Show HN: I am building a next-gen browser • Hacker News Board

Re: Show HN: I am building a next-gen browser

#11

Post by ashraful » Sat, Aug 20, 2011, 5:26 AM UTC

CrazedGeek wrote: post #4

Honest question: What's the difference between this and Chrome with the profile switcher enabled, minus the auto-URL bar hiding? It seems very similar to me.

Its similar to Chrome's profile switcher. But Chrome profiles lets users have separate bookmarks, extensions, etc.

Browsr's aliases are entirely separate identities. You can use fake names, addresses etc and provide these data to web services if you choose.

For example, for websites integrate "Browsr Connect", users can visit them for the first time and can be automatically sign-in without ever needing to register. The web service can automatically request information (like name, address, gender etc.) and Browsr provides these based on the alias selected by the user.

So Chrome profiles are basically for multiple users using the same browser, but Browsr is for the same user using multiple identities on the internet.

Re: Show HN: I am building a next-gen browser

#12

Post by ashraful » Sat, Aug 20, 2011, 5:30 AM UTC

pero wrote: post #5

Don't know if this is intentional, but I really like the use of she in reference to the user in the blogpost. I've never seen that before and it's very refreshing, seemingly valorizing the user as if they were a country or a vessel. Consider it "borrowed"; thank you.

Years ago, I read an article (probably on HN) that advocated using "she" as a pronoun. The article itself was slightly sexist, reasoning that women will complain about gender equality when writers use "he" to refer to the reader, but men won't complain when "she" is used, but it was good advice.

Re: Show HN: I am building a next-gen browser

#13

Post by ashraful » Sat, Aug 20, 2011, 5:31 AM UTC

4J7z0Fgt63dTZbs wrote: post #7

Looks nice, but no Mac? No go. Nothing will ever convince me out of using Macs.

These are mockups not actual screenshots. I hope to make the browser work on both PCs and Macs.

Re: Show HN: I am building a next-gen browser

#14

Post by sid0 » Sat, Aug 20, 2011, 5:35 AM UTC

ashraful wrote: post #10

tszming wrote: post #6

>> The URL bar appears only when the user wants to open a new tab. Double clicking an existing tab lets users display and change the URL of the current tab. My concern would be security related issues (e.g. Phishing), HTTP vs HTTPS etc. Actually, the new Opera is hiding the full URL in the address bar, and a lot of users complained ( http://my.opera.com/Tamil/blog/show-full-url-in-the-opera-ad... )

Secure URLs can show a lock icon in the tab. Phishing is a more serious concern, and its something I'm thinking hard about. Black-lists might be part of the solution. Another solution might be be displaying the URL bar only when the website has form fields for usernames, passwords, or payment info, but it might be easy to trick the browser. I might end up adding a separate URL bar if I can't find a feasible solution

Secure URLs can show a lock icon in the tab.

Careful, careful. Most browsers have gotten rid of the lock icon for SSL-enabled sites because it simply isn't accurate.

Re: Show HN: I am building a next-gen browser

#15

Post by patrickaljord » Sat, Aug 20, 2011, 5:37 AM UTC

Couldn't that be done as a browser extension? It's a lot of work to maintain a browser and you will reach many more people by doing it as an extension.

Re: Show HN: I am building a next-gen browser

#16

Post by ashraful » Sat, Aug 20, 2011, 5:40 AM UTC

patrickaljord wrote: post #15

Couldn't that be done as a browser extension? It's a lot of work to maintain a browser and you will reach many more people by doing it as an extension.

I will try to provide it as an extension as well, but I'm not sure if all the features can be implemented properly.

Browsr is more than just a password manager and a homepage. Lots of modifications are needed under the hood. Particularly installing native apps and storing all data on the user's end.

Re: Show HN: I am building a next-gen browser

#17

Post by chrischen » Sat, Aug 20, 2011, 5:41 AM UTC

If you want to be next-gen you've got to integrate web apps into the native system OS, instead of still running them inside a browser that's running as a windowed app within the OS.

Re: Show HN: I am building a next-gen browser

#18

Post by systemizer » Sat, Aug 20, 2011, 5:42 AM UTC

I wouldn't call this a next generation browser. What I'd like to see is a browser that eliminates the url bar. I don't know how that would be done and you'd probably lose functionality along the way, but from a UX standpoint, it sounds awesome.

I would like to browse the internet with only a touch screen; maybe integrate the zoom-in touchpad movement with link previews. Anyone?

Re: Show HN: I am building a next-gen browser

#19

Post by ashraful » Sat, Aug 20, 2011, 5:45 AM UTC

chrischen wrote: post #17

If you want to be next-gen you've got to integrate web apps into the native system OS, instead of still running them inside a browser that's running as a windowed app within the OS.

What you're talking about is basically an entire OS.

I have considered it but its too complex to implement for me. And it might be too big a leap for most users.

Maybe once Windows 8 is launched...

Re: Show HN: I am building a next-gen browser

#20

Post by runjake » Sat, Aug 20, 2011, 5:45 AM UTC

I wouldn't call it next-generation. To me, it really resembles what the Flock browser was trying to accomplish.