in flash.  But for some simple stuff it'd be nice to have a browser of some sort.  Is there one in there?

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

There is not currently a browser in the chumby.

We've built a couple of "simple" browsers from various Open Source projects - they tend to be quite large and require a lot of resources, and the overall experience is pretty poor.

The Flash Player is only about 1.5M, and includes video, audio, animation, vector graphics, networking etc.  The smallest graphical browsers we were able to make weighed in around 7MB and didn't include the necessary fonts and, of course, no plugins, very limited DOMs, and some didn't have functioning Javascript or CSS.

I recently built "links", a text-only, console-only browser, and it was just under a MB.

This is not to say that there will be no browser for chumby in the future - just that it's a hard problem to do well.

Perhaps some enterprising programmer will port a relatively complete WebKit implementation or something.

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

Duane, could you share this text light browser source code? I am very interested on experimenting with it. Thanks!

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

How well did "links" work for you on the Chumby?
I use that browser on my Ubuntu box quite often and love it.


I also found that using command line apps at home scares my family, and keeps them off my computer.

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

Veilkrand wrote:

Duane, could you share this text light browser source code? I am very interested on experimenting with it. Thanks!

http://links.sourceforge.net/

I simply cross compiled it for ARM.

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

Heh, "simply cross compiled".  Oh yah, it's THAT easy...  wink

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

What, you didn't expect him to email you a binary installer did you?

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

wkearney99 wrote:

Heh, "simply cross compiled".  Oh yah, it's THAT easy...  wink

Yeah, well, for a hacker it's pretty simple smile

Install the toolchain, download and unpack the source for links from Sourceforge, then:

# ./configure --build-i396-linux --host=arm-linux
# make

The resulting the executable is called "links" - copy to USB drive, plug into a chumby, and run from an SSH shell.

Oh, and you might also have to realign the warp coils, but only if the deflector array is detecting a tachyon pulse.

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

Come on Duane!
How could you ever forget to adjust the Heisenberg Compensators?

CRJ
Charley Jones, PMP
A+ MOUS MCP MCSA MCSE MCDBA MCAD MCT MCTS MCITP PMP ITIL
Founder & President: S3OLV.Com    Founder & President: LVXUG.Com

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

crjones wrote:

How could you ever forget to adjust the Heisenberg Compensators?

Because whenever I start to move them, I don't know where they are anymore.

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

Ah, Heisenberg and his uncertainty principal,
Very sharp Duane...

CRJ
Charley Jones, PMP
A+ MOUS MCP MCSA MCSE MCDBA MCAD MCT MCTS MCITP PMP ITIL
Founder & President: S3OLV.Com    Founder & President: LVXUG.Com

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

All this geek speak is giving me a craving for tea, earl grey, hot.

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

13

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

Maybe contact Opera to make a customized version with an onscreen keyboard?

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

Maybe contact Oprah.  She can probably get it done.

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

Perhaps a flash frontend for Lynx?   Or what about Firefox's new mobile browser Fennec?  I know it is in early development... but it would be interesting to see it run on the Chumby!

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

i keep getting illegal instruction wher trying to run debugchumby, start_links.sh or the links binary

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

Duane wrote:

There is not currently a browser in the chumby.

We've built a couple of "simple" browsers from various Open Source projects - they tend to be quite large and require a lot of resources, and the overall experience is pretty poor.


Hi Duane,

is it possible to get on of the Browsers ? It should only call up a php on my webserver, which reloads every Minute, where i can see, who's listening to my webradio. No Graphics etc.

greetings
Woody

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

Why don't you have your webserver generate some trivial XML with the data you want, then you can use Flash to show it?

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

The php has a function, too. If a streamripper is found, he would be kicked from the stream.

We play Music for real listeners, not for machines :-)

Re: Can chumby browse HTML pages?

Well, the Flash widget could do that too - it's possible to do HTTP GET and POST requests from Flash, just like your HTML page.