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I agree, but there is one problem: most people would rather use an SPA than have to download an app and have to keep it up to date themselves. I wonder if ther

I agree, but there is one problem: most people would rather use an SPA than have to download an app and have to keep it up to date themselves. I wonder if there's a market for an alternative "browser" that loads "native" code (or as close as practically possible) and runs it in a sandbox.

eitland 7y ago
> I wonder if there's a market for an alternative "browser" that loads "native" code (or as close as practically possible) and runs it in a sandbox. Electron comes close, but many don’t like it at all. (I have somewhat mixed experiences, I love VS Code but I’m not too fond of Slack.)
- ScottFree 7y ago
  Electron isn't native in any sense of the word. I meant something more like OS-specific binary executables that get loaded and executed in a sandbox. Mike Acton once said something about having created a browser plugin his team used that loaded and ran binary exe tools on demand, but that it was also wildly insecure. At least I think he said something like that. My memory could be wrong about that.
- icedchai 7y ago
  We had this 20 years ago with Java (not native obviously) and ActiveX (Windows x86 only.)
favorited 7y ago
> most people would rather use an SPA than have to download an app and have to keep it up to date themselves Citation?
- ScottFree 7y ago
  > Citation? No.
mftrhu 7y ago
> I wonder if there's a market for an alternative "browser" that loads "native" code (or as close as practically possible) and runs it in a sandbox. This is probably not what you had in mind, and I'm not sure how good it would be at sandboxing, but REBOL Reblets imho come close to this <http://www.rebol.com/reblets.html> http://www.rebol.com/reblets.html>
- greggirwin 7y ago
  The question is what "browser" means. If viewing data connected by hyperlinks is the goal, that's pretty easy. Rebol's approach to X-Net (Executable Internet) apps is very different, with the goal of being a way to share both data and active content. You can do both, the web we know just wasn't designed for that.
hn_throwaway_99 7y ago
Hah, you mean Java applets? Everything old is new again.
- ScottFree 7y ago
  I meant something more like OS-specific binary executables that get loaded and executed in a sandbox.

eitland 7y ago

> I wonder if there's a market for an alternative "browser" that loads "native" code (or as close as practically possible) and runs it in a sandbox. Electron comes close, but many don’t like it at all. (I have somewhat mixed experiences, I love VS Code but I’m not too fond of Slack.)

ScottFree 7y ago
Electron isn't native in any sense of the word. I meant something more like OS-specific binary executables that get loaded and executed in a sandbox. Mike Acton once said something about having created a browser plugin his team used that loaded and ran binary exe tools on demand, but that it was also wildly insecure. At least I think he said something like that. My memory could be wrong about that.
icedchai 7y ago
We had this 20 years ago with Java (not native obviously) and ActiveX (Windows x86 only.)

favorited 7y ago

> most people would rather use an SPA than have to download an app and have to keep it up to date themselves Citation?

ScottFree 7y ago
> Citation? No.

mftrhu 7y ago

> I wonder if there's a market for an alternative "browser" that loads "native" code (or as close as practically possible) and runs it in a sandbox. This is probably not what you had in mind, and I'm not sure how good it would be at sandboxing, but REBOL Reblets imho come close to this <http://www.rebol.com/reblets.html> http://www.rebol.com/reblets.html>

greggirwin 7y ago
The question is what "browser" means. If viewing data connected by hyperlinks is the goal, that's pretty easy. Rebol's approach to X-Net (Executable Internet) apps is very different, with the goal of being a way to share both data and active content. You can do both, the web we know just wasn't designed for that.

hn_throwaway_99 7y ago

Hah, you mean Java applets? Everything old is new again.

ScottFree 7y ago
I meant something more like OS-specific binary executables that get loaded and executed in a sandbox.