10 of the Best Free Linux Web Browsers
A web browser is the quintessential desktop application.
Everyone needs one, and there is not a desktop Linux
distribution around that does not make a web browser available.
This type of software application is responsible for
retrieving and presenting information held on the World Wide Web, a
system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the internet.
Web browsers allow users to view web pages which often contain a
mixture of text, images, videos, and other multimedia.
There are many different web browsers available for Linux, the
most popular of which is Firefox. However, the market dominance of
Firefox does
not mean that this is necessarily the best web browser for every
situation.
Everyone has their own needs, some preferring heavyweight
browsers packed with a large number of features and add-ons, other
users still wanting an attractive graphical browser but with a smaller
footprint. Many graphical browsers consume large amounts of
memory. Some users find this not acceptable, especially if
they are using a machine with low specifications. Consequently, this
article also caters for text browsers. This type of browser is
invaluable on systems without a graphical environment. Moreover, parts
of the world are
still reliant on low bandwidth internet connections, and text browsers
can be a sensible way of making the most effective use of a limited
data pipe.
Whilst we recognise that Opera is closed source proprietary
software (free to download), it is nevertheless worthy of a special
mention in this article.
To provide an insight into the quality of software that is
available, we have compiled a list of 10 excellent web browsers.
There's
a mix of graphical and console based applications included. Hopefully,
there will be something of interest for all types of users.
Now, let's explore the 10 web browsers at hand. For
each title we have compiled its own portal page, providing a screenshot
of the software in action, a full description with an in-depth analysis
of
its features, together with links to relevant resources and reviews.
| Fully Featured Graphical Browsers |
| Firefox
|
Highly popular browser delivering safe, easy web
browsing
|
| Chromium |
Open-source
project behind Google Chrome
|
| Opera |
Popular graphical web browser and Internet suite
|
| Konqueror |
KDE
4's advanced file manager, web browser and document viewer
|
| Epiphany |
Simple yet powerful GNOME web browser targeted at
non-technical users
|
| Lightweight Graphical Browsers |
| Dillo |
Small, stable, developer-friendly, usable, very fast,
and extensible |
| Arora |
Simple
webkit based web browser using Qt toolkit |
| Text mode Browsers |
| ELinks |
Feature-rich program for browsing the web in text mode |
| Lynx |
Very
fast and easy to use |
| Speciality Browser |
| Flock
|
Built on Firefox, specializing in social networking and Web 2.0
facilities |
Return to our complete collection of Portal
Pages.
Last Updated Saturday, April 06 2013 @ 09:22 AM EST
| 
