#lightweight browsers

[mikestek]

Is it time to re-consider your browser? Top Alternatives to Google Chrome with Pros and Cons

Alternatives to Google Chrome are becoming increasingly popular as users seek improved privacy and performance. If you’re feeling the pinch of data collection or find Chrome slowing down your browsing experience, it may be time to explore your options. This guide will probe into the pros and cons of various web browsers that could better suit your needs while ensuring a more secure and efficient…

[dr-gaytorius]

Idk why I'm so nervous for my embalming theory midterm tomorrow, I've never scored less like like a 90 on any of my assignments and get 100s on most of them, but by god. I feel like I'm going to throw up and die

[thunderlina]

In the wake of the TikTok ban and revival as a mouthpiece for fascist propaganda, as well as the downfall of Twitter and Facebook/Facebook-owned platforms to the same evils, I think now is a better time than ever to say LEARN HTML!!! FREE YOURSELVES FROM THE SHACKLES OF MAJOR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND EMBRACE THE INDIE WEB!!!

You can host a website on Neocities for free as long as it's under 1GB (which is a LOT more than it sounds like let me tell you) but if that's not enough you can get 50GB of space (and a variety of other perks) for only $5 a month.

And if you can't/don't want to pay for the extra space, sites like File Garden and Catbox let you host files for free that you can easily link into NeoCities pages (I do this to host videos on mine!) (It also lets you share files NeoCities wouldn't let you upload for free anyways, this is how I upload the .zip files for my 3DS themes on my site.)

Don't know how to write HTML/CSS? No problem. W3schools is an invaluable resource with free lessons on HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and a whole slew of other programming languages, both for web development and otherwise.

Want a more traditional social media experience? SpaceHey is a platform that mimics the experience of 2000s MySpace

Struggling to find independent web pages that cater to your interests via major search engines? I've got you covered. Marginalia and Wiby are search engines that specifically prioritize non-commercial content. Marginalia also has filters that let you search for more specific categories of website, like wikis, blogs, academia, forums, and vintage sites.

Maybe you wanna log off the modern internet landscape altogether and step back into the pre-social media web altogether, well, Protoweb lets you do just that. It's a proxy service for older browsers (or really just any browser that supports HTTP, but that's mostly old browsers now anyways) that lets you visit restored snapshots of vintage websites.

Protoweb has a lot of Geocities content archived, but if you're interested in that you can find even more old Geocities sites over on the Geocities Gallery

And really this is just general tip-of-the-iceberg stuff. If you dig a little deeper you can find loads more interesting stuff out there. The internet doesn't have to be a miserable place full of nothing but doomposting and targeted ads. The first step to making it less miserable is for YOU, yes YOU, to quit spending all your time on it looking at the handful of miserable websites big tech wants you to spend all your time on.

[nekofantasia]

my mom had a tiny dell latitude and it has win7 hhhhhh

[the960writers]

Do you think it's a good idea to try and get away from Google Docs when it comes to writing? I really can't afford any other fancy program to write my drafts in, and it honestly seems like the easiest - not to mention, most convenient - program to use to share my manuscript with beta readers. I could use advice on this matter because I keep seeing things across the net about it being a bad place to work on writing, but I have no idea what to turn to to make things easy for me and my future beta readers.

This is such a good question. Thank you.

So, a little backstory. Ever since Google removed their motto "do no evil" they have gone down the rather predictable path of all big players of the rot economy: putting profits over user experience.

A little while back, there was rumor that Google trains AI with the content of google docs, then they said they don't really, they only scan the content and do nothing with it, and then they started blocking access to documents with sexy images. Do we believe that Google has our own best interest at heart? That's something everyone has to decide for themselves.

Back then, I made a post with alternatives for Google Docs, you can find it here, also check the reblogs for more options:

Now, is it a good idea to switch from google docs? I think it is, but I'm also not consistent with it. As you mentioned, it seems to be the easiest to share writing with beta readers, and I also still often use it for fanfiction.

But there are alternatives, and they require very little adjustment in the process. Let me give you two free options.

Ellipsus is webbased, meaning you can write in it in the browser on any device. They have sharing, specifically for beta reading, and an export function for AO3.

Reedsy (marketplace around everything self-publishing) has an editor. It is webbased, and they also have an option for sharing with beta readers. This software is aimed at book type-setting and exporting but it works just fine for copying to web.

Personally, I'm currently switching everything to LibreOffice (also free!) files in some cloud connected folder. I used to do a lot of mobile writing on my phone with a bluetooth keyboard but currently, I'm taking my laptop everywhere so LibreOffice works great for me. If I have to use my phone or tablet for some lightweight mobile writing, on vacation for instance, I can still use something webbased.

So, I hope I gave you some interesting options. Do I think it's a good idea to make us less dependent on Google? Yes, I do. I don't trust them.

We have alternatives, and they cost us nothing more than a little adjustment.

~ barbex

[virtualizationhowto]

XCP-ng Beta New XO Lite Web Interface

XCP-ng Beta New XO Lite Web Interface #homelab #selfhosted #xcp-ng #XenOrchestraLiteOverview #XCPngSingleHostAdministration #XOLiteSecurityFeatures #NoInstallationVMSolution #XenOrchestraVsXOLite #LightweightXenOrchestraAlternative #xolite

XCP-NG is a great virtualization solution that keeps getting better. With each new release, Vates is adding functionality to the Xen Orchestra platform and a new Xen Orchestra “Lite” web client that looks amazing in the latest XCP-ng beta. It adds an additional way admins can manage single XCP-ng hosts. The Xen Orchestra Lite (XO Lite) beta project is awaiting its first official release.…

[bamsara]

Do you have any kind of separate fund going for a new laptop? Asking because I'd definitely contribute to help you get towards that goal if there was one

Nope! While it would be nice to have something capable of leaving the house and touching grass while I work, I have a great desktop and Arson still boots up and can usually run 1-2 browser tabs and my writing program as long as I am careful with him, so I'll use the desktop for normal work/creation and Arson at night/when my legs are really bad and can't sit at the desk.

I do eventually want to get another laptop, something that can handle art and streaming (not so much anything past lightweight games since I have desktop for that now) for travel purposes and to help my whole mental stuck-at-home issue, but it's at the bottom of my priority list. I'm more focused on getting some dental work done soon, since I gotta pay $400 for one tooth next week not including the rest of me XD

Arson might be dying but with a little bit of glue and gumption hopefully I can make him live a little longer (years, forever, hopefully)

[utopicwork]

This is the result of WeasyPrint + ImageMagick + Sigl run on the ricky.pics homepage

WeasyPrint converts a web page to a pdf without a browser engine, ImageMagick converts the pdf to images, Sigl displays the image results in terminal

Essentially I have a prototype for a lightweight terminal based browser that doesn't need a browser engine to work

[ms-demeanor]

"but every computer in those screenshots is a piece of shit that will struggle to run a browser and a word processor at the same time unless you feel comfortable installing Linux." I know fuck-all about computer *specs*, but I can definitely install Linux, very comfortable with that. What changes about your advice if that's the case? [my laptop currently works fine, i'm just curious]

Linux is a lot less resource intensive than Windows; if you're comfortable installing linux then a $200 PC with 4GB RAM can run really well on some lightweight distros.

I've got a 12-year old Eee PC with a core 2 duo processor and 2GB of RAM running MX Linux and it's great for word processing (LibreOffice) and light web browsing (firefox), but it would be hot garbage if I tried to use PowerPoint on it.

So if you're comfortable installing Linux my advice is to seek out the specs recommended for your preferred distro and use those as a guideline, and in many cases something like Light or Mint would run well on the cheap laptops I showed.

[qu33rsources]

How to install NewPipe on Android

NewPipe is a YouTube replacement client for Android devices. It's open-source (meaning, you can see all of their code as you please), privacy-oriented, lightweight, and supports features that are normally locked behind a YouTube Premium paywall.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with NewPipe, YouTube, Android, Google, Alphabet Inc, or any other brand or name mentioned here. I made this guide to help my friends who were curious.

NewPipe's Website: https://newpipe.net/

The GitHub Repository

Step 0. Compatibility check

Make sure you're running an Android device! This won't work on an Apple device of any kind! Also, for those more tech-savvy among you, if you have the F-Droid store installed, you can download NewPipe straight from there!

Step 1. Downloading

Go to NewPipe's Github repo (repository, the codebase or where all of the code is stored). Scroll to the bottom of the page until you see "Releases". Click on the one that says "Latest" next to it in a little green bubble:

Your version number (v#...) will be different if you're reading this in the future! That's okay. Scroll past the changelog (unless you want to read it!) until you find "Assets":

Click on the first one, the one with the little cube ending in .apk. APK files are Android Package (Kit) and are the main format for downloading apps. Once you click on the link, it should begin downloading or your browser will ask you to confirm that you want to download this file. You should always verify the filename matches what you expect it to be (namely, the file format) before attempting to install! It might take a few moments for the file to download depending on your internet connection.

Step 2. Installation

Once you have the file downloaded, you can click the download popup in your notification bar or find the file in your device's file system. One of 2 things will happen:

You will get a popup asking if you want to install an APK by the name of NewPipe - confirm that you do (and make sure the app is really NewPipe!) and it will install automatically. You can then click "Open" to open the app and begin using it.

You will get a popup warning you that you have the ability to install apps from unknown sources disabled and that you can't install this. This is normal and does not mean that you downloaded the wrong thing.

If you got the first popup, continue past this step. For those of you who got the second, let's go over what this means.

By default, most Androids have this setting disabled. This is for security purposes, so you can't accidentally install a malicious app from the whole internet. If you enable this setting (allow installations from unknown/unsigned sources), you are theoretically putting yourself at risk. Realistically, you're probably fine. But, after installing NewPipe, you can always re-disable the setting if it makes you more comfortable. That will prevent you from installing updates in the future, but it can always be re-enabled.

Ready to turn that setting on? It will vary by your individual device! Some devices will take you directly to the page with the setting upon failed installation, and some you will just have to find it yourself using the searchbar in settings.

Once you've allowed installations from unknown sources (wording may vary slightly), try to repeat the steps above of clicking the download popup or finding the APK in your files and trying to install it. It should work correctly this time!

Step 3. Updating NewPipe

Like most apps, NewPipe is in development currently and frequently has new versions released to improve it and fix bugs. Unlike most apps, NewPipe needs to be manually updated, since we haven't downloaded through the Google Play store.

To update NewPipe, all you have to do is follow the above steps for installing the app, except that when you get the popup asking to install it, it will instead say "Update". That's it! NewPipe and Android handle the rest.

NewPipe also has popup notifications for when the app has a new update, so you don't have to worry about checking the GitHub for a new release. Just click on the "A new version is available" popup and it should take you directly to the webpage.

That's it! Enjoy browsing videos in peace without ads and with the ability to download and so much more. Pro tip: you can copy paste YouTube links into the NewPipe search bar to go directly to that video/playlist/channel.

[johnny-chaos]

hey ppl who draw post-canon gordon w a prosthetic . go to your browser of choice and search “bebionic arm prosthetic” or “below elbow prosthetic”. try to avoid resources that are sensationalized or presented as novelties please? focus on material with real people who use them every day . search for arm prosthesis demo videos and tips on how to use them or tips for living with a below-elbow amputation in general. i promise it’s more interesting than an all-metal hand that works exactly like a flesh one and isn’t even attached to the nub <3

here’s the dos and donts of the bebionic, and someone comparing multiple prosthetic hands, and someone trying different (above elbow) prostheses, and here’s a way they’re made (a lotta this is candid footage jsyk, but it shows how they move and are used)

for reference, there’s three main types, and thats body-powered/mechanical, myoelectric (the kind with nerve sensors) (note commercial ones can’t feel!), and passive/cosmetic (has no/little movement). they’re usually made of soft plastic, lightweight titanium, and silicone

now go be free <3

[tequitoclown]

List of programs and stuff I use

[pt: List of programs and stuff I use ./end pt]

Disclaimer: This is in no way trying to say I have the best setup of all time or anything. The point of this post is mostly to introduce people to cool things they may not know about, or a place to point to when someone asks what I use!

(Last updated: 6/28/24)

Browser

[pt: browser ./end pt]

Firefox (Windows/Linux/MacOS/Android/IOS) - Obviously I recommend Firefox above all else, especially with chromium-based browsers moving onto manifest V3.

Bitwarden (Windows/Linux/MacOS/Android/IOS) - Good password manager! Used it for years with no complaints!

AdNauseam (Firefox/Chrome) - My adblocker. It's built upon uBlock Origin and has all the same features, but it actively clicks on the ads to waste advertiser money. If that's not up your alley, uBlock Origin is fantastic too!

Wayback Machine extension (Firefox/Chrome/Safari) - Allows you to make snapshots of pages, or view old snapshots if a page isn't loading correctly!

XKit ReWritten (Firefox/Chrome) - Pretty much a must-have for Tumblr. Has a ton of features to make navigating this site much better. Full feature list here!

Discord

[pt: Discord ./end pt]

Vencord (Windows/Linux/MacOS) - A modified Discord client that adds support for plugins and themes. Basically allows you to install plugins from a massive list that improves Discord. (Technically against ToS. Basically, don't post that you're using it in big servers, and turn off your themes before sharing screenshots.)

Bunny (Android/IOS) - If you miss Vendetta for Discord, Bunny is an actively maintained fork of Vendetta! Basically the same as above, but for Android/IOS instead of desktop. Same warnings about ToS apply.

Aliucord (Android) - Miss the old Android app feel, and still want to have plugins/themes? Pretty cool but has a less impressive theme/plugin selection. Same warnings about ToS apply.

Bluecord (Android) - Another Discord modification without the new Discord UI!

Youtube

[pt: Youtube ./end pt]

Freetube (Windows/Linux/MacOS) - A desktop Youtube client with adblock and sponsorblock built in. Still in beta, but very good.

Sponsorblock (Firefox/Chrome) - Pretty much a must-have for watching Youtube these days. Automatically skips over sponsors, self-promos, interaction bait, outros, intros, etc. Highly configurable!

Dearrow (Firefox/Chrome) - Haven't used this very long but I love it. Gets rid of vague or clickbait titles/thumbnails and replaces it with descriptive and more accurate thumbnails. Also built into Freetube now!

Newpipe (Android) - Lightweight Youtube client. I haven't used it myself much but people swear by it!

ReVanced (Android) - Modded Youtube client with Sponsorblock, Return Youtube Dislike, and Youtube Premium features. Doesn't support Dearrow as of 6/25/24 :( (PLEASE BE CAREFUL INSTALLING THIS. If you don't know what you're doing, you can cause some damage!)

Spotify

[pt: spotify ./end pt]

Spicetify (Windows/Linux/MacOS) - Spotify modded client. Has adblock, themes, etc! Think Vencord, but for Spotify.

Misc.

[pt: Misc ./End pt]

Obsidian (Windows/Linux/MacOS/Android/IOS) - Basically a personal wiki for notetaking! A bit of a learning curve. Fanfic writers and worldbuilders... go feral.

Notepad++ (Windows) - A must-have text editor. Might be on more platforms but can't confirm?

Mullvad VPN (Windows/Android) - The only VPN I can 100% recommend. Cheap, fast, and really cares about your privacy. It's a little under $6 USD a month!

NVDA (Windows) - A free screenreader I use for reading large blocks of text. (Notice: I am not visually impaired to the point I rely on a screenreader to navigate my PC. I use it on occasion to read text to me because I have a hard time reading. If you're looking for advice on screenreaders for the visually impaired unfortunately I'm not a good source! Maybe check out the #visually impaired, #blind, or #accessibility?)

Syncthing (Windows/Linux/MacOS/Android) - Lets you sync folders across devices. It's especially good with Obsidian.

"Tequito, I didn't find what I wanted!"

[pt: "Tequito, I didn't find what I wanted!" ./end pt]

I'm sorry. :( If you're looking for a program I have personally mentioned using in the past, feel free to shoot me an ask or DM! Or hey... maybe try searching the letters "FMHY" and having a look around? *wink*

[theshipsong]

how i make gifs with only free software

this is adapted from what i did on macOS for years; i now run desktop linux due to planned obsolescence / apple's addiction to waste. if you use macOS, homebrew was my real introduction to using the shell and linux-like package management, and look at me now. every single gif i've made here (#spicagif) and on my sides @chongmiz and @buwanbyul use this method.

three programs mentioned here are command line-only, but optional; all this actually takes is VLC and GIMP.

acquire video 🏴‍☠️. my bittorrent client of choice is transmission, and yt-dlp (cli) is great if what you want is on youtube or vimeo

take screenshots in vlc by holding down the snapshot hotkey (sft+s is default); i tend to reduce playback speed for action sequences. you can also extract frames with ffmpeg (cli) which is a vlc dependency that should install automatically with any package manager, but it only makes sense if you've exported a clip of the part you want. both options are annoying.

open these screenshots as layers in gimp and edit away. my order of business is usually scale -> crop (save .xcf) -> sharpen -> color. this will give me a repetitive strain injury because i have not found a solution other than clicking every layer and hitting ctl+f

if you need subtitles or a watermark, which i do more on my k-pop side @buwanbyul, i recommend @animstack (yes an actual official linux-adjacent blog!)

i do not actually export gifs, they are webps:

honorable mentions

sshfs: i don't keep video on my laptop or like attaching external storage to it, so i torrent straight into my headless server over ssh. i realize normal people do not have this but this is how i "stream" from my own media library

pcmanfm: i browse files with ranger, but handling that many images without thumbnails is foolish. pcmanfm is very lightweight and is meant to replace more established file browser GUIs like thunar and dolphin

edit 2025/02/26: just mentioning @vlc-official @gimp-official

[bestworstcase]

This may sound like a dumb question but I’m not very tech savvy. I’d have to play around when o got home but is there a way to save the RWBy stuff from the mega folder to my own PC? It recommended the mega app but I wouldn’t use it for anything aside from rwby and I’m trying to limit my app usage since my storage situation is uhhh cramped

i do recommend using the mega app to download, just because the files are quite large and megasync will handle pausing/resuming downloads if e.g. your network connection is interrupted. plus you can just queue up everything you want and let it run in the background until it's finished. the app itself is very lightweight.

i think you might be imagining something like e.g. spotify, where if you download music on spotify it's stored locally on your machine for offline listening but you still need the spotify application to listen to it; that is not how megasync works. it's a simple download manager that facilitates getting the files from mega onto your computer, so once they're downloaded you can just uninstall the application.

(also, the RWBY folder is currently about 270 GB, so you'll need quite a bit of free storage if you want everything).

that said, you can download through the browser like this:

if you see a message saying "The download size exceeds the maximum size supported by the browser" and you really don't want to install megasync, you can try going into the folder to download the files one by one:

although note that this may not work for very large individual files, depending on the browser.

[not-poignant]

Hi! Just from the last ask you answered, I was wondering what your writing media is? Do you use a computer/specific app on computer, or a notebook, or do you do like the portable e-writers?

Thank you! Just got curious… also the quote on your white board about writing flowing like readers tears is so evil and amazing 😂 I genuinely hope that for you cause your writing does tend to tug on the heartstrings very often

Hi anon!

I use a desktop computer, and primarily use Focus Writer (completely free, though for those who can afford it, I do recommend leaving a tip) and Microsoft Word, though I'm using the latter less now that they've forced Copilot on us. I hate it with the fire of a thousand suns.

I like Focus Writer because I like writing on pretty backgrounds and it's fully customisable.

I use Obsidian for my worldbuilding, because it's a nice lightweight program and I don't like browser based worldbuilding programs (I tried World Anvil for a while and it wasn't for me).

As for the quote, it's from a reader!! I liked it so much I printed it out. Just about everything on that board except for the Druidry flyer is from readers, because it helps keep me inspired and motivated. The tears one makes me laugh, but it was such a nice comic blessing I put it up :D

[pablotools]

What is PabloTools, and how is it useful for developers or creators?

PabloTools is a browser-based web application that brings together over 30 lightweight tools designed for everyday tasks commonly faced by developers, content creators, and students. The main idea behind it is efficiency—not necessarily offering the most advanced features, but instead providing fast, simple tools that run instantly without needing installations or switching between apps.

For example, if you are a frontend developer, you probably need to format JSON, generate placeholder text, test QR codes, or manipulate base64 strings quite frequently. Instead of jumping between different websites or utilities, PabloTools keeps all of these in one tab. It includes tools like:

QR Code Generator

Text Compare

Base64 Encoder/Decoder

Lorem Ipsum Generator

Character/Word Counter

Image and Audio Converters

PDF Reordering and Merging Tools

Timestamp Converter

Unit and Color Pickers

One of the standout features is the Quick Access Panel, where users can pin their most-used tools for faster access. Also, all processing, especially for files like images, videos, or audio, happens locally in the browser, which helps protect privacy.

There's a free tier with limited access, and a subscription-based model for those who want to unlock the full set of tools and customization options (like choosing between different color themes).

Overall, PabloTools is built for people who want to save time on repetitive micro-tasks without compromising their workflow. It’s not meant to replace full-featured software but to make small tasks faster and more convenient.