K-Meleon Browser Showcases Gecko
Christophe Thibault, known for his work on K-Jöfol, has released a very simple Web browser dubbed K-Meleon, which uses the much anticipated Gecko rendering engine also found in the upcoming Netscape 6. What's different about K-Meleon however, is that it has the look and feel of Internet Explorer. "I have always liked the new Gecko engine, however the clunky and bloated XUL interface of Mozilla has turned me (and other Windows users) away from the browser," Christophe told BetaNews, "so I decided to write my own on a bored and cloudy day." Taking a break from coding Winamp 3, Christophe spent Sunday writing K-Meleon with great success. The browser has a much familiar and quick IE interface, along with the speed of the advanced Gecko engine.
K-Meleon takes many features from Microsoft's top browser, including Favorites and an almost identical toolbar. Weighing in at 2.85 MB for a full install, K-Meleon however does not mimic it's size. In early beta stage the browser is not perfect, with much left to be added, including context menus, HTTPS, history, cookies saving, and MIME type handling. Although, Christophe has released the full source to the browser, allowing developers to extend his initial work.
Interestingly enough, most complaints about Mozilla and Netscape 6 lie in the interface. Most Windows users are so familiar with Internet Explorer that a slower-loading browser just wont cut it these days, even with an advanced rendering engine such as Gecko. Christophe hopes K-Meleon will turn some heads and show people how it is not necessary to sacrifice one for the other. K-Meleon also loads much faster than its bulkier counterparts - something which has kept IE in the top spot.
"I made [K-Meleon] into what I could for one day of work," writes Christophe, "I hope that some people will take the source code and make improvements."
Download K-Meleon from FileForum, or snare the 183KB Lite version if you have Mozilla M17 already installed. Those interested may grab the source here.