Browser for Handheld PC.....

Right. But who seriously thinks we can raise $20,000 for a new browser? Well, it IS possible if the 775 people who signed the Minimo petition could donate $25 each.... Which I think some would, but not 100%.



Also, there is this post on the Minimo thread 2 years ago....

http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=260874


Edited by stingraze 2007-09-04 3:17 AM

IsoTherm, is there anything that can be done by others on RedGear to help?

Bear in mind, chiark, that, since Redgear will be a commercial product (sold for a price), anyone who assists isotherm may expect some form of compensation.

Alright, I decided to make a donations page to fund for this browser project. Since the goal, $22,500, is going to be a lot of money, I decided this new browser must support all Windows CE from 2.11 to 6.0.

Let's see how this goes.

The H/PC Browser Fund is at:
http://stingraze.hyperphp.com/winmo/hpcbrowser.htm

I am also thinking of getting a dedicated domain for this project.

$22.5K seems too ambitious to build a quality browser like what you have mentioned. The code base definately reuse the existing browser libraries for the targeted plateform. If build from scratch, it will definatlely cost much more than $22.5K. If reusing existing plateform libraries, portability will be questionable and not to mention performance and quality.

If you are able to raise $22.5K, why don't you make a proposal to Netfront or Opera to provide a port to the HPC with $22.5K. Both browser providers already have a working product and with minor modification, they should be able to get it running soon. It make more sense this way instead of reinventing the wheel again.

It's just my 2 cents worth of opinion.

lol I know, $22,500 is a bit too much, but then, $500 browser will probably be no better than PIE in H/PC Pro now.

This is an answer from the developer...

I have zero programming skills... So, please forgive my ignorance about the difficulties involved. But, with all the interest expressed for a good browser for HPC 2000 (CE 3.0) units like Jornada 720/728, it seems like there should be a ready solution...

--Minimo.... Would it be such a difficult task to port it to CE 3.0? There is a long standing petition on the mozilla site (http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=260874) requesting the developer to port minimo to HPC. But minimo is open source, so anyone with the know how could do it... presumably at much lower cost than building a new browser from a clean sheet.

--Redgear... If I understand it, this is being developed as an environment in which existing browsers, such as Opera, would operate in CE 3.0 (or earlier systems?). Is this a passive system (for example, a matter of adding/modifying .dll files), or is it more of an emulator program that uses system resources to force compatibility? If it uses system resources, the resulting Browser speed might be unacceptably slow... like the speed penalty that comes with DOS emulators on HPC.

Personally, a good browser for J-72x, would be worth at least $25. However, I would be nervous about funding a brand new browser, since its actual performance would be unknown, regardless of the request list, until the project is complete. (You wouldn't know whether the dollars were well invested, until its too late.) Re-porting a known browser seems much more prudent. Also, since known browsers are being continually improved and updated, there might be some hope of keeping up with technology changes.

True. $500 is more realistic

lol emulator.. nope.. windows CE is still the same OS everywhere. why would anyone emulate winCE on winCE.

(except maybe ARM emu on MIPS? hehehe dunno)

the system is transparently adding the dlls and new API's (functionality missing from hpc2000 which is present on ce.net) and and making the programs run. the user has to do nothing just install the ppc app and click to start it..

Edited by cmonex 2007-09-07 7:23 PM

I'd forget this based on that response from the developer. They're going to be working on a time & materials basis, and are not guaranteeing to deliver anything

Coding a new browser from scratch is unrealistic in my humble opinion, unless you just want something like a low end J2ME phone browser...
Why not ask Opera directly ? Making a true WinCE port based on their WinMobile product should not be such a big deal.
Instead of raising money for an unknown developper, let's just start a poll: how many HPC users would be ready to buy Opera for HPCs ?

i would think redgear will be a better deal if it comes out soon, because for the same money you can run lots of other ppc stuff too.

Why can't the community approach a company, like netfront, and ask for hpc compatibility. If there are additional costs, either let them pass it on in the purchase price or we as a group fund that cost through fund raising.
I think we all recognize how much we value the ce devices and platform and the big limiting factor currently is the internet access.

maybe it's a better idea to just give up a browser on Handheld PC Pro all together. I mean, I tried the H/PC 2000 IE on my Telios, it works great...

The processor speed of the Telios is 129Mhz, but it's much better than my WCE2.11 Mobile Gear which runs at 131Mhz. So....

Here are my options I'm considering (?):

1) To vainly continue this while no body will be really interested
2) To lower the target of the raise
3) Give it up
4) Write a letter to Bill Gates asking for fund
5) Try out that $100 guy myself
6) Say good bye to this project
7) Write a letter to Netfront or Mozilla (again)
8) Say it is a lost cause.
9) Wait another 2 years until somebody actually gets interested.


Edited by stingraze 2007-09-16 6:52 PM