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The web needs to split into two: * Reader browser * Application browser The reader browser should show you the "web" in a kindle-like readable experience, j

The web needs to split into two: * Reader browser * Application browser The reader browser should show you the "web" in a kindle-like readable experience, just as it does today. However, the application browser, although it does receive a URL, should not have any HTML page as a default view. Instead, a JavaScript should be first loaded, and from there, following the permissions it requests, it can open new windows, notifications, or any other desktop feature needed, which websites that just need to be read do not need.

nekkoru 11y ago
Interesting concept, but it seems needlessly complicated. What's to prevent websites like, say, the Guardian from declaring themselves as applications?
- efdee 11y ago
  Nothing. But it would need to request permissions when it does so, and you can then choose not to use it.
panic 11y ago
Chrome has support for "Chrome Apps" (https://developer.chrome.com/apps/about_apps https://developer.chrome.com/apps/about_apps) which make it at least partly an "application browser" as you're describing.
barnacs 11y ago
Reader browser: I would argue that it should be a reader/writer browser, where authoring, changing and interlinking documents is just as trivial as browsing them. Application browser: but then why limit it to JavaScript?
- mod50ack 11y ago
  I agree with the r/w web, and that was the original vision, but it's not really practical at this point because nobody supports such editing in a standard fashion
espadrine 11y ago
Safari and Firefox include a reader mode, directly from the URL bar. A simple click gives you an instant kindle-like experience. Is it what you mean?
krapp 11y ago
I can imagine an "application browser" being essentially a virtualized runtime browser - you point to the 'url' of an application, it downloads the runtime and source code and environment (if you don't already have it) and everything gets sandboxed and compiled on the fly, and runs as if it were native code. Of course, nothing would touch your actual filesystem, and you could get rid of an application as easily as you clean your browser cache today. This would also have the advantage of being language agnostic. This is already technically kind of sort of possible with any number of sites that use compile-to-js languages, but these are invariably limited by the capabilities javascript and HTML. I suppose the ultimate version of this would look like browseable software images like Docker or something.

nekkoru 11y ago

Interesting concept, but it seems needlessly complicated. What's to prevent websites like, say, the Guardian from declaring themselves as applications?

efdee 11y ago
Nothing. But it would need to request permissions when it does so, and you can then choose not to use it.

panic 11y ago

Chrome has support for "Chrome Apps" (https://developer.chrome.com/apps/about_apps https://developer.chrome.com/apps/about_apps) which make it at least partly an "application browser" as you're describing.

barnacs 11y ago

Reader browser: I would argue that it should be a reader/writer browser, where authoring, changing and interlinking documents is just as trivial as browsing them. Application browser: but then why limit it to JavaScript?

mod50ack 11y ago
I agree with the r/w web, and that was the original vision, but it's not really practical at this point because nobody supports such editing in a standard fashion

espadrine 11y ago

Safari and Firefox include a reader mode, directly from the URL bar. A simple click gives you an instant kindle-like experience. Is it what you mean?

krapp 11y ago

I can imagine an "application browser" being essentially a virtualized runtime browser - you point to the 'url' of an application, it downloads the runtime and source code and environment (if you don't already have it) and everything gets sandboxed and compiled on the fly, and runs as if it were native code. Of course, nothing would touch your actual filesystem, and you could get rid of an application as easily as you clean your browser cache today. This would also have the advantage of being language agnostic. This is already technically kind of sort of possible with any number of sites that use compile-to-js languages, but these are invariably limited by the capabilities javascript and HTML. I suppose the ultimate version of this would look like browseable software images like Docker or something.