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>> If mobile phones adopted Web technologies Sigh. I must be old. I've already lived through 2 major initiatives to do just this first with Palm OS and more
by privacypoller 8y ago
>> If mobile phones adopted Web technologies
Sigh. I must be old.
I've already lived through 2 major initiatives to do just this first with Palm OS and more recently FireFox OS. We all see the benefit from a developer standpoint but as an absolute, positively web-first proponent I really don't see the motivation for the device manufacturers. Why would it be in the interest of any incumbent to increase app portability? Also, the vision of the web OS as the "great leveler" really breaks down when you start trying to utilize things like location and the camera and NFC, etc. Even within just Palm OS devices this was a major problem. Each new model needed new APIs to the underlying hardware, app updates and a bunch of checks for functionality. It was the worst parts of web development, all the time.
- bcheung 8y agoKaiOS is a fork of Firefox OS according to their site.
- bcheung 8y agoYes, I think Apple has been slow to implement web API's into Safari for that very reason. It took them forever to get Service Workers. Also, if the browser can do it, why would people pay them 30% of the app? I don't know about NFC but I know bluetooth and camera is not that much of an issue in mobile browsers. They are decently supported.
- djrogers 8y agoService workers on mobile have been resisted for data use, performance, and battery life reasons. There’s no great conspiracy, it’s sunpky that your average user isn’t going to be happy if a random website sucks up half their data allowance for the month and kills their battery in 2 hours even after they ‘closed the browser’
- yjftsjthsd-h 8y agoAlso privacy concerns; every one of those features can help track you.
- djrogers 8y agoIt’s not the manufacturers that lack the motivation - it’s end users. The current app-based world is what they want. Little silos for each app, even to the point of having different UI paradigms. Developers don’t see the world that same way users do, and it blinds us sometimes to their desires.
- pjmlp 8y agoNot those developers that decide to invest into a specific platform, though.