Kazehakase - Fast Linux Browser
I consider it a given that Firefox is the best browser, but that’s because I haven’t put much time into investigating real alternatives. Kazehakase is a gecko-based browser that uses GTK and runs fast on Linux. Really fast.
It doesn’t have all the features of Firefox and it redefines a couple of shortcuts that make it a little difficult to get used to, but in the short time I’ve spent with it I’ve really come to appreciate it as a browser.
Gecko
Gecko is the layout/rendering engine that powers every Mozilla web product - Firefox included. The main problem with switching browsers is that a smaller group of programmers or a brand new product couldn’t possibly have a robust web rendering engine as some of the big players. This becomes a moot point when a new project decides to use Gecko to run the layout. It immediately competes with Firefox and only has to think about what kind of user interface to build.
GTK
Kazehakase uses GTK and is kinda ugly for a guy like me who’s become overly comfortable with KDE and QT. This was initially a little bothersome but Firefox isn’t much better in the widget department.
Speed
Kazehakase is really, really fast. It takes a few seconds for me to type the whole name with correct spelling into a terminal but as soon as I hit enter the browser is up and waiting for me. If only I could get this kind of love from FF. The page load times are drastically reduced despite a full implementation of JavaScript and the DOM.
Password Manager
I was amazed to find such a speedy little web tool that had the ability to save my passwords. This is an absolute requirement for me because of all the places I have to log into.
Tabbed Browsing
Middle-click on the mouse makes a new tab, as well as CTRL-ENTR (see ‘quirks’).
Bookmarks
This is the first browser that I’ve seen which lets you import bookmarks from Mozilla, Netscape, Galeon, Firefox, Konqueror, and w3m. I imported my FF bookmarks first thing and it actually worked. It’s so impressive that a piece of software could find the right location for my bookmarks on my customized Linux machine. The one major hangup with using Kazehakase is that it doesn’t support FireFox’s extensions like the Bookmarks Synchronizer on which I rely heavily.
Quirks
There’s no Google search bar. This is sad. However, this is replaced by a redefinition of the CTRL-ENTR shortcut key. While CTRL-ENTER normally prepends a www. and appends a .com in Kazehakase this will create a new tab with a google search of what you typed into the address bar. This is actually a pretty good idea considering it lets you save screen space with only one location bar - but I wish they’d used a different shortcut combination.
This is a good browser. I recommend it for use in older computers and low-ram environments but also in situations when you’re FF installation has become corrupted because of your incessant tweaking.
