R
Richard Steinfeld
Deepnet browser was just recommended here by RM and Laurie. I just spent
a half hour exploring the site. http://deepnetexplorer.com/
Is this browser too good to be true?
The descriptive material is mouthwatering. It's got tabbing, many
user-friendly features, considerate behavior, ad blocking, and the big
one: phishing interception. It sounds like the web browser that we all
yearn for.
The publisher seems to promise the highest ethical behavior: no
snooping, no cookies on their site, no nasty ads, etc., etc.
Unlike Firefox, the developer is a private company -- a company that
appears to be in growth mode, advertising for employees. What I could
not find is how this company intends to make money. They've obviously
expended considerable effort to develop and debug this product.
Some of you, in reading my posts, may have detected a concern about
covering our behinds with unknown software. Some software can create a
dependency that can be difficult to break when the user wants to migrate
to a different program. I've learned to think about this before taking a
plunge. So, I looked for clues. I didn't find much info to go on.
From the End User License Agreement:
"By installing an upgrade you agree that the terms and conditions of
this Licence (as may be amended from time to time by notices posted on
the Deepnet web site) will apply to the Upgrade."
They're covering themselves. However, you are agreeing to abide by their
future rules, unknown as present. Here in the USA, most of us have
entered into similar agreements with our banks and credit card
companies. It's not comfortable, but it's understandable. Nothing
unusual here.
"Deepnet may provide users with a default search engine(s) to assist in
Internet searching. Deepnet is not responsible for the contents of those
search engines or websites that they link to."
Now, perhaps they want to use Deepnet Browser to establish a user base
for a later bundled search engine. And they'll sell advertising on the
browser. And, perhaps that engine will be the only one that'll work with
the upgraded Deepnet browser. This is my hypothetical business model for
them. They'll be going against Google. Worst case: it could get nasty:
"Get hooked on my browser, we hook you on our mandatory search engine,
you see our advertisements (heh heh -- paranoid mode)." Hey: it's the
only clue I could find about their goals!
I could not find a physical location for the company. I think that
they're probably in Wales. Maybe just an oversight.
Bottom line concerns today:
- The program imports "favorites" from IE. If we want to dump Deepnet
later, will we be able to migrate Deepnet bookmarks into, let's say,
Firefox? Firefox provides a route from IE. But will it allow us to exit
gracefully from Deepnet?
- Will Deepnet be able to render .mht files (which allow us to store
many web pages in a single, simple flat file)?
I'd appreciate more input from y'all. This is all I found in a half-hour
of my own digging. What do you find?
Richard
a half hour exploring the site. http://deepnetexplorer.com/
Is this browser too good to be true?
The descriptive material is mouthwatering. It's got tabbing, many
user-friendly features, considerate behavior, ad blocking, and the big
one: phishing interception. It sounds like the web browser that we all
yearn for.
The publisher seems to promise the highest ethical behavior: no
snooping, no cookies on their site, no nasty ads, etc., etc.
Unlike Firefox, the developer is a private company -- a company that
appears to be in growth mode, advertising for employees. What I could
not find is how this company intends to make money. They've obviously
expended considerable effort to develop and debug this product.
Some of you, in reading my posts, may have detected a concern about
covering our behinds with unknown software. Some software can create a
dependency that can be difficult to break when the user wants to migrate
to a different program. I've learned to think about this before taking a
plunge. So, I looked for clues. I didn't find much info to go on.
From the End User License Agreement:
"By installing an upgrade you agree that the terms and conditions of
this Licence (as may be amended from time to time by notices posted on
the Deepnet web site) will apply to the Upgrade."
They're covering themselves. However, you are agreeing to abide by their
future rules, unknown as present. Here in the USA, most of us have
entered into similar agreements with our banks and credit card
companies. It's not comfortable, but it's understandable. Nothing
unusual here.
"Deepnet may provide users with a default search engine(s) to assist in
Internet searching. Deepnet is not responsible for the contents of those
search engines or websites that they link to."
Now, perhaps they want to use Deepnet Browser to establish a user base
for a later bundled search engine. And they'll sell advertising on the
browser. And, perhaps that engine will be the only one that'll work with
the upgraded Deepnet browser. This is my hypothetical business model for
them. They'll be going against Google. Worst case: it could get nasty:
"Get hooked on my browser, we hook you on our mandatory search engine,
you see our advertisements (heh heh -- paranoid mode)." Hey: it's the
only clue I could find about their goals!
I could not find a physical location for the company. I think that
they're probably in Wales. Maybe just an oversight.
Bottom line concerns today:
- The program imports "favorites" from IE. If we want to dump Deepnet
later, will we be able to migrate Deepnet bookmarks into, let's say,
Firefox? Firefox provides a route from IE. But will it allow us to exit
gracefully from Deepnet?
- Will Deepnet be able to render .mht files (which allow us to store
many web pages in a single, simple flat file)?
I'd appreciate more input from y'all. This is all I found in a half-hour
of my own digging. What do you find?
Richard