They've been feature bloated for a while now, and are still growing all the time. Before Google gave the order to kill IE6 and the world switched from optional to mandatory JS, one could've easily used something like links, w3m, lynx, or a small 3kloc browser hacked in a weekend (been there, done that). Things more or less just worked, and looked the way you wanted things to look.
Now? How many lines of code do you have in Gecko or Webkit, and a reasonable browser built around them? And all the things they depend on? Let's not forget you also need support for one of the most complex programming languages. Browsers really are HUGE.
Now? How many lines of code do you have in Gecko or Webkit, and a reasonable browser built around them? And all the things they depend on? Let's not forget you also need support for one of the most complex programming languages. Browsers really are HUGE.