FOSSPicks
Gopher client
Bombadillo
The Internet has grown to become a huge distraction. The content generation and dynamic linking algorithms on domains like Facebook, reddit.com, YouTube, and Google are purposefully designed to keep you engaged and looking at the screen, tracking your Internet use while surreptitiously inserting discrete advertising. But it wasn't always like this. The early World Wide Web was designed to be rich in accessible and portable content, augmented at the time by a host of other protocols that provided alternative ways of retrieving information. One of these protocols was Gopher, a prototype web that was contemporary with Tim Berners-Lee's HTTP, but easier to deploy and access. It provided a simple and navigable way to present a collection of documents and even jump between them. It was a perfect way of accessing text on low bandwidth connections with underpowered hardware from a global network. It was important enough that web browsers even supported the Gopher protocol and could display their pages inside the main window.
Remarkably, there is still Gopher content available, and while modern browsers can no longer access it, there does exist a modern Gopher client, which is what the Go-coded Bombadillo is. Bombadillo runs in a terminal, takes a gopher://
protocol address as an argument, and uses many keyboard controls borrowed from Vim. You can press : to open the command input, for instance (or press space), and use jklh for movement, with b and f for going backwards and forwards through your page history. This being Gopher, links actually appear as numbers, much like footnotes in a book. You press the number to follow the link, which takes you to another page of text. And that's what remains refreshing about Gopher. It's an Internet without distraction, where you can focus purely on the details that interest you.
Project Website
https://bombadillo.colorfield.space/
VR drawing
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Gnome 47.1 Released with a Few Fixes
The latest release of the Gnome desktop is all about fixing a few nagging issues and not about bringing new features into the mix.
-
System76 Unveils an Ampere-Powered Thelio Desktop
If you're looking for a new desktop system for developing autonomous driving and software-defined vehicle solutions. System76 has you covered.
-
VirtualBox 7.1.4 Includes Initial Support for Linux kernel 6.12
The latest version of VirtualBox has arrived and it not only adds initial support for kernel 6.12 but another feature that will make using the virtual machine tool much easier.
-
New Slimbook EVO with Raw AMD Ryzen Power
If you're looking for serious power in a 14" ultrabook that is powered by Linux, Slimbook has just the thing for you.
-
The Gnome Foundation Struggling to Stay Afloat
The foundation behind the Gnome desktop environment is having to go through some serious belt-tightening due to continued financial problems.
-
Thousands of Linux Servers Infected with Stealth Malware Since 2021
Perfctl is capable of remaining undetected, which makes it dangerous and hard to mitigate.
-
Halcyon Creates Anti-Ransomware Protection for Linux
As more Linux systems are targeted by ransomware, Halcyon is stepping up its protection.
-
Valve and Arch Linux Announce Collaboration
Valve and Arch have come together for two projects that will have a serious impact on the Linux distribution.
-
Hacker Successfully Runs Linux on a CPU from the Early ‘70s
From the office of "Look what I can do," Dmitry Grinberg was able to get Linux running on a processor that was created in 1971.
-
OSI and LPI Form Strategic Alliance
With a goal of strengthening Linux and open source communities, this new alliance aims to nurture the growth of more highly skilled professionals.