Quicklinks: · Power Macs · 'Books · Early Macs · Week's Best Deals · Best Buys · OS Downloads

Home / Editorial / The Lite Side

Seven Customized Browsers Reshape the Web Experience

2003.02.25

The recent release of the "Bork" version of Opera is intended to show users that not only can site hosts such as MSN can target users with discrimination. Browsers can discriminate, too. Opera's new browser (a version for Windows only) displays MSN in "Swedish Chef" dialect.* This leads to all sorts of customization potential for browsers of all types. We'd like to get the ball rolling here at the Lite Side with

* To translate almost any page on the Web into Swedish Chef, redneck, or other dialects, use The Dialectizer.

Customized Browser Options Inspired by Opera Bork

1. Wil Wheaton browser for Apple laptops running Linux: Presents three different versions of the same site in three separate windows. You pick another browser altogether and send the Wil browser away, promising to call its agent later.

2. "Resistance is futile" browser, based on Safari, detects when you visit a website hosted on a Microsoft IIS machine and runs an audio clip of the Borg inviting themselves to dinner prior to opening any window on the site.

3. Right wing Republican browser, based on Internet Explorer, inserts one of the terms "communist," "socialist," "left-wing," (and several others not suitable for a family site) in front of every noun it finds on the site before rendering. Thus "Protesters jam New York streets," becomes "Left wing Protestors jam socialist New York communist streets." Runs only on Windows 1950. Oddly, the effect does not get applied to users visiting Fox News, as it is redundant.

4. Elmo-cize your favorite kid sites with a new browser based on iCab. Visitors to any children's website get an animated Elmo who reads all the text in that annoying, cloying, 120 decibel voice that just pierces your brain like a hot stiletto through the ear. Luckily, the new Elmo version only runs when a plug-in you don't have is installed.

5. Educator's Politically Correct browser translates all text into educationalese. For example, "Handicapped students demand better access to school library to help them learn more" becomes "Physically challenged students request ADA-compliant entryway in the Media Center to provide access to standards-based resources necessary to perform at proficient levels on state assessment." Runs on both Mac and Windows. Based on Netscape Navigator 3.x, because as everyone knows schools are years behind the real world.

6. Ethically Correct Lynx browser for 68K Macs not only renders everything in black and white but also classifies each site as Good or Evil. Good is text compliant, and Evil requires some obnoxious plug-in just to read the site.

7. Lite Side Lurker browser links every computer news item you read to the corresponding article in the Lite Side archive and posts that in a banner at the top of every page. Since it is based on IE, it also sends your credit card information to Microsoft every time you buy something (but, hey, that's not my fault), where it will be subjected to Microsoft's secure computing battery of tests.

Recent Lite Sides

• What if Apple thought like a PC company?, 11.01. Apple has innovated and blazed its own trail. But what if it had followed the path taken by the PC copycats?
• How Microsoft can turn Vista lemons into lemonade, 10.22. How Microsoft could profit by no longer allowing manufacturers to sell new PCs with Windows XP installed.
• iPods that never passed beta or focus groups, 09.13. "What most Apple fans don't realize is that there were a few iPod variants that never made it out of beta testing and the focus group stage."
• Pigs fly, snow in Death Valley, and Dvorak uses a Mac, 08.03. What has the world come to when John Dvorak, founding member of the Axis of Macevil, walks into the temple of All Things Macintosh?
• More in the The Lite Side index.

Links for the Day

• Mac of the Day: Power Mac 8200, Apr. 1996 - The minitower version of 7200 was never sold in America.
• List of the Day: G4 List is for those using Power Mac G4s or G4 upgrades.
  
• October 7 in LEM history: 98: Love that PowerBook G3 - 99: Troubleshooting 101 - Love at first sight - 02: Hot rodding a Power Mac for OS X - Beefing up Windows networking - 05: Choose FireWire 800 over USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 - Faster Mac minis shipping - Speedy 100 GB 7200 rpm notebook drives

Recent Content on Low End Mac

• $19,800 Bentley Ego Laptop Remarkably Similar to 1999 Clamshell iBook, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.06. Granted, Apple's iBook didn't have white gold trim, a padded leather exterior, or come in colors to match your Bentley automobile.
• Use Your FileMaker Pro Databases on Your iPhone, Adam Rosen, Adam's Apple, 10.06. Although there's no version of FileMaker Pro for the iPhone, FMTouch will let you use your data and layouts on it.
• The Cost of Moving to Small Business Server vs. Moving to Leopard Server., Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 10.06. Upgrading the existing SBS 2003 Server would cost less, the the server will run up against hardware limitations long before a Mac Pro does.
• Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.06. Used 700 MHz CD, $110; CD-RW, $130; Combo, $170; 800 CD, $170; 1 GHz Combo, $250; SuperDrive, $280; 1.25 Combo, $290; SD, $360; 1.42 Combo, $359.
• Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.06. Used 1.6 HD, $1,299; refurb, $1,499; new, $1,669 after rebate; 1.8, $1,919 a/r; 1.6 SSD, $2,294 a/r; used 1.8 SSD, $1,997; refurb, $2,299; new, $2,349 a/r.
• Best iPod shuffle Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.06. Refurb 3G/1 GB, $39; 2 GB, $59; new 1 GB (3G or 4G), $47; 2 GB (3G or 4G), $67. Prices include ground shipping.
• Mac Netbook Coming?, $179 64 GB SSD, Apple Owns 20% of US Notebook Market, and More, The 'Book Review, 10.03. Also head of Norton AntiVirus team uses a Mac, Toshiba demos new battery technology, 1 TB notebook drives due in 2010, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
• Getting the Most from Your G3 Mac, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 10.03. Most G3 Macs can be upgraded so they can run Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' quite nicely. Here's how.
• Apple Drops iPhone NDA, Defecting to Android, Auto Performance Apps for the iPhone, and More, iNews Review, 10.03. Also more research needed on cellphone cancer link, file sharing app for the iPhone, three new power accessories from Macally, several new iPhone apps, and more.
• Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.03. Used 450 MHz, $75; 500, $99; 733, $150; 800, $199; 1.25 GHz, C$349; 867 MHz dual, $225; 1 GHz, $349; 1.25, $499; 1.42, $600.
• OS X and Safari Shares Grow in September, Toxic Mac Pro?, Green Hard Drives, and More, Mac News Review, 10.03. Also Vista terrible as Mac market grows, CrossOver Mac Pro reviewed, SimpleTech Pro Drives, and a new toolkit for working on computers.
• Best iBook G3 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.03. Used 300 MHz clamshell, $150; 366, $199; 500 CD, $149; 800, $190; 600 CD-RW, $240; 800 Combo, $300; 900, $399; 14" 600, $360; 900, $469.
• Best Mac OS X 10.0-10.3 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.03. Mac OS X 10.0.3, $30; 10.1, $20; 10.2, $60; 10.3 CD, DVD, $100; CD, $119; 10.1 Server, unlimited users, $65; 10.3 Server, unlimited, $150.
• Why I'm Switching from Windows Small Business Server to Leopard Server, Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 10.02. Windows SBS 2003 has served very well, but with SBS 2008 just around the corner, it's time to reconsider that choice. Leopard Server has a lot to offer.
• The Unwritten Rule Behind Apple's App Store Rejections, Tim Nash, Taking Back the Market, 10.02. "If you want to work with someone, don't attack or try to take over part of what they think of as theirs."
• The Best Browsers for Older Macs Running Tiger, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.02. A dial-up user's overview of browsers for Mac OS X 10.4 puts the emphasis on reliability, downloads, and speed.
• Best MacBook Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.02. Used 1.83 GHz, $649; 2.0 SD, $750; refurb 2.1 GHz, $899; 2.4, $1,099; black, $1,299; new 2.1, $1,019 after rebate; 2.4, $1,204 a/r; black, $1,394 a/r.
• CodeWeavers Brings Google's Chrome Browser to Intel Macs, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 10.02. Google's new Chrome browser uses separate processes for each tab and brings other changes to Windows users. Now Mac fans can try it as well.
• Best iMac G5 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.02. Used 17" 1.6 GHz Combo, $450; 2.0 SuperDrive, $500; 1.9 iSight, $625; 20" 1.8 GHz, $550; 2.0, $600; 2.1 iSight, $650.
• Best iPod touch Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.02. Used 1G/8 GB, $160; refurb, $179; new, $198; used 16, $200; refurb, $219; new, $265; refurb 32, $319; new, $345; 2G/8 GB, $229; 16, $280; 32, $380.
• More links in our archive.

<go to the Lite Side index>

---

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2008 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.

Support LEM

Affiliates

The Apple Store
.mac
iTunes Store
Club Mac
MacMall
MacResQ
ExperCom
eBay
Amazon.com
PayPal
PCMall
PC Zone
Crucial Memory

Our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For detailed price quotes and advertising information, please contactat BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.