4 ms·

Why would you even give websites that info?

0x0 11y ago
I'm having a hard time imagining any legitimate use cases for this API at all.
madawan 11y ago
So that applications can go light on the battery if needed? For example disabling thumbnails and sound, having longer polling intervals, ...
nilliams 11y ago
You wouldn't necessarily. Main use-case I believe was FirefoxOS -- at least the first time I heard it mentioned was during an FirefoxOS talk where they discussed other hardware-y APIs and trying to get them standardised. It would also be useful for an OS that supported HTML5 native apps. Additionally having a standard API gives projects like Phonegap an API to 'target' when exposing native device APIs to JavaScript.
- smackfu 11y ago
  Yeah, this was part of WebAPI back in 2012, and that has a lot more hardware APIs: https://wiki.mozilla.org/WebAPI https://wiki.mozilla.org/WebAPI
edent 11y ago
Just off the top of my head... - Disable the HTML5 Vibration API if battery power is low. - Increased network activity is battery is full or charging. - Project how much time a user has to complete an activity before the battery runs out. - Change page colour scheme to reduce battery drain. This is a really useful API - especially if it reduces "range anxiety" for mobile users.
- userbinator 11y ago
  All of those are features the OS should manage. In particular, estimating runtime is a function laptops have had since they existed.
- mrob 11y ago
  - Vibration should be disabled by the OS, not the apps. - Network activity should be as predictable as possible, because people often have to pay by the megabyte, and any "smart" changes in activity increase the chance that people will be unpleasantly surprised. - The OS should predict remaining battery life, not the apps. If there's going to be a new API it should let the apps inform the OS of future activity so the OS can make better predictions. - Changing color to reduce battery drain only makes a noticeable difference with OLED. It will annoy the more common LCD users for no benefit to them.
  - nsgi 11y ago
    It also assumes lower battery power always means you want lower power consumption. You could have a full battery but not have a charger with you and want to make it last as long as possible.
raarts 11y ago
The Great Suspender uses this.
- Vexs 11y ago
  Does it really? That's neat- it's one of the few extensions that can actually curb chrome's memory eating without being intrusive.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

0x0 11y ago

I'm having a hard time imagining any legitimate use cases for this API at all.

So that applications can go light on the battery if needed? For example disabling thumbnails and sound, having longer polling intervals, ...

nilliams 11y ago

You wouldn't necessarily. Main use-case I believe was FirefoxOS -- at least the first time I heard it mentioned was during an FirefoxOS talk where they discussed other hardware-y APIs and trying to get them standardised. It would also be useful for an OS that supported HTML5 native apps. Additionally having a standard API gives projects like Phonegap an API to 'target' when exposing native device APIs to JavaScript.

smackfu 11y ago
Yeah, this was part of WebAPI back in 2012, and that has a lot more hardware APIs: https://wiki.mozilla.org/WebAPI https://wiki.mozilla.org/WebAPI

edent 11y ago

Just off the top of my head... - Disable the HTML5 Vibration API if battery power is low. - Increased network activity is battery is full or charging. - Project how much time a user has to complete an activity before the battery runs out. - Change page colour scheme to reduce battery drain. This is a really useful API - especially if it reduces "range anxiety" for mobile users.

userbinator 11y ago
All of those are features the OS should manage. In particular, estimating runtime is a function laptops have had since they existed.
mrob 11y ago
- Vibration should be disabled by the OS, not the apps. - Network activity should be as predictable as possible, because people often have to pay by the megabyte, and any "smart" changes in activity increase the chance that people will be unpleasantly surprised. - The OS should predict remaining battery life, not the apps. If there's going to be a new API it should let the apps inform the OS of future activity so the OS can make better predictions. - Changing color to reduce battery drain only makes a noticeable difference with OLED. It will annoy the more common LCD users for no benefit to them.
- nsgi 11y ago
  It also assumes lower battery power always means you want lower power consumption. You could have a full battery but not have a charger with you and want to make it last as long as possible.

raarts 11y ago

The Great Suspender uses this.

Vexs 11y ago
Does it really? That's neat- it's one of the few extensions that can actually curb chrome's memory eating without being intrusive.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]