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I see a bunch of comments here showing their disdain towards chrome adding more liberal file system access. As a web developer this is actually a positive move

by kushan2020 5y ago

I see a bunch of comments here showing their disdain towards chrome adding more liberal file system access. As a web developer this is actually a positive move as it gives us the ability to make really powerful apps for the web without having to resort to wasting time in apple's walled garden. Yes, Firefox [1] thinks this is dangerous, but the points they have put forward are half baked at best. This API is no worse than some of the existing APIs implemented by every browser and contrary to what the name might suggest, does not degrade a user's privacy or security. [1] https://github.com/mozilla/standards-positions/issues/154 https://github.com/mozilla/standards-positions/issues/154

criddell 5y ago
> This API is no worse than some of the existing APIs implemented by every browser That's not a terribly strong argument. > does not degrade a users privacy or security With proper sandboxing, I think it could be safe. Without that, then I think it's a disaster. Any time a message saying "Allow access to XXX?" most people click yes just to clear the dialog.
- kushan2020 5y ago
  > Any time a message saying "Allow access to XXX?" most people click yes just to clear the dialog. Talking about this specific API, when a user blindly clicks yes, they are then showed a file picker. This file picker interface exists in every browser and I am not aware of users blindly picking a file and uploading it without realizing what they did. This brings me back to my point that this user interface already exists in every browser, the only difference is that this new API allows to write back to the same location.
corobo 5y ago
> As a web developer this is actually a positive move as it gives us the ability to make really powerful apps for the web without having to resort to wasting time in apple's walled garden. As an ad agency this is actually a positive move as it gives us the ability to make really powerful apps for the web without having to resort to wasting time in apple's walled garden. This is going to be used for tracking so fast haha
- kushan2020 5y ago
  I am very curious to hear how you imagine this can be used for tracking.
  - corobo 5y ago
    Allow/deny state and feature support into fingerprinting like every other bit of information your browser provides. On a super duper catch me out technical ability and full prototype? Can't help you. I just trust Google will find a way to be creepy. It's a pretty safe bet.
jeroenhd 5y ago
> without having to resort to wasting time in apple's walled garden What makes you think Safari will implement this? Like many features Google announces, this will be a Chromium-only feature for ages. Mac users running Chrome or Edge may be valid end users for this API, but Safari and iOS users won't benefit from this if it would permit developers to skip Apple's walled garden. Apple doesn't want competitors to their app store laying all the golden apps. Safari still doesn't properly support notifications, after all, and it's not because Apple can't think of a way of implementing them.

criddell 5y ago

> This API is no worse than some of the existing APIs implemented by every browser That's not a terribly strong argument. > does not degrade a users privacy or security With proper sandboxing, I think it could be safe. Without that, then I think it's a disaster. Any time a message saying "Allow access to XXX?" most people click yes just to clear the dialog.

kushan2020 5y ago
> Any time a message saying "Allow access to XXX?" most people click yes just to clear the dialog. Talking about this specific API, when a user blindly clicks yes, they are then showed a file picker. This file picker interface exists in every browser and I am not aware of users blindly picking a file and uploading it without realizing what they did. This brings me back to my point that this user interface already exists in every browser, the only difference is that this new API allows to write back to the same location.

corobo 5y ago

> As a web developer this is actually a positive move as it gives us the ability to make really powerful apps for the web without having to resort to wasting time in apple's walled garden. As an ad agency this is actually a positive move as it gives us the ability to make really powerful apps for the web without having to resort to wasting time in apple's walled garden. This is going to be used for tracking so fast haha

kushan2020 5y ago
I am very curious to hear how you imagine this can be used for tracking.
- corobo 5y ago
  Allow/deny state and feature support into fingerprinting like every other bit of information your browser provides. On a super duper catch me out technical ability and full prototype? Can't help you. I just trust Google will find a way to be creepy. It's a pretty safe bet.

jeroenhd 5y ago

> without having to resort to wasting time in apple's walled garden What makes you think Safari will implement this? Like many features Google announces, this will be a Chromium-only feature for ages. Mac users running Chrome or Edge may be valid end users for this API, but Safari and iOS users won't benefit from this if it would permit developers to skip Apple's walled garden. Apple doesn't want competitors to their app store laying all the golden apps. Safari still doesn't properly support notifications, after all, and it's not because Apple can't think of a way of implementing them.