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How to make the Web OS viable

6 points by jmtulloss 18y ago

jacobscott 18y ago
I think there are an incredible number of technical challenges for web applications that are more interesting and important than consistency (focus of article). How about scaling on the backend, performance on the frontend, reliability, security, having a sufficiently rich browser platform... I'm sure this list could go on for hours. I don't do much frontend web programming, but is it really the case that no framework is providing native look-and-feel via js/flash/etc? I mean, Java has been doing this for a while and it is certainly not the new hotness. Chrome (among many others) also allows web apps to snap out of the browser and appear as a desktop app to OS GUIs. Confused as to what the big problem is.
- jmtulloss 18y ago
  Scaling and JavaScript performance are the issues that we're all working on. Usability is something that gets focused on sometimes from site to site. There is nobody focusing on providing a consistent experience across the web, and for regular users to use the web as their only platform, it will eventually have to be addressed.
orib 18y ago
More or less, web applications will continue to suck as long as they have a browser jammed around them. The browser is a lame application platform; the internet itself is important; it means that your apps are up to date, it means that you can easily sync between machines, etc. The browser is ugly legacy baggage for writing applications. We can do better.
dandelany 18y ago
"When a person buys a Windows PC, they can boot it up and use Microsoft Mail with whatever email address they have. ...There is no web site that I know of that lets you work with any email address." Uh... Gmail? You know, the one by the same company who made the browser you're writing an article about? In fact, I would be surprised if Chrome 1.0 doesn't have Gmail, Calendar, etc. seamlessly integrated.
- dandelany 18y ago
  Scratch that. GMail only allows accessing other accounts using POP3, not IMAP. Boo.

6 points by jmtulloss 18y ago

I think there are an incredible number of technical challenges for web applications that are more interesting and important than consistency (focus of article). How about scaling on the backend, performance on the frontend, reliability, security, having a sufficiently rich browser platform... I'm sure this list could go on for hours. I don't do much frontend web programming, but is it really the case that no framework is providing native look-and-feel via js/flash/etc? I mean, Java has been doing this for a while and it is certainly not the new hotness. Chrome (among many others) also allows web apps to snap out of the browser and appear as a desktop app to OS GUIs. Confused as to what the big problem is.

jmtulloss 18y ago
Scaling and JavaScript performance are the issues that we're all working on. Usability is something that gets focused on sometimes from site to site. There is nobody focusing on providing a consistent experience across the web, and for regular users to use the web as their only platform, it will eventually have to be addressed.

orib 18y ago

More or less, web applications will continue to suck as long as they have a browser jammed around them. The browser is a lame application platform; the internet itself is important; it means that your apps are up to date, it means that you can easily sync between machines, etc. The browser is ugly legacy baggage for writing applications. We can do better.

dandelany 18y ago

"When a person buys a Windows PC, they can boot it up and use Microsoft Mail with whatever email address they have. ...There is no web site that I know of that lets you work with any email address." Uh... Gmail? You know, the one by the same company who made the browser you're writing an article about? In fact, I would be surprised if Chrome 1.0 doesn't have Gmail, Calendar, etc. seamlessly integrated.

dandelany 18y ago
Scratch that. GMail only allows accessing other accounts using POP3, not IMAP. Boo.