I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me • Hacker News Board

Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#371

Post by gnomewascool » Tue, Apr 02, 2019, 7:13 PM UTC

Regarding browser extensions, the Firefox "webextensions" API is (mostly) compatible with Chromium's, so with relatively little effort you could target both the Firefox and Chromium families of browsers.

Firefox compatibility is valuable because Firefox extensions don't have to be distributed through the Mozilla add-on store (they do need to be signed by AMO, but provided your extension isn't doing anything illegal, that should not be an issue).

Finally, you could try redistributing unbranded Firefox or Chromium with your extension pre-installed. Waterfox (a Firefox fork) can have DRM — it's disabled by default, but it can be switched on — and I don't think they put a great deal of effort into it, so I think that your "version" of Firefox could also easily have DRM. (I have no idea whether the same holds for Chromium.)

Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#372

Post by throwaway2048 » Tue, Apr 02, 2019, 7:18 PM UTC

jedberg wrote: post #331

throwaway2048 wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Netflix only content isn't "rare" anymore, sorry if I don't purchase this particular red herring. DRM benefits Netflix just as much, if not even more than it does traditional media companies.

It’s very rare. I’ll bet you can’t name a single show that Netflix produces. Remember all those big name shows are produced by other people and then sold exclusively to Netflix. DRM does not benefit Netflix. It’s complicated and takes a lot of resources to run. They’d much rather not have to deal with it at all. Having DRM does not gain them any customers — in fact it loses them some. But it’s the only way they can g…

If Netflix is paying for shows that are produced, and they have exclusive rights, they can attach any distribution terms they want to them.

You can't tell me with a straight face that somehow they don't have this power.

DRM absolutely benefits them because it ensures that only parties they permit are allowed to access content, for the same reason it benefits other media companies.

Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#373

Post by 3327 » Tue, Apr 02, 2019, 7:20 PM UTC

HI Please post this and bring to the attention of the DOJ.

Microsoft got broken up for anti-trust behavior that is PEANUTS relatively speaking today. Bill Gates was right, (proven overt time) - that the OS is not the competitive advantage - its the platform and ecosystem as a whole.

Google should be broken up, so should facebook and so should Apple.

Amazon? I don't know they seem fairly diversified and although are decimating e-commerce its a more difficult sell.

Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#374

Post by geofft » Tue, Apr 02, 2019, 7:23 PM UTC

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #215

geofft wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If the platforms all made it so that you have to solder a new chip into your phone before you can play DRM content, there would be a lot less DRM. I mean, yes, but why would they do that? > Wouldn't that create a huge market opportunity for new DRM-free studios, who would then out-compete the traditional ones by being available on all platforms instead of only on Insecure Expensive Proprietary Slow Cableco Platform…

> I mean, yes, but why would they do that? So that they're not beholden to adversarial corporations. > You're assuming that content is fungible. If I want to watch Game of Thrones , I want to watch Game of Thrones , not "Winter Dragon," and "Winter Dragon" being DRM-free won't incentivize me to watch it. Except that it is fungible, it's just not universally fungible. The reason Winter Dragon isn't fungible with Game…

> So that they're not beholden to adversarial corporations.

What is so adversarial about these corporations to the browser makers? What benefit, concretely, do Microsoft or Google or Apple get from being free of the shackles of Disney or CBS?

One concrete benefit I see is less risk of the third-party code destabilizing your code because it has bugs and is running within your address space, but there's an easy solution there: sandbox the EME blob like Firefox (and other browsers too, I assume) does. Then its crashes and buffer overflows don't become your crashes and memory corruptions.

Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#375

Post by conmarap » Tue, Apr 02, 2019, 7:23 PM UTC

> Google, the creators of the open source browser Chrome

Uhm... Chrome is positively not open source. Chromium is.

Getting past this technicality, I can't help but wonder what other browser vendors that have forked Chromium did in order to not get blocked.

Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#376

Post by haberman » Tue, Apr 02, 2019, 7:23 PM UTC

ktm5j wrote: post #253

I also find the title to be rather sensational.. "I tried creating a web browser" ^ "Google blocked me" implies that Google blocked them from creating a web browser.. which is not the case.

It made the top of HN with 945 votes (2x the votes of anything else right now). As much as we hear criticism of it on this site and elsewhere, clickbait headlines work.

Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#377

Post by voldacar » Tue, Apr 02, 2019, 7:26 PM UTC

So is widevine essentially just a bunch of built-in javascript functions that the netflix website calls when you try to play a video?

If so, couldn't you just copy and paste the implementation into your browser from the chrome source?

Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#378

Post by Driky » Tue, Apr 02, 2019, 7:26 PM UTC

"Don't be evil" they said... Most people working at google might be nice people but the one in control are the they ass holes that you will find anywhere else :-(

Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#379

Post by tptacek » Tue, Apr 02, 2019, 7:27 PM UTC

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #157

tptacek wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok? That’s a strong argument in favor, isn’t it?

You've missed the joke. In the DRM case the honest people are the ones who should be allowed in, but the DRM only allows the pirates in.

No, I think you’ve missed my point. A technology that prevents generally honest people from slipping casually into dishonesty sounds valuable. Battling people who are determined to be dishonest sounds much less valuable.

Re: I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me

#380

Post by kelnos » Tue, Apr 02, 2019, 7:29 PM UTC

pushpop wrote: post #274

cmsimike wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Kodi has made amazing progress. I've not had issues getting it installed on different devices since the 15.x days. Currently run it on 4 different dedicated devices in my apartment as well as some mobile and media devices. > The docs on how to do simple things seem to be nonexistant because they don't want to be sued and shutdown entirely. What docs are you looking for? They have a very extensive wiki as well…

I’ve been running it since the earliest beta versions when it was literally Xbox Media Center - a media center for modded Xboxes (original). I’ve ran it on all kinds of hardware from laptops, Android phones and tablets, Raspberry Pis (version 1 through to 3), Intel NUCs, etc. And obviously not forgetting the Xbox. Until very recently it was my go to media center. I even went as far as to write some plugins for it. Bu…

As a (former) plugin developer and long-time user and community member, I don't think you're exactly the best person to evaluate today's install usability for a non- or even somewhat-technical new-ish user.