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Interesting to think how Netscape could have gone """ Netscape's response is to arrive at a remarkably similar destination by a completely different route: Ins
by CalRobert 3y ago
Interesting to think how Netscape could have gone
"""
Netscape's response is to arrive at a remarkably similar destination by a completely different route: Instead of hiding the browser behind the GUI, Netscape is hiding the GUI behind the browser.
Constellation is a NUI built upon what Netscape calls a "chromeless" browser. The desktop is a full-screen browser window, stripped clean of the usual menus, buttons, icons, and other widgets (the "chrome"). In effect, the browser is the desktop. Like the Active Desktop in Windows, Constellation is a container for displaying rich Web content without all the fuss and bother of a stand-alone browser program.
"""
- rezonant 3y agoVery forward thinking, considering two OSes have been built in that image since, one which is quite successful (ChromeOS, with the other being Mozilla's Firefox OS). And modern PWAs is the same concept, just more in the presentational style of the contemporary-at-the-time HTX container format Microsoft added.
- mid-kid 3y agoFirefox OS still lives on as the decently successful KaiOS, for really cheap feature phones. Those things are vastly popular in some countries.
- _shantaram 3y agoThere's some discussion about whether it has become abandonware though. Kai hasn't said anything since 3.0 dropped.
- hnlmorg 3y agoMore than just two. WebOS would probably fall into this category too. Which would also then include LuneOS. Electron probably deserves a mention too (since you raise the point of PWAs).
- rezonant 3y agoI always though webOS didn't actually use the web stack for its applications but after some reading, I guess it does, though you can also make apps using Qt.
- CalRobert 3y agoBesides that, we just made the browser the OS to a large extent. Want to do some coding? Open browser, use an online IDE, etc.
- monksy 3y agoNetscape/Mozilla was shooting for xuis which I think would have been pretty cool. Shame it never took off.
- firewolf34 3y agoWhat is xuis?
- kolme 3y agoI guess they mean UIs built using XUL, which is a XML-based declarative user interface markup language. Kind of an HTML variant for desktop UIs. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/XUL https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/XUL
- sillywalk 3y agoThere is no data. There is only XUL!
- layer8 3y agohttps://www-archive.mozilla.org/xpfe/xui.html https://www-archive.mozilla.org/xpfe/xui.html
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]