3 ms·

No, Google needs the future of mobile apps to be the web, which is very different. Unfortunately, while they're doing this they're simultaneously changing the

No, Google needs the future of mobile apps to be the web, which is very different. Unfortunately, while they're doing this they're simultaneously changing the web into something which removes the very things which allow them to monetise it successfully today. A web of WebGL based client apps which just ping servers for JSON objects of a custom nature will be even more impenetrable to massive data mining than the current JS infested mess out there, which was one of the many justifiable criticisms rightly thrown at Java applets back in the late 90s. The opportunity to rewrite the browser in itself and thus remove the HTML/CSS entirely will prove far too tempting.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
bad_user 13y ago
You're exaggerating. I think WebGL is awesome. In combination with HTML5 audio and video, we can finally get rid of Flash and Silverlight and Java Applets or whatever crappy plugin that people have been using to distribute games and audio/video on the web. This is a good thing. The only reason for why we are seeing less and less usage of these plugins is because WebGL and the other parts of HTML5 are finally taking off, in combination with native mobile apps built on non-standard, often proprietary platforms. These proprietary platforms (e.g. iOS, Google's Play Services, etc...) are far more dangerous for the open web, than whatever ends up being standardized in W3C. Those Chrome apps can and will be built mostly with HTML, CSS and Javascript. They will for the same reason that many people keep building HTML, CSS and Javascript today - for all the bitching and moaning about it, it's actually quite convenient and easy to build something functional and cross-platform and worry free, plus there's a huge knowledge base built around these technologies. On rewriting the browser to have a small core and a UI built on top of web technologies, I think that will be awesome and from what I've been reading, Mozilla is already working on a next-gen Firefox that does it. I'm far more worried about Dart VM or PNaCL, because in order to improve the web, Google is trying to replace Javascript with their own non-standard technologies, relying on their big market share to do that (sound familiar?). Which is why I'm happy that Mozilla exists to bring some balance with Asm.js and Firefox OS and the like. As proof, Mozilla forced Google's hand to include Asm.js in their optimization targets and that popular Unreal Engine demo works quite well right now in Chrome. So we still have healthy competition in the browser space and good things will come out of it.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

bad_user 13y ago

You're exaggerating. I think WebGL is awesome. In combination with HTML5 audio and video, we can finally get rid of Flash and Silverlight and Java Applets or whatever crappy plugin that people have been using to distribute games and audio/video on the web. This is a good thing. The only reason for why we are seeing less and less usage of these plugins is because WebGL and the other parts of HTML5 are finally taking off, in combination with native mobile apps built on non-standard, often proprietary platforms. These proprietary platforms (e.g. iOS, Google's Play Services, etc...) are far more dangerous for the open web, than whatever ends up being standardized in W3C. Those Chrome apps can and will be built mostly with HTML, CSS and Javascript. They will for the same reason that many people keep building HTML, CSS and Javascript today - for all the bitching and moaning about it, it's actually quite convenient and easy to build something functional and cross-platform and worry free, plus there's a huge knowledge base built around these technologies. On rewriting the browser to have a small core and a UI built on top of web technologies, I think that will be awesome and from what I've been reading, Mozilla is already working on a next-gen Firefox that does it. I'm far more worried about Dart VM or PNaCL, because in order to improve the web, Google is trying to replace Javascript with their own non-standard technologies, relying on their big market share to do that (sound familiar?). Which is why I'm happy that Mozilla exists to bring some balance with Asm.js and Firefox OS and the like. As proof, Mozilla forced Google's hand to include Asm.js in their optimization targets and that popular Unreal Engine demo works quite well right now in Chrome. So we still have healthy competition in the browser space and good things will come out of it.