Checking out the Zen Browser
popcar.bearblog.dev
My thoughts and first impressions of the Zen Browser!
  • harryprayiv@infosec.pubEnglish
    1·
    1 month ago

    Nixpkgs has been working on packaging it for more than 6 months now. That is a damning timeframe for both Zen and nixpkgs in IMO equal parts. In Zen’s case, that means that they are packaging their app in a very unconventional way and lagging with security updates, breaking standards (which usually means they are amateurs). In nixpkgs case, that means nixpkgs needs better

    buildMozillaMach

    support.

    I used it in an appImage and came away unimpressed. Using it in a tiling WM, I loved the minimalism….but I just wish it had better security and rendered webpages better. On Brave, websites literally look sharper than on Zen.

    Edit: most of my concerns were addressed by the dev themself just down the page a bit.

    • priapus@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      0·
      1 month ago

      That comment about their security updates is a couple of months old. Zen has made significant changes to how they handle releases to stay up to date with Firefox, some of which were mentioned in the thread.

      The Nix package is functional. Nixpkgs sometimes chooses not to add beta software that is receiving very frequent updates, especially if the package takes a lot of resources to build. In those cases, it makes more sense for the package to be maintained outside Nixpkgs for the time being. NixOS users can get Zen from this Flake, which patches the official binary. COSMIC Desktop is another example of this.

      Pages not looking sharp sounds like it’s probably a font or scaling issue.

      • harryprayiv@infosec.pubEnglish
        1·
        1 month ago

        Thanks for the update. I did read down the page and saw that. The dev looked really receptive, cooperative, and pro about it.

  • async_amuro@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    1 month ago

    Been using it for a while, I like it, but they do push out some questionable updates every now and then. Bugs I can understand, but forcing design changes on people aren’t great. Calling out the new tab change they made, I ended up changing a setting to deactivate it. Right now it’s my preferred browser, but I’m still open to looking into alternatives (Mac/Linux).

    • Luca@feddit.itEnglish
      1·
      1 month ago

      It’s still a beta, I think it’s unfair to complain about drastic changes until it comes out

    • JustARaccoon@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      1 month ago

      With an opinionated way of how to navigate the internet, it’s maybe the most important app you can use