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Hillcrest Labs open sources Kylo web browser for TVs, hopes the people want one
We didn't hear much from Hillcrest Labs' Kylo web browser for TVs after it launched in 2010, but now the company is apparently turning its fate over to the community. A Mozilla-based browser, Kylo will work with any mouse but is designed specifically for its Freespace pointer controls. It's available under the Mozilla Public License which means others can use it for commercial products, but so far web connected products have been slow to take off and even Google TV has had trouble pushing a typical browser experience on HDTVs. Interested devs can snag the code at Kylo.tv or GitHub, we'll see if anyone builds anything with more market impact.
Beta Beat: Kylo Browser featuring 10-foot interface
Kylo is a free browser you use from your couch that embraces the 10-foot UI philosophy. The idea is that buttons, menus and text are larger than when viewed at your desk. This aids in usability when sitting farther away from the display, as would be the case in a living room environment. It is powered by Mozilla -- which may or may not be a feature depending on your opinion -- and is easy to navigate with little visual clutter. In addition to standard Web browsing, Kylo offers a host of online video options, including YouTube, Netflix and many network offerings. The most notable source that appears to be absent is Hulu; if you browse the Kylo forums you'll find there are workarounds to this, but your mileage may vary. The experience is definitely more pleasurable than using Firefox in full-screen mode. The only issue I really have with Kylo is that, even though it is free, there is an occasional advertisement for its companion product, the Loop. The ads don't seem to be too intrusive, but that could change in the future. If you've got a Mac that you hook up to your TV for online video duty or just general Web surfing from the couch, then Kylo seems to be a real winner. Do you have any other suggestions for couch computing? We'd love to hear from you in the comments about how you're getting the most out of the 10-foot experience with your Mac.
Hillcrest Labs builds TV-friendly Kylo browser for its Loop pointer, Hulu promptly blocks it
In what is becoming a depressingly familiar tale, Hillcrest Labs has just released a free new browser based on Mozilla with a TV-friendly UI designed for control from the couch, but despite these friendly and standards-compliant underpinnings, Hulu has already managed to block the Kylo browser, mere hours out of the gate. Apparently Hulu worked fine in testing all the way up to launch, and Hillcrest Labs is looking for a solution as we speak. Hillcrest, Boxee feels your pain. Meanwhile, we played around with Kylo a bit using one of those Loop pointers for gyroscope-based cursor control, and found the mousing experience just as intuitive as ever, setup non-existent (we tested on a Mac, but it's easy on a PC as well), and the browser nicely unobtrusive and distance friendly. Typing with the onscreen keyboard is about exactly as nice as typing with your mouse, which is to say "not preferred," but completely doable in a pinch. The address bar has the same sort of URL prediction we've come to know and love in modern browsers, though we wouldn't mind if it pulled in our Firefox history to round out the database from the start. In theory we also think the Loop pointer could provide some sort of more intuitive control for zooming and panning, but overall it's a simple, clean UI that should at least beat out your PS3 or Wii browser for this sort of duty -- if you're smart enough and rich enough to get your PC or Mac plugged into your TV, or have an extra one to spare. The browser also of course works with any old mouse you might having lying around, but Hillcrest Labs sure hopes you'll make the Right Choice. Check out a video of the browser and Loop pointer in action after the break. %Gallery-88725%
