Minimalistic (vim-like) web browser based on Webkit
uzbl.org
uzbl.org
I like the idea, but the keyboard-only navigation is going to be bottlenecked by the actual web page.
Is it problematic when a site has graphics for navigation?
Do you cycle through links and then choose the one you wanted, or is there a more direct way of accessing them?
Is it really faster than using a mouse?
Do you need two hands to be efficient, and if so, wouldn't you rather be efficient with only one hand, for example using Opera's mouse gestures?
Opera has an excellent way to select links using spatial navigation (shift+down,+up,+left,+right). It's remarkably easy to navigate to any link quickly on the page.
Also http://www.opera.com/browser/tutorials/nomouse/ is a good place to start "keyboard-only" browsing.
"Is it problematic when a site has graphics for navigation?"
It depends. Most of the time it's still a link, so the browser has no problem identifying and highlighting it as such. If it's something fancy (image map? JS magic?)--it can be a problem. Fortunately, such sites are not common.
"Do you cycle through links and then choose the one you wanted, or is there a more direct way of accessing them?"
You press 'f' (for "follow") and a number appears next to each link. Then you enter a number to follow a link.
"Is it really faster than using a mouse?"
It depends. For example, there are whole WM environments which are designed to work without mouse (ratpoison, stumpwm, xmonad, etc.). Naturally, a keyboard-driven browser lends itself beautifully to such environments. Other than that, I find it annoying having to move my hand from the keyboard each time I need to look something up with a browser.
Of course, when I just surf the web, the mouse is usually more convenient.
"Do you need two hands to be efficient, and if so, wouldn't you rather be efficient with only one hand, for example using Opera's mouse gestures?"
Since conkeror is modeled after emacs, I'd say yes (unless you happen to be using a custom keyboard layout or something). As for the efficiency--again, it probably depends on the "mode" I am in (mouse is easier for plain surfing).
Besides plain, what other kind of surfing is there?
Or are you talking about the differences between using those keyboard-only WMs and normal ones?
As far as I know, using only the keyboard for some task is usually about efficiency gains, but in the case of surfing, I'm obviously not sure there's much to be gained, compared to mouse gestures.
On the other hand, if using only the keyboard is some kind of personal preference, that may leave something to be desired in other areas too.. Such as, a mouse :p
My wrists were sore for around 1,5 years because of bad ergonomy.
Working with online documentation while coding, for example, is much more efficient for me with conkeror. Or looking up some piece of information while I am typing a reply to a HN comment :)
On the other hand, it's an overkill for me to keep both my hands on the keyboard while I am reading a nytimes story or following links at leisure.
Fair enough :)
It's not that I have anything against the mouse but I enjoy the workflow and it works very well for me. Plus I don't have to worry about adverts or drive-by infections most of the time :-)
Together with Style Tree Tabs it looks pretty cool and minimalistic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deadsunrise/3501399270/
Its keybindings resemble the ones of vimperator in some respects ("f" = follow), but reminds you more of emacs regarding things like (mini-) buffers, M-x whatever, ...
// Edit: Just stumbled upon another one: http://redmine.philpep.org/projects/show/cream using C, GTK+, WebKit, vimperator-like interface
So i have tested many methods, and here are my favourites:
1. Opera! The Browser has something called spatial navigation. It somehow works like the cursor key navigation in "Links" but much better and gives you a feeling of rather direct control. Very cool...
2. Firefox + "mouseless browsing"-Plugin. Every link on the webpage gets a number, a little bit like footnotes, and you surf via entering numbers. Sounds complicated but it is rather intuitive and very fast. Well, the webpages look a little bit uglier than before. Try it out, it should work with every Firefox-Version.
Both of these methods force you to surf a little bit more concentrated and less relaxing, tv-like. But for just getting work done the methods are just great. They work with nearly every webpage, even those you wouldnt expect. The only times i use the touchpad is for flash-applications (like the video-windows on youtube). I dont even miss a mouse.
I think Vimperator could be interesting too, but it somehow always looks too complicated for me.
Opera has an entire tutorial on ratless browsing.
I wonder if any of those other browsers would fix it for me. But conkeror's website, which seems to be my favorite since I'm an emacs user, looks offline right now.