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Bliss Browser OSMode

🌳️🌐️💻️ The OS mode for Bliss Browser lets you turn your computer into a netbook for as much time as you choose. A privacy-focused alternative to ChromeOS/ChromiumOS

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Intro

OS Mode for Bliss Browser is a framework for the browser that turns the interface into a graphical shell similar to FirefoxOS, ChromeOS, and other netbook operating systems. The OSMode shell is not an operating system, it runs on top of one. It is designed to make a computer into a Netbook, until the user decides to disable it (via Bliss Browser settings) and have it just be a browser application within their operating system once more.

Netbook definition

I may be outspoken here, but I believe that Netbook is still the relevant term for a computer that only runs a web browser.

Similar projects

Note This list is in A-Z order. Also, these projects are listed because they have similar aspects to Bliss Browser OSMode, but are mostly completely different in design.

• ChromeOS/ChromiumOS - A netbook operating system that is mainly a web browser operating system, although with a very bad privacy record
• FirefoxOS - A discontinued privacy friendly netbook operating system that was replaced by Google ChromeOS/Google ChromiumOS
• Windows 1.x, 2.x, 3.x, and 3.1x (Windows 1.0 - Windows 3.11) - a graphical shell that ran on top of MS-DOS
• Windows 9x (Windows 95, 98, ME) - a graphical shell that ran on top of MS-DOS

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Challenges

Mobile variants

On 2023, Tuesday, February 7th, I began to deal with a new problem in the design of the browser: I have designed it for desktops, and I never considered making a mobile variant. I am trying to figure out how the browser will have to be changed to get it to run on mobile operating systems. It is also an interesting idea to have a netPDA/netPhone, opposed to a NetBook.

iOS/iPadOS engine problem

Due to Apple Incs rule on using third party engines in iOS/iPadOS, the iOS/iPadOS versions of the browser will be severely limited, as the project will be forced to use WebKit for these variants, opposed to other engines. Maybe a rooted variant can support other engines?

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OS ports

OSMode repositories aren't just for turning the browser into a net operating system, they also contain fine-tuned tools and libraries required to port the browser to different operating systems. The tuned tools will work alongside the Bliss Browser core. The core will interpret the changes for each operating system and its port.

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Questions and answers

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1. Question 1

Q: Will Bliss Browser ever support ChromeOS/ChromiumOS?

A: No, there is no point. If a user wants a netbook operating system other than ChromeOS, they can switch over. It isn't feasible to port the browser to this platform for many reasons.

2. Question 2

Q: What is Meadows Linux and WacOS, and why have I never heard of them before?

A: Meadows and WacOS are operating systems by @seanpm2001 that are currently under development. As of 2023, Friday, February 10th, neither of them are functional, but support for them is planned. They are currently obscure, and don't have their own Wikipedia pages, as they aren't notable enough yet. WacOS is an Apple replacement, Meadows is a Quantum Computer operating system that is my dream operating system, being developed since 2013. The Meadows operating system is part of the same software family that the Bliss Browser is part of.

3. Question 3

Q: Why is Windows XP still supported?

A: Windows XP is supported out of tradition. The Meadows project that this project is part of took heavy inspiration from my past experience with Windows XP. The Windows XP edition is heavily modified, and is only recommended for use in a virtual machine, or an old computer you are willing to format if something goes wrong.

4. Question 4

Q: Why C? Why Python? Why other languages?

A: One of the goals in Bliss Browser development is for maximum portability with minimum dependencies. Since most systems support C, C is one of the languages the browser is written in. When a system comes with Python pre-installed, and has good Python support, Python is used as a backup language, as the project is supposed to be written in Python as a majority language. For other languages, it depends on what is pre-installed. Windows Vista and onward are written in C# due to that language being supported (also software diversity) the Android port is written in Java, due to the prevalance of Java in Android development, and and so on.

List is incomplete

5. Question 5 (obsolete, as of 2023, Friday, February 10th)

Q: The images appear stretched. Are you aware of this?

A: Yes. I was aware. When preparing and writing this Q&A, I decided to fix it. There were no excuses left for not doing so.

6. Question 6

Q: Why are you using old logos?

A: Some older logos look better to me than the newer ones, and are more recognizable. I also strongly favor skeuomorphism or gradient over flat design

7. Question 7

Q: Why do none of these projects work?

A: As of 2023, Friday, February 10th, all Bliss Browser projects are in the Pre-Alpha stage, and are currently being planned. Development hasn't fully began yet, it hasn't even reached the Alpha stage yet.

8. Question 8

Q: Some images have white boxes around them. Are you aware of this?

A: Yes I am. I am hoping to replace all non-transparent images with tranparent versions, but it is a slow process, as I have a small community, and I am dedicating this as an up-for-grabs community goal. You can open a pull request if you have the necessary files to fix one or more images. Please make sure to give the files an appropriate name, and follow the file structure rules if you are to do this.

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Variants

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Note Links marked with the Emoji are indicators that the links are to GitHub-based repositories.

Linux

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Special Linux builds of Bliss Browser OSMode are available for:

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Linux (row 1)	Bliss Browser OSMode for Debian	Bliss Browser OSMode for Fedora	Bliss Browser OSMode for Red Hat	Bliss Browser OSMode for Ubuntu	Bliss Browser OSMode for Arch Linux
Linux (row 2)	Bliss Browser OSMode for Gentoo	Bliss Browser OSMode for Linux From Scratch (LFS)	Bliss Browser OSMode for Meadows	Bliss Browser OSMode for Raspberry Pi OS	Bliss Browser OSMode for NixOS
Linux (row 3)	Bliss Browser OSMode for WacOS	Bliss Browser OSMode for Android	Bliss Browser OSMode for FireOS	Bliss Browser OSMode for Alpine Linux	Bliss Browser OSMode for ElementaryOS
Linux (row 4)	Bliss Browser OSMode for RaspbianOS	Bliss Browser OSMode for Xubuntu	Bliss Browser OSMode for Puppy Linux	Bliss Browser OSMode for Lubuntu	Bliss Browser OSMode for OpenSUSE
Linux (row 5)	Bliss Browser for Kubuntu	Bliss Browser for Manjaro	Coming soon	Coming soon	Coming soon

*Nix

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Special builds for other UNIX-like operating systems with Bliss Browser OSMode are available for:

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*Nix (row 1)	Bliss Browser OSMode for POSIX-compliant systems	Bliss Browser OSMode for DragonFly BSD	Bliss Browser OSMode for MacOS (10.10 and up)	Bliss Browser OSMode for iOS	Bliss Browser OSMode for iPadOS
*Nix (row 2)	Bliss Browser OSMode for OpenBSD	Bliss Browser OSMode for NetBSD	Bliss Browser OSMode for FreeBSD	Coming soon	Coming soon

Other

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Special builds for other operating systems with Bliss Browser OSMode are available for:

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OtherOS (row 1)

Bliss Browser OSMode for Windows XP

Bliss Browser OSMode for Windows NT (5.1 and up)

Bliss Browser OSMode for Windows 10

Bliss Browser OSMode for Windows 11

Bliss Browser OSMode for ReactOS

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File info

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File type: Markdown (*.md *.mkd *.mdown *.markdown)

File version: 10 (2023, Friday, March 3rd at 3:51 pm PST)

Line count (including blank lines and compiler line): 485

Current article language: English (EN_USA) / Markdown (CommonMark) / HTML5 (HyperText Markup Language 5.3)

Encoding: UTF-8 (Emoji 12.0 or higher recommended)

All times are UTC-7 (PDT/Pacific Time) (Please also account for DST (Daylight Savings Time) for older/newer entries up until it is abolished/no longer followed)

Note On 2022, Sunday, March 13th at 2:00 am PST, the time jumped ahead 1 hour to 3:00 am.

Note You may need special rendering support for the <details> HTML tag being used in this document

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Click/tap here to expand/collapse the file history for this file

Version 1 (2023, Friday, January 27th at 4:25 pm PST)

• This release was made by: @seanpm2001

Changes

• Started the file
• Added the title section
• • Added the browser logo
• • Added a centered description
• Added the Intro section
• • Added the NetBook definition subsection
• • Added the Similar projects subsection
• • Added the Variants section
• • • Added the Linux subsection
• • • Added the *Nix subsection
• • • Added the Other subsection
• Added the file version stamp
• No other changes in version 1

Version 2 (2023, Thursday, February 2nd at 11:05 pm PST)

• ...
• • Updated the Variants section
• • • Updated the Linux subsection
• • • Updated the *Nix subsection
• • • Updated the Other subsection
• Updated the file version stamp
• No other changes in version 2

Version 3 (2023, Monday, February 6th at 4:27 pm PST)

• This release was made by: @seanpm2001

Changes

• Updated the Variants section
• • Updated the *Nix subsection, adding in MacOS
• Removed the file version stamp in place of a file info section
• Added the file info section
• • Added the version number
• • Added the version date
• • Added the line count
• Added the file history section
• • Added an entry for version 1
• • Added an entry for version 2
• • Added an entry for version 3
• Added the footer
• No other changes in version 3

Version 4 (2023, Monday, February 6th at 4:30 pm PST)

• This release was made by: @seanpm2001

Changes

• Minor fix: added a missing </details> tag to the file history section
• Updated the file info section
• • Updated the version number
• • Updated the version date
• • Updated the line count
• Updated the file history section
• • Added an entry for version 4
• No other changes in version 4

Version 5 (2023, Tuesday, February 7th at 6:06 pm PST)

• This release was made by: @seanpm2001

Changes

• ...
• • Updated the *Nix subsection, adding in iOS and iPadOS
• Added the Challenges section
• • Added the Mobile variants subsection
• • Added the iOS/iPadOS engine problem subsection
• Added the OSPorts section
• Updated the file info section
• • Updated the version number
• • Updated the version date
• • Updated the line count
• Updated the file history section
• • Added an entry for version 5
• No other changes in version 5

Version 6 (2023, Wednesday, February 8th at 3:36 pm PST)

• This release was made by: @seanpm2001

Changes

• ...
• • Updated the Linux subsection, adding in NixOS and WacOS
• Updated the file info section
• • Updated the version number
• • Updated the version date
• • Updated the line count
• Updated the file history section
• • Added an entry for version 6
• No other changes in version 6

Version 7 (2023, Thursday, February 9th at 1:50 pm PST)

• This release was made by: @seanpm2001

Changes

• Added the Questions and answers section
• ...
• • Updated the Linux subsection, adding in Android and FireOS
• • Updated the OtherOS subsection, adding in Windows 10 and Windows 11
• Updated the file info section
• • Updated the version number
• • Updated the version date
• • Updated the line count
• Updated the file history section
• • Added an entry for version 7
• No other changes in version 7

Version 8 (2023, Friday, February 10th at 6:14 pm PST)

• This release was made by: @seanpm2001

Changes

• Updated the Questions and answers section, adding 7 questions, and converting the list into a dropdown section
• ...
• • Updated the Linux subsection, reformatting the table, and switching from 4 to 5 columns per row, converted to dropdown
• • Updated the *Nix subsection, reformatting the table, and switching from 4 to 5 columns per row converted to dropdown
• • Updated the OtherOS subsection, reformatting the table, switching from 4 to 5 columns per row, and adding support for Windows XP and ReactOS converted to dropdown
• Updated the file info section
• • Updated the version number
• • Updated the version date
• • Updated the line count
• Updated the file history section
• • Added an entry for version 8
• No other changes in version 8

Version 9 (2023, Thursday, February 16th at 7:36 pm PST)

• This release was made by: @seanpm2001

Note This release was repeatedly held off due to procrastination. I finally got to it today. No new OSMode projects are planned to be created for a while, so I am caught up for now.

Changes

• ...
• • Updated the Linux subsection, adding support for Puppy Linux, OpenSUSE, Alpine Linux, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, ElementaryOS, and RaspbianOS
• • Updated the *Nix subsection, adding support for FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD
• Updated the file info section
• • Updated the version number
• • Updated the version date
• • Updated the line count
• Updated the file history section
• • Added an entry for version 9
• No other changes in version 9

Version 10 (2023, Friday, March 3rd at 3:51 pm PST)

• This release was made by: @seanpm2001

Changes

• ...
• • Updated the Linux subsection, adding support for Manjaro Linux
• Updated the file info section
• • Updated the version number
• • Updated the version date
• • Updated the line count
• Updated the file history section
• • Added an entry for version 10
• No other changes in version 10

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