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Introducing Ubuntu Web Apps: setting the web free of the browser

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Re: Introducing Ubuntu Web Apps: setting the web free of the browser

#71

Post by notatoad »

skimmas wrote: post #52
mindstab wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only if you use these services. They are offering integration with them, far from forcing you to use them. And if you were already using them these features are an amazing boon and don't affect your privacy at all. Using cloud based apps may affect your privacy but that is independent of this.

"Using cloud based apps may affect your privacy but that is independent of this." Yes, you're probably right. But will ubuntu be developing code for specific apps like gmail and twitter or will that be codded by the web app developers? If it's the former than you'll probably not have many choices.

Regardless of who writes the code, as you can clearly see the browser prompts you to allow integration for each service that has it. If you don't want desktop integration, don't click yes.

Re: Introducing Ubuntu Web Apps: setting the web free of the browser

#73

Post by mwill »

Sort of unrelated, but it was my first thought: I sort of wish there was a cross platform store for wrapped web apps that could make them look sort of native-ish, that was widely adopted.

Not because this is actually something I want or think would be better than a browser, but simply because seems to be significantly easier to get users to pay for something that behaves like a native app, ie, turns up on their dock. I have a theory if you wrapped a web view and put it on the mac app store, the average user (ie one who has no idea what web view means) would pay more for it than the same product in a browser.

Re: Introducing Ubuntu Web Apps: setting the web free of the browser

#74

Post by wavephorm »

pjmlp wrote: post #72

I don't care, I only use web based applications in the few cases I am forced to do so. For me, the control over my data, operating system integration, taking advantage of my hardware will win every day over dumb web applications.

You're probably in the minority. My usage of desktop software has been dropping dramatically over the years. I'm basically left with 5 or 6 apps, including a browser, a file picker, a code editor, and a command prompt. The more powerful the web/internet apps become the more the desktop gets sidelined, and any reason to Ubuntu over any other desktop becomes a pretty moot point.

Re: Introducing Ubuntu Web Apps: setting the web free of the browser

#75

Post by pjmlp »

wavephorm wrote: post #74
pjmlp wrote: post #72

I don't care, I only use web based applications in the few cases I am forced to do so. For me, the control over my data, operating system integration, taking advantage of my hardware will win every day over dumb web applications.

You're probably in the minority. My usage of desktop software has been dropping dramatically over the years. I'm basically left with 5 or 6 apps, including a browser, a file picker, a code editor, and a command prompt. The more powerful the web/internet apps become the more the desktop gets sidelined, and any reason to Ubuntu over any other desktop becomes a pretty moot point.

I'm used to it, Linux was also a minority for many years.

Re: Introducing Ubuntu Web Apps: setting the web free of the browser

#76

Post by mcpherrinm »

rbanffy wrote: post #64
trentonstrong wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is a valid concern, but as JS engines start implementing more and more of the rich web client working drafts like FileAPI ( http://www.w3.org/TR/FileAPI/ ), those same concerns will be valid for your browser too. I can only imagine that developers of desktop platforms like this are aware of these drafts too and are planning to utilize as much as they can of the functionality provided. As with most securi…

I like the idea of assigning permissions to applications. Then if browser B runs under user U, its effective permissions would be the intersection of what both B and U are allowed to do. I don't see why Firefox should be able to write anything outside ~/.mozilla/firefox and ~/Downloads

These type of restrictions are exactly what Linux's AppArmor (as well as SELinux, etc) do.

I'm not sure what profile Firefox runs under, but what you suggested would be quite reasonable, though maybe not as default -- You probably want to be able to "save as" to an arbitrary directory, and open files for upload from anywhere too. Though since both of those involve a user dialog, that could easily be a secondary application with its own profile that uses IPC/shared memory/something to pass data to the browser. Smaller target attack area.

Re: Introducing Ubuntu Web Apps: setting the web free of the browser

#79

Post by SeppoErviala »

jiggy2011 wrote: post #7

What web apps need desperately in order to become true first class citizens is support for keyboard shortcuts across the board. Doing Alt + should bring up the appropriate menu in the web app not the web browser. Doing Ctrl + S should ask the web app to do a save , not ask the browser to save the .html page. Of course this is all stuff that could be abused by aggressive websites so there needs to be a distinction bet…

Accessing web application features with Alt + is one of the things this Ubuntu feature is about.

Re: Introducing Ubuntu Web Apps: setting the web free of the browser

#80

Post by ralfn »

repsilat wrote: post #60
ralfn wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, most of those webapps will likely navigate/open external websites. I would love to have a hacker news window by default, so that external links i open there are nicely managed within the hackers news app. So, the tab bar is a plus, if you ask me. The address bar and the new tab icon, should be removed though. Better yet, the new tab icon, should open he base url, or some other logical url: for gmail it could be…

To be honest if I clicked on a link in a "GMail app" I'd expect it to open a new "full" browser window (or a new tab in an existing browser window). You'd have to be able to distinguish between internal and external links, of course, but the domain name is a workable heuristic. The ability to open new tabs should probably be configured on an app-by-app basis. Opening tabs of mail is a pretty sensible idea, but a game…

I would want a external link in the gmail app, to open in a tab in the gmail app.

The internet is everywhere.. I dont want those 50 tabs in one big browser window, nor do i want them in separate windows.

I want them organised based on context. Most of those tabs belong to the initiating application. From a hackers news app, with the chosen articles, to a google docs app, with open documents.

As long as i can pick up a tab, and add it to some other window, that would make the most sense to me.

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