
The Web Browser is a Transitional Technology - jarek-foksa
http://yow.eventer.com/events/1004/talks/1031
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strandev
'When something becomes ubiquitous, it disappears'

As browsing the web becomes integrated into devices and apps, the notion of a
web browser from a user's perspective disappears. This has profound
implications for Mozilla.

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jmathai
> This has profound implications for Mozilla.

That's where Boot2Gecko comes in. Successful or not, that's the motivation
behind the project.

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ilaksh
If there were a God then he would somehow make Microsoft license Gecko and put
it on their smart phones and tablets instead of IE.

Or, maybe someone will realize that we don't want giant companies like Apple
and Google controlling WebKit and have that turn into another Win32 and so
they will use Boot2Gecko on their smartphones or whatever.

I mean I really prefer developing for WebKit and it seems like "the best" but
I think if Gecko goes away then progress could stagnate, things could start to
suck and we will be stuck with basically one thing and just a couple of
companies controlling it.

~~~
jmathai
Completely Agree. Gecko needs to remain relevant just for the sake of
competition but Mozilla needs to really pick it up and fix Firefox's
performance issues and gain traction on mobile devices.

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ilaksh
He could have also titled this "We are Entering the Era of the Web Application
Platform". You really need to watch the video to get most of what he is
saying. The title definitely doesn't capture a lot of it and is actually kind
of misleading.

Anyway, to make it simple for TC39, how about ES6 = CoffeeScript with
require/exports like Node.js. Done. Mailing list closed until 2014.

One thing threatening this whole investment in the web platform is that if it
doesn't install exactly like a regular app and run exactly like a regular app
and look exactly like a regular app, then its not an app. So you can add all
the features you want to HTML5, but if you screw up those things I just
mentioned, its a waste. And I really want HTML5 to succeed bigtime on tablets
and smartphones. If it doesn't, then this guy may turn out to be wrong about
the new era.

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j45
Interesting idea. But the browser is the universal interface that lets us
organize and deliver content. Anything replacing it would have to do that at
the very least.... And what more?

This isn't about protocols or technologies like browsers to me a it is about
the expressive. The browser is ubiquitous and still growing it's reach. Like
protocolS and clients, the browser should eventually get long in the tooth.

But we are kind of evolving how we see things in the browser, be it html 5 or
mobile.

0.02

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sbierwagen
Summary? I'm not going to sit through a slide deck.

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shingen
Almost 20 years and running, I don't know if I'd go with that whole
transitional part.

We could change its name as specs evolve, but the idea of (and demand for) an
information browser will remain so long as humans find it desirable to not
personally decipher the code for each page or application.

Hop into the iTunes Store - you're suddenly in an 'information browser.' As a
general consumer, whether you're looking at information on the web or some
other platform, you will be using a browser of some sort. A web browser just
happens to be for the web, and that isn't going anywhere any time soon. The
curve to change mass consumer behavior is extremely high once you've deployed
a billion versions of a software concept and people find it comfortable and
effective to use.

~~~
cageface
Sure, but the current obsession with turning it into a complete application
development platform that implements 9/10ths of an operating system may turn
out to be transitory.

Personally I'd much rather have something that's secure and stable and
lightweight that does a few things well than a CPU-burning Javascript goliath,
riddled with security holes and providing a least-common-denominator
experience on every platform. Sites like HN show that the web doesn't have to
be glitzy to be useful.

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dasil003
I would have cited Craigslist rather than HN for the mass appeal factor, but
even there I don't agree.

Glitz sells.

If web standards don't evolve and support increasingly advanced design and
interactivity then we're pushing people straight into the arms of the App
Store and its ilk.

That's not to say there isn't a line between advanced functionality and bloat.
Ideally dead simple like HN should utilize minimal overhead.

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randomdata
The thing that bothers me about web development is that in order to get all
that glitz and glam, you end up writing an application that practically
mirrors a native application. At that stage, what have you really gained? A
relatively slow and limited VM, often lesser development tools, but a really
great distribution model.

I am constantly impressed by the boundaries people are pushing with the
browser. Just the other day I read about someone releasing a cell phone
tethering application that runs in the browser. That is amazing, but also
ridiculous, in my mind, that it is useful beyond anything more than an
academic exercise.

The web browser should be another network application, not the platform for
network applications. I feel we could do so much better.

~~~
dasil003
We've been hearing this lament from GUI developers for a long time. App
development on the web is an abuse of HTML and HTTP and that it's a huge step
backwards even from decades-old GUI toolkits.

The problem with that line of thinking is that GUI toolkits will never be
cross-platform and cross-medium in the way the web is. It's not like there
haven't been attempts, but they are all half-baked because there is no
incentive for platforms to support them. The web on the other hand is must-
have for every device. This momentum is what gives web app technology real
legs.

It's really a textbook example of how worse-is-better can be disruptive, and
how what we end up with has no correlation to what any one individual thinks
is best. It doesn't really how much better an idea someone can come up with,
the question is what can the industry be mobilized to get behind.

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wavephorm
The video needs a mirror. Have they not heard of vimeo?

