Things you can do with a browser in 2020 • Hacker News Board

Re: Things you can do with a browser in 2020

#381

Post by arendtio » Mon, Mar 23, 2020, 5:54 PM UTC

chinesempire wrote: post #378

arendtio wrote: post #373

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Web apps are better because they are as much device-independent as apps can get nowadays. Service Workers are the background service for web apps, but since users don't want those services to drain the battery unnecessarily, you have to use the Push API to trigger those background jobs. So yes, if the app is the active app, you can do polling, WebSockets and all the like and have no problem. Background services are (…

> Web apps are better because they are as much device-independent as apps can get nowadays They are actually not really. If you can't run a modern browser on your platform, you're out of luck. I think the real "as much device-independent as it can get nowadays" is just Firefox On the major platforms Java is as much as device independent as the web

What do you mean by 'just Firefox'? Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari all support Progressive Web Apps in general.

Older browsers, on the other hand, might not be able to use offline features, but at least you can use the app in the traditional always-on mode.

For your comparison with Java: It is true, Java is very device-independent, but the deployment procedures are much more complicated than simply entering a URL.

Re: Things you can do with a browser in 2020

#382

Post by hackmiester » Mon, Mar 23, 2020, 9:41 PM UTC

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #379

onion2k wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I promise that I have never asked for a notification or a pop-up. Very few people ask for a specific implementation of a feature unless they want you to clone something they've seen elsewhere. People don't do that. In user focus groups I've been in though users have told me that they find it hard to know when they need to pay attention to something, or when they've been tagged in to something, or to know when a serve…

Turn off notifications by default so that people who need/want them (the minority) can get them from the relevant sites (the exceptions). After that turn off stickies, floaters, modals, etc by default & those who wish to have their browsing experience assaulted into a 1 inch box can opt in.

This is how notifications work in Firefox and Chrome today. The site prompts you to allow notifications. If you do nothing, they are not enabled.

Re: Things you can do with a browser in 2020

#383

Post by stickfigure » Mon, Mar 23, 2020, 10:32 PM UTC

chinesempire wrote: post #372

stickfigure wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's say you're using some random website and want to talk to their sales or support team. How well do you think "download this app to chat with us" is going to go over?

That's what email, phone or support tickets are for... My experience with this kind of services has always been lame and I strongly believe only bad businesses use them For example the two larger e-commerce sites in the world,Amazon and Alibaba don't use them If they were a major improvement, they would.

Amazon and Alibaba are pure consumer plays with a mass audience. They deliberately hide the contact forms to force you through self-service UIs.

If you try the same thing with a B2B or other high-touch service, it's not going to end well for you.

Personally I get a terrific amount of value from interacting with my B2B customers through chats, video calls, and screenshares. The customers love it.

Re: Things you can do with a browser in 2020

#384

Post by chinesempire » Tue, Mar 24, 2020, 12:54 PM UTC

stickfigure wrote: post #383

chinesempire wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's what email, phone or support tickets are for... My experience with this kind of services has always been lame and I strongly believe only bad businesses use them For example the two larger e-commerce sites in the world,Amazon and Alibaba don't use them If they were a major improvement, they would.

Amazon and Alibaba are pure consumer plays with a mass audience. They deliberately hide the contact forms to force you through self-service UIs. If you try the same thing with a B2B or other high-touch service, it's not going to end well for you. Personally I get a terrific amount of value from interacting with my B2B customers through chats, video calls, and screenshares. The customers love it.

> If you try the same thing with a B2B or other high-touch service, it's not going to end well for you.

In my experience B2B businesses call you, they want to talk to someone, not to a chat bot.

My biggest complain is in fact that I have to take phone calls because clients refuse to use other means of communication.

Re: Things you can do with a browser in 2020

#385

Post by chinesempire » Tue, Mar 24, 2020, 12:56 PM UTC

arendtio wrote: post #381

chinesempire wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Web apps are better because they are as much device-independent as apps can get nowadays They are actually not really. If you can't run a modern browser on your platform, you're out of luck. I think the real "as much device-independent as it can get nowadays" is just Firefox On the major platforms Java is as much as device independent as the web

What do you mean by 'just Firefox'? Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari all support Progressive Web Apps in general. Older browsers, on the other hand, might not be able to use offline features, but at least you can use the app in the traditional always-on mode. For your comparison with Java: It is true, Java is very device-independent, but the deployment procedures are much more complicated than simply entering a URL.

> What do you mean by 'just Firefox'? Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari all support Progressive Web Apps in general.

Chrome runs only on Windows/Mac/Android (Linux if you allow proprietary software on your distro)

Safari is only Windows/Mac/iOS

Firefox runs on many more platforms, but unfortunately its market share is low

Re: Things you can do with a browser in 2020

#386

Post by WarOnPrivacy » Wed, Mar 25, 2020, 5:15 PM UTC

hackmiester wrote: post #382

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Turn off notifications by default so that people who need/want them (the minority) can get them from the relevant sites (the exceptions). After that turn off stickies, floaters, modals, etc by default & those who wish to have their browsing experience assaulted into a 1 inch box can opt in.

This is how notifications work in Firefox and Chrome today. The site prompts you to allow notifications. If you do nothing, they are not enabled.

By default, the user gets notified that the site wants to send notifications.

Re: Things you can do with a browser in 2020

#387

Post by Nursie » Sun, Mar 29, 2020, 4:11 PM UTC

masswerk wrote: post #376

Nursie wrote: post #356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't work on mobiles.

Then you are doomed. ;-) (On mobile, it's your browser anyway that mutes any not currently on top and visible web sources, without any "help" by the particular website.)

I know this is an old topic now, but that's not true. I've installed a firefox plugin that disables the visibility API. Result - now youtube in a firefox tab keeps playing even with my screen locked.

It is most definitely the page doing the muting.