Would you describe today's web browsers as “innovative?”

#1

Post by digitalcreate » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 3:59 PM UTC

Would you describe today's web browsers as “innovative?”
docs.google.com

Re: Would you describe today's web browsers as “innovative?”

#2

Post by digitalcreate » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:08 PM UTC

Are you happy with your choice of browsers today? Do you feel that browser innovation is moving forward quickly enough? Please sound off and take this quick survey.

Re: Would you describe today's web browsers as “innovative?”

#3

Post by digitalcreate » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:11 PM UTC

Thanks for the survey responses everyone, and please keep them coming!

Re: Would you describe today's web browsers as “innovative?”

#4

Post by digitalcreate » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:13 PM UTC

Someone asked what "innovative" means. It's purely up to your definition of the word... but feel free to add comments to explain your thoughts.

Re: Would you describe today's web browsers as “innovative?”

#5

Post by evmar » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:18 PM UTC

By asking here your answers are so biased that they're unlikely to be useful. If you're interested in getting a statistically significant sample of a larger group, there are products that will find that group for you for relatively cheap -- I know of at least Google Consumer Surveys and Survata. (Disclaimer: I work on the former.)

Re: Would you describe today's web browsers as “innovative?”

#6

Post by ChuckMcM » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:21 PM UTC

Where are you going with this? A "browser" is a delivery agent, sort of like the paper and binding in a book. The content of the book can be innovative but who cares if the paper is?

Perhaps you are asking "Can you deliver the experience you want to deliver in Today's browsers?" "If not, why not?" which might inform the question of missing features, but such surveys tend to collect dreams rather than requirements ("if only the browser could read aloud the page, I'd make a kids book..." kind of thing where the thing holding back the requester is not the browser but their own inability to write a kids book)

Re: Would you describe today's web browsers as “innovative?”

#7

Post by digitalcreate » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:24 PM UTC

evmar wrote: post #5

By asking here your answers are so biased that they're unlikely to be useful. If you're interested in getting a statistically significant sample of a larger group, there are products that will find that group for you for relatively cheap -- I know of at least Google Consumer Surveys and Survata. (Disclaimer: I work on the former.)

Thanks evmar, we're getting a really good response size here, and are focusing on the moment on the developer/technophile type of users on this site.

Re: Would you describe today's web browsers as “innovative?”

#8

Post by digitalcreate » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:26 PM UTC

ChuckMcM wrote: post #6

Where are you going with this? A "browser" is a delivery agent, sort of like the paper and binding in a book. The content of the book can be innovative but who cares if the paper is? Perhaps you are asking "Can you deliver the experience you want to deliver in Today's browsers?" "If not, why not?" which might inform the question of missing features, but such surveys tend to collect dreams rather than requirements ("i…

So your feeling is that the browser is more of an invisible delivery mechanism, and not intended to provide anything other than taking you to your chosen web experience. Is that correct?

Re: Would you describe today's web browsers as “innovative?”

#9

Post by TuringTest » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:26 PM UTC

No, and they shouldn't be. Modern web browsers are "streamlined", which is what they ought to be and how they best serve their users - by being a minimal window to access the real protagonist, web content.

"Innovative" ideas should be tested in the form of separate applications or plugins, not shoehorned into the core tool that people use for almost all their access to Internet; experimenting with innovative ideas in this minimal tool is likely to break some workflows for most people.

Re: Would you describe today's web browsers as “innovative?”

#10

Post by digitalcreate » Thu, Apr 23, 2015, 4:32 PM UTC

TuringTest wrote: post #9

No, and they shouldn't be. Modern web browsers are "streamlined", which is what they ought to be and how they best serve their users - by being a minimal window to access the real protagonist, web content. "Innovative" ideas should be tested in the form of separate applications or plugins, not shoehorned into the core tool that people use for almost all their access to Internet; experimenting with innovative ideas in…

So the concern about "innovation" within the context of a browser is that can disrupt how they currently work. That being said, do you think that the separate plugins and applications out there are innovative?