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Ask HN: What would you want in an ideal web browser?

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Re: Ask HN: What would you want in an ideal web browser?

#91

Post by brador »

beefman wrote: post #67

Tree-style tabs and the bookmark model to go with it (a bookmark can have a parent, so you can restore subtrees of tabs, each with its history intact).[1] Scroll below bottom of page as necessary when navigating to anchor links.[2] Put focus in urlbar when switching to a tab unless the user has already moved it onto the page. Continue to allow bookmark keywords for custom searches from urlbar (e.g. "w fun" to search…

Why ad blocking? You know the internet runs on ads right? Without the ads all you'll see is paywalls and backchannel press releases.

Re: Ask HN: What would you want in an ideal web browser?

#92

Post by panic »

ronreiter wrote: post #73

The web needs to split into two: * Reader browser * Application browser The reader browser should show you the "web" in a kindle-like readable experience, just as it does today. However, the application browser, although it does receive a URL, should not have any HTML page as a default view. Instead, a JavaScript should be first loaded, and from there, following the permissions it requests, it can open new windows, n…

Chrome has support for "Chrome Apps" (https://developer.chrome.com/apps/about_apps) which make it at least partly an "application browser" as you're describing.

Re: Ask HN: What would you want in an ideal web browser?

#93

Post by V-2 »

beefman wrote: post #67

Tree-style tabs and the bookmark model to go with it (a bookmark can have a parent, so you can restore subtrees of tabs, each with its history intact).[1] Scroll below bottom of page as necessary when navigating to anchor links.[2] Put focus in urlbar when switching to a tab unless the user has already moved it onto the page. Continue to allow bookmark keywords for custom searches from urlbar (e.g. "w fun" to search…

I wouldn't want any browser to have built-in ad blocking. The best situation from my point of view is if majority of users gets to see the ads, while I don't. Who's going to pay for ads anymore if browsers come with adblocking by default?

Re: Ask HN: What would you want in an ideal web browser?

#94

Post by panic »

kenOfYugen wrote: post #74
rhaps0dy wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correct me if I'm wrong. Isn't this webkit?

Isn't WebKit the rendering engine itself? The "ideal" core I was talking about should be able to use WebKit as a rendering engine.

If no 'browsing' features are included, isn't what you're left with the rendering engine itself?

It seems like WebKit's WKWebView (or WebKitWebView on gtk, or ewk_view on efl) is pretty much what you're asking for.

Edit: WKView should be WKWebView, sorry

Re: Ask HN: What would you want in an ideal web browser?

#97

Post by no_gravity »

brador wrote: post #91
beefman wrote: post #67

Tree-style tabs and the bookmark model to go with it (a bookmark can have a parent, so you can restore subtrees of tabs, each with its history intact).[1] Scroll below bottom of page as necessary when navigating to anchor links.[2] Put focus in urlbar when switching to a tab unless the user has already moved it onto the page. Continue to allow bookmark keywords for custom searches from urlbar (e.g. "w fun" to search…

Why ad blocking? You know the internet runs on ads right? Without the ads all you'll see is paywalls and backchannel press releases.

    Without the ads all you'll see is
    paywalls and backchannel press releases.
And Hacker News.

Re: Ask HN: What would you want in an ideal web browser?

#98

Post by panic »

DanBC wrote: post #61
mod50ack wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How so?

I book mark often. Unless you have rigid discipline your bookmarks will end up as a huge confusing list. Current bookmark managers feel like an afterthough. Google don't want you to use bookmarks. They want you to search so they can mine data and serve ads . I'd pay money for a book mark manager that could organise my list of about 2,000 bookmarks. That software could have a "bulk bookmark import" feature so that use…

It's hard for large browsers to improve bookmarks because people use them in such varied ways. Changing bookmarks to work more like Pinterest may work well for you, but it may completely break someone else's workflow.

One solution would be to let you install third-party bookmark managers which would replace the built-in bookmark UI. That seems even more ripe for abuse than features like custom toolbars, though, which are already heavily abused in current browsers.

Re: Ask HN: What would you want in an ideal web browser?

#99

Post by varlock »

My 2c:

- It must be ultra lightweight: fast when starting up, fast when handling load of tabs, just fast.

- Doing _one single thing_ exceptionally well: enable the user to browse. Built-in modularity means add-ons/plug-ins/etc can optionally be added to expand the browser capabilities.

Re: Ask HN: What would you want in an ideal web browser?

#100

Post by kenOfYugen »

onion2k wrote: post #89
kenOfYugen wrote: post #47

Modularity. I would like to see a browser that is designed as an engine, meaning that no UI/UX, or 'browsing' features are included. Much like a raw linux kernel in philosophy. I would like this ideal browser to have interoperability with various JS engines, HTML and CSS renderers, as well as the standardized specifications for the underlying network protocols. It should be 'safe' by being written in languages where…

I'm having a really hard time working out whether or not I agree with this idea. On the one hand my inner developer loves the idea. The notion that everything is a module, with well documented and robust APIs for communication between modules, is perfect. The browser could be all things to all people. But on the other hand there would be absolutely no additional value for a typical user. 99% of people (generalising,…

Allow me to present an analogy between operating systems and browsers.

You can install Arch/Debian Linux or Ubuntu, and there is no collision there. You build your OS the way you want it or you run an automated installation and soon you are doing work, browsing, watching movies, etc.

My point is that if Debian wasn't what it is, you wouldn't have Ubuntu which offers additional value to a typical user, and be stuck with Windows forever. Choice is of value.

Do you want to be stuck with Firefox, Chrome etc. knowing how hard they adapt to real needs and ignore bug fixing in favor of new features?

A browser is not your 'typical' application. Browsers are in my opinion true virtual machines and should be treated as such.

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