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WebGPU Fundamentals

webgpufundamentals.org

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Re: WebGPU Fundamentals

#61

Post by cleanchit »

kajaktum wrote: post #45
capableweb wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Because after seeing WebUSB and WebGPU I think my personal limit has been reached. Sure, but where do you draw the line really? For me, having WebUSB and WebMIDI for example is useful, I want to be able to interact with synths over MIDI in the browser, or be able to access other accessories. I also love the idea of GPU access, so my personal limit has not been reached. Multiply this by every vendor, developer and u…

Browsers are just “standardised” OS at this point. Really, what is the difference? It seems to me that people basically wants a 1 to 1 mapping between every OS feature to browsers. I wouldn’t be surprised if this standard will fall apart in the next decade once Chrome runs everything. That is to say Chrome is the standard. I am already seeing websites drop support for Firefox and won’t even load using it.

> I am already seeing websites drop support for Firefox

Examples?

Re: WebGPU Fundamentals

#63

Post by reaperducer »

CyberDildonics wrote: post #58
z3t4 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The browser is basically an OS ontop of an OS ontop of. .. turtles all the way down

The browser is basically an OS ontop of an OS ontop of. .. turtles all the way down The OS runs on hardware, what do you think is below the OS you're running?

The OS runs on hardware, what do you think is below the OS you're running?

Even excluding VMs, there are a lot of OSes running in a modern computer. Some chips have their own. BIOSes and Secure Enclave, networking chips, and probably a dozen more.

Re: WebGPU Fundamentals

#64

Post by Razengan »

Regarding all the arguments about ever-increasing browser complexity and the resulting inefficiency:

Why is nobody asking the reverse question: How to make operating systems more like browsers??

From the end user's PoV (consider someone who isn't computer savvy) what are the actual objective differences in usability, between the OS and browser?

--

• OS: Apps have their own windows and menu bars.

• Browser: Multiple apps run in a single window, and have no menu bar.

-

• OS: Need to download and "install" apps before you can use them.

• Browser: Just type the app's "name".

-

• OS: Need to make sure apps are compatible with your OS and hardware. Need to keep apps updated. Need to delete apps when out of local storage space.

• Browser: Nope.

-

• Browser: Lets you share links with people to show them exactly what you're seeing in an app (YouTube, HN, Reddit)

• OS: Nope.

--

SO. Instead of constantly reinventing the wheels that have been perfected by operating systems for centuries, and then machete'ing through the resulting struggles of power and politics between the OS and browser,

WHY NOT REMOVE THOSE HURDLES FROM THE OS?

Re: WebGPU Fundamentals

#65

Post by saiojd »

mpldr wrote: post #43
saiojd wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does it bother you that browsers have many features? At this point browsers are essentially a cross-platform VM and it really seems like this trend will only accentuate in the future.

https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvekey.cgi?keyword=chromium https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvekey.cgi?keyword=chrome https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvekey.cgi?keyword=firefox https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvekey.cgi?keyword=webkit Those are the main reasons. And seeing how browsers are essentially designed to run other peoples code with minimal to no vetting processes, I consider this a serious issue.

Thanks for sharing, that's interesting angle that I did not consider. So essentially the argument goes that more "surface area" == more vulnerabilities? While that makes perfect sense, don't you feel like the pressure for more feature comes from somewhere? By analogy, dynamic languages like JS/Python make the job of people writing the compiler much, much harder. But, on the whole and despite all their flaws, it is true that they increased productivity by a lot.

Re: WebGPU Fundamentals

#66

Post by whitemary »

cleanchit wrote: post #61
kajaktum wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Browsers are just “standardised” OS at this point. Really, what is the difference? It seems to me that people basically wants a 1 to 1 mapping between every OS feature to browsers. I wouldn’t be surprised if this standard will fall apart in the next decade once Chrome runs everything. That is to say Chrome is the standard. I am already seeing websites drop support for Firefox and won’t even load using it.

> I am already seeing websites drop support for Firefox Examples?

The Honda Financial website is Chrome-only.

https://honda.americanhondafinance.com

Re: WebGPU Fundamentals

#68

Post by icedrift »

pmoriarty wrote: post #62

Can this somehow be leveraged to crowd-train LLMs or maybe do something like SETI@home within the browser?

From what I understand not at this time but potentially in the future with different algorithms. DL training requires long sequential computations that can't be done in parallel the way folding at home could.

Re: WebGPU Fundamentals

#69

Post by adwn »

whitemary wrote: post #66
cleanchit wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I am already seeing websites drop support for Firefox Examples?

The Honda Financial website is Chrome-only. https://honda.americanhondafinance.com

Firefox 112 doesn't seem to have any problems rendering it. What do you mean by "Chrome-only"?

Re: WebGPU Fundamentals

#70

Post by kllrnohj »

rvz wrote: post #14

[flagged]

Firefox has support it's just behind a flag as the spec is still a work in progress draft. Which is what chrome is supposed to do, too, but these days chrome doesn't really care at all about standards and compatibility, instead they just want to be first to market ASAP because it's critical for CrOS capabilities
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