Meet the new HTML5 browser for Raspberry Pi: Epiphany
The hobbyist small-factor computer Raspberry Pi is getting a new web browser based on Epiphany (aka GNOME Web.) This development delivers a modern HTML5-capable browser and it is already available and easily installed.
The Raspberry Pi is a hobby-board useful for rapidly prototyping projects for the Internet of Things and small computing appliances. The units have been used in testing ideas for industrial automation as well as easy homebrew in-residence private cloud solutions. Every year the Raspberry Pi model gets more bells and whistles, with a new browser it’s the software getting an upgrade.
“Epiphany on Pi is now a plausible alternative to a desktop browser for all but the most JavaScript-heavy sites,” says Eben Upton, founder of founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. He announced also that it’s taken eight months of work to get this browser set to run on the tiny hobby computers.
The Epiphany browser will replace the older Midori browser on the Raspberry Pi’s operating system.
New features include improved HTML5 support, a JavaScript JIT, hardware-accelerated video decoding, ARMv6-optimized blitting functions, better interactivity during page loading and faster scrolling.
Users who already run Pi boards can use the following commands to get the upgrade:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
sudo apt-get install epiphany-browser
Running at a cost of only $35 dollars and sporting the size of a credit-card, the Raspberry Pi is a favorite among homebrew hackers and industrial internet thinkers alike. It has shown great sales potential both globally–exceeding over one million sold in early 2013 only to exceed two million in October—and Europe, where the board’s availability was expanded to last year.
Photo credit: The Raspberry Pi Foundation, image of a Raspberry Pi board.
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