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Browser extensions are underrated: the promise of hackable software (2019)
11–20 of 320 posts
Re: Browser extensions are underrated: the promise of hackable software (2019)
#12> Browser extensions remind us what it’s like to have deep control over how we use our computers.
Uh. Linux users would like a word here.
But more generally, there's a significant component of this that seems isomorphous to the question I was trying to discuss in a post I wrote several years ago called "Is Open Source a diversion from what users really want?"
There seems to be much more excitement about ways to "hack" software that do not involve build systems than the complete, open-ended and (theoretically) unbounded access provided by FLOSS. It's not hard to see some obvious reasons why that would be true, but still a little disappointing.
I tried to discuss that here, specifically in the contrast between Reaper's provision of scripting-but-closed-source versus Ardour's scripting-but-open-source.
https://discourse.ardour.org/t/is-open-source-a-diversion-fr...
Re: Browser extensions are underrated: the promise of hackable software (2019)
#13No support on mobile devices is the big drawback.
On iOS/iPadOS Firefox and Chrome extensions seem to mostly work in the Orion browser.
Re: Browser extensions are underrated: the promise of hackable software (2019)
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
is this really a problem? Being strictly open without monetization is a feature. You can still open a Liberapay if you want
open a what?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberapay - Platform for recurring donations/OSS funding.
Re: Browser extensions are underrated: the promise of hackable software (2019)
#15No support on mobile devices is the big drawback.
Mobile Firefox supports extensions just fine.
That's getting better, for sure. The bad part: on mobile you don't have access to the whole API you have on desktop. For example, on mobile there's no access to your history. (I wanted to do an extension that cleaned older stuff from my history...)
Re: Browser extensions are underrated: the promise of hackable software (2019)
#16Needs [2019].
Does it? Has the browser extension landscape changed significantly since then?
Re: Browser extensions are underrated: the promise of hackable software (2019)
#17No support on mobile devices is the big drawback.
Lots of options on Android, and for iOS there's Orion.
Re: Browser extensions are underrated: the promise of hackable software (2019)
#18Re: Browser extensions are underrated: the promise of hackable software (2019)
#19Re: Browser extensions are underrated: the promise of hackable software (2019)
#20problem is you can't sell them.
They're not highly visible, but there's quite a few paid extensions. Chrome used to have payments built into the Chrome Web Store before they deprecated it a few years ago (https://developer.chrome.com/docs/webstore/cws-payments-depr...).
You've always been able to add your own payment system. I sell a freeium extension with payments going through Paddle (I guessed Google might deprecate their payment system so didn't risk it!). Gumroad and Lemon Squeezy are other examples you could use, where they both have simple license key checking web APIs.