Minimo

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Minimo

Minimo 0.012 under Windows Mobile
Developer:	Mozilla Foundation
Latest release:	0.1 (Familiar Linux) and 0.2 (Windows CE) / February 18, 2004 (Familiar Linux) and March 31, 2007 (Windows CE)
OS:	Familiar Linux and Windows CE
Use:	Microbrowser
License:	MPL, MPL/GPL/LGPL tri-license
Website:	www.mozilla.org/projects/minimo/

Minimo (from "Mini Mozilla") is a project to create a version of the Mozilla web browser for small devices like PDAs and mobile phones. The project also aims to make it easier for developers to embed parts of Mozilla into systems with limited system resources (for example, machines with low amounts of RAM).

To minimize the use of system resources, Minimo does not include a lot of Mozilla's non-essential functionality, such as support for FTP. In addition, the browser uses small screen rendering technology to reformat Web pages for pocket-sized displays. The user interface is also designed to take up as little screen space as possible.

To date, most Minimo development has centered around ARM devices (such as Hewlett-Packard's iPAQ) with around 64MB of RAM, running Familiar Linux and the GPE Palmtop Environment (where it is now the default browser). Minimo 0.1 was released for this platform in 2004. Version 0.3 was scheduled for Spring 2005, but it has never actually materialized.

A Windows CE version of Minimo is also under development, built against the Pocket PC 2003 software development kit. The first public build of Minimo for Windows CE was made available in February 2005.

Chris Hofmann created the Minimo project during his employment at Netscape Communications. He single handedly saved this project from being canceled many times. The loyal dog, Sparky, is the project's Chief Mascot. Currently Chris works for the Mozilla Corporation.

The lead Minimo developer is Doug Turner, who has headed the project since its inception. The Mozilla Foundation hired Turner in December 2004 to work full time on Minimo. Minimo has been funded by Nokia and others. Nokia's involvement became public in mid-2004.

On December 17, 2006, Turner, in his blog, acknowledged the slow pace of development, and revealed that Mozilla developers are exploring alternatives for Gecko-based web browsing on mobile handsets. Turner issued a invitation for others to "step up" as his own development priorities shift.[1]

On March 31, 2007, Minimo 0.2 for Windows Mobile was finally released. The new version adds tabbed browsing, an upgraded interface, and support for Windows Mobile 5.

[edit] Criticism

Probably due to the fact that it is still in the early stages of development, the Windows Mobile version of Minimo performs rather poorly.

The quality of rendered pages is congruent with the well-respected layout engine it implements (Gecko), but the program has very high memory and hardware requirements compared to what is typically available on most handheld platforms (e.g. 64 megabytes of RAM, 206–624 MHz ARM-compatible CPU).

In fact, a recurrent criticism against Firefox and its derived projects regards its supposed bloat, mainly due to its use of XUL and Javascript for describing the user interface and its behaviour. This choice contributes to the portability of the Mozilla Foundation's products, but incurs a relatively high performance overhead.

Version 0.016 (~8 MB CAB installation; Windows Mobile 4.2 + 5.0) and Version 0.2 (~4 MB CAB installation; Windows Mobile 5.0 only) are not recommendable for end-users not used to running "bleeding edge" software. In this version the browser may make the Windows Mobile OS unstable and a soft-reset may be required to make the system working again.