April 03, 2025

Finding Inspiration On The Trail

Written by Eleanor McKeown

Finding Inspiration On The Trail

Author
Elly
Date
Apr 3, 2025 12:17 PM
Slug
finding-inspiration-on-the-trail
Tags
Blog
Description
How a trip to the UK has inspired work on Horse Browser, and read about the latest features that have arrived at the browser, including notes, projects, areas and an optional title bar
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Welcome to the Rider’s Digest blog, where we share behind-the-scenes updates on Horse and what it’s really like to build an indie browser from scratch.

Hello, Riders, We’re getting settled back into a routine after taking some vacation time in the UK (all planned with the help of Horse Browser). We’ve been reflecting on our trip and wanted to share a few things that got us inspired along the way. But first, a bit about updates we’ve made since we got back.

Design tweaks for a smoother ride 👨‍🎨

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As well as improving updates on Windows and fixing an iframe-related bug, we’ve set about making some design tweaks that should make Horse Browser a little smoother to use day-to-day:
  • We've added an optional new title bar to give users an extra place to drag the browser window, if they need it. Read this quick explainer about how to switch between a Hidden / Regular Titlebar
  • Downloads now automatically appear at the top of your Download List so you can access new downloads more easily and keep track of their progress. We’ll be making further updates to downloads in due course so stay tuned for those.
  • We’ve added a sound icon to Trails playing Audio
  • Trails can now be dragged into their own descendants so you can keep everything *exactly* where you need it
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All these changes are thanks to the feedback we’ve been receiving from Riders in our Discord community. Big thanks to everyone who’s participating in the discussion over there 🤠

On the Vacation Trail 🐴 🛫

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Our trip to the UK gave us tons of Horse Browser inspo so we put together some of the things that inspired us along the way, from meeting internet friends irl to visiting research spots, like Jodrell Bank and the Bodleian Library. Read the blog post to hear how our vacation gave us fresh motivation.

Horse Browser = “cozyweb” 🫶

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We recently came across two user reviews - by Beth McClelland and Réka Writes - that give deep dives on what it’s like to use Horse Browser as your online research companion. Both Réka and Beth’s reviews really capture what we’ve been hoping to build with Horse. What better description can there be than ‘cozyweb’? Read our blog post to see how these reviews chime with our own thinking about Horse Browser.

In case you missed it ✍️

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In case you missed it, we’ve been busy building lots of new features: from configurable keyboard shortcuts for power users; to Areas, Projects and Notes to help you organise your research; and our new in-built Password Manager, named Saddlepack.
So, ‘til next time…. When we’ll be back with all the latest!
Yours in code and kindling,
Elly and Pascal

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Japanese TeasGoogle Search
Green TeaWikipedia
Matcha TeaWikipedia
Sencha TeaWikipedia
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sencha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sencha tea leaves and brewed tea

Sencha tea leaves and brewed tea

Sencha (Japanese: 煎茶) is a type of Japanese ryokucha (緑茶, green tea) which is prepared by infusing the processed whole tea leaves in hot water. This is as opposed to matcha (抹茶), powdered Japanese green tea, where the green tea powder is mixed with hot water and therefore the leaf itself is included in the beverage.

History

Sencha was first created in Japan in the 18th century by Nagatani Soen, a tea farmer from Uji, Kyoto. The process developed by Nagatani, which involved steaming, rolling, and drying the tea leaves, resulted in a tea that was more stable and maintained its quality during transportation. This innovation revolutionized the Japanese tea industry, replacing the previously common offering of matcha.

Production

After harvesting the leaves are steamed for about 15-45 seconds to prevent oxidization of the leaves. This step creates the characteristic flavor of Japanese green tea by deactivating the enzymes that are responsible for oxidation. The leaves are then cooled and dried in a bamboo tray by air, and then are shaped by pressing and rolling into the characteristic needle shape.

Grades

Sencha comes in different grades, depending on the quality and the parts of the tea plant used:

  • Shincha: First harvest of the year, has a fresh, grassy flavor and higher caffeine content.
  • Gyokuro: Premium grade shaded green tea, with a sweeter, more umami taste than regular sencha.
  • Asamushi: Lightly steamed sencha, with a more fragrant, lighter taste.
  • Chumushi: Medium-steamed sencha, balancing aroma and flavor.
  • Fukamushi: Deeply steamed sencha, with a stronger flavor and less bitterness.

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Pascal and Elly at Disneysea Tokyo

About us

Hello! We're Elly and Pascal. Thank you for supporting our little indie browser. Read on for the personal Trails that brought us to where we are today.

Pascal and Elly at Disneysea Tokyo