Homebrew: Okiwi web browser
by David Hinkle 
{ Oct 2nd 2006 at 3:00PM }
Pedro J. Estébanez, a homebrewster who we assume is too frugal to purchase the already-available Opera browser, is apparently hard at work on creating a homebrew browser. Meant to cost users nothing, this browser, dubbed Okiwi, is to support .pdf files, JavaScript, file uploading, as well as a few other features. No word on release date as of right now.
[Thanks Steve!]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ispeakenglish @ Oct 2nd 2006 3:14PM
translation please
jarrod @ Oct 2nd 2006 3:18PM
My heart jumped, I thought you said the US version of Opera was available.
graham @ Oct 2nd 2006 3:49PM
holy shit! java! im game! stupid opera
ali emamdjomeh @ Oct 2nd 2006 3:58PM
wow, this could be interesting... now if only we got sound....
Jules @ Oct 2nd 2006 4:47PM
graham the post said javaScript not java. they're both different languages. javascript just means that if you fill in a form websites can bombard you with alerts saying 'you didn't enter a valid phone number'. it won't display java applets however.
Who knows maybe java is one of the extra things his browser will include. but your SD card will need to be big enough to store a java virtual machine.
Nushio @ Oct 2nd 2006 4:51PM
I already signed up to help him translate, and "ispeak english", babelfish and google translate are more than enough for now.
Jules: The SD card size isnt what worries me, but the fact that the JVM has to be custom coded for the NDS, and since Java isnt open sourced, it just isnt possible.
Emulating a Java VM is out of the question too, mainly for speed reasons (Think about it, Java games on cellphones and desktops load slowly... imagine emulating an emulator that emulates code!)
truplaya @ Oct 2nd 2006 4:52PM
When did the N. American browser come out anyway?
Did I miss it?
Lush @ Oct 2nd 2006 5:57PM
Actually java is about to be open source, they should be rolling it out early next year.
Tobey Cook @ Oct 2nd 2006 6:35PM
You could probably use something like J2ME. They've been using it on cellphones for a while and it has a pretty low memory footprint. Java applets do take up a lot of memory though, so I'm not sure it's something that's really feasible for the DS.
Nushio @ Oct 2nd 2006 7:37PM
If anything, a Java Client would be done independently first, without any browser or anything extra.
Sun has been promising to Open Source Java for years, I'd be surprised if they actually did it this time.
Besides, why code for Java* when you can write apps natively?
*This is coming from a hardcore Java coder. Been coding in Java for a bit over a year and its currently my only source of income.
kiran @ Oct 2nd 2006 8:17PM
sound just like the opera browser but not as reliable nor without he price tag. Anyone who adds java and sound to DS browsing will become an instant millionare.
Use of NZ national icons @ Oct 3rd 2006 3:19AM
is he even from New Zealand? does he know what a kiwi is?
If he is, why isnt NZ centered on the globe?
Earl @ Oct 5th 2006 8:01AM
R U SERIOUS?? FREE IS AWESOME!!
Now how do we get it? I mean, on release, how are we suppsoed to get this thing? They're gonna ship it to us for free?
D @ Oct 3rd 2006 3:47PM
How's he going to center NZ? That globe is not Earth. . .
The Wolfkin @ Oct 3rd 2006 8:14PM
#12 "is he even from New Zealand? does he know what a kiwi is?"
You seem to imply he doesn't know what a Kiwi is. I have to wonder if you are perhaps from New Zealand yourself and perhaps wonder if in New Zealand the Kiwi is an extremely rare fruit or something, but for your edification here's a picture of a real kiwi so you can compare to his icon
http://www.justfruitsandexotics.com/kiwi.jpg
They're /quite/ delicious.
While we're on the topic I'm a huge fan of that icon. I just enjoy it.
The Wolfkin @ Oct 3rd 2006 8:25PM
I'm sorry I didn't mean to imply ignorance on my behalf of the kiwi bird.
here's a picture of a real kiwi --> here's a picture of a physical kiwi to compare to the animated one for accuracy
fraxyl @ Oct 4th 2006 12:02AM
Vote for Pedro!
Doug @ Oct 4th 2006 11:13AM
I think we should specify, we mean kiwi fruit, and not kiwi bird. Either way, this could lead to more homebrew browser development for the rest of us.
I vote NO for sound though. I hate sound in webpages.
Thanatos @ Oct 16th 2006 6:34PM
I wish good luck to them. after seiing tests from opera ds browser. okiwi have good luck to kick out the official one.
(sorry for any langage errors, i'm french)
An other time, good luck for people who work on this project ;)
Sam @ Oct 18th 2006 1:41PM
"18. R U SERIOUS?? FREE IS AWESOME!!
Now how do we get it? I mean, on release, how are we suppsoed to get this thing? They're gonna ship it to us for free?"
You will probably have to use a SuperCard and SuperKey or similar devices.
Lee @ Nov 5th 2006 6:07AM
People are all complaining about Java.
Yay NO Java flash adware! Yay for simple browsing without a ton of bulky spammy web popup flash and java ads!
Seriously though, I might look at this homebrew browser, if I end up getting a Supercard of some kind. ;)