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Chrome Apps are dead, as Google shuts down the Chrome Web Store section

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Re: Chrome Apps are dead, as Google shuts down the Chrome Web Store section

#141

Post by JepZ »

z3t4 wrote: post #137
JepZ wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually you are so right... And I do not understand why google doesn't seem to solve that problem... I mean I really like PWAs. But while they are around since a while now (about 2 years?), the pain points have not been addressed so far. - Privacy: There are multiple issues related to privacy here (transparent updates, Serviceworker running in the background without the user knowing about it), and when I see it how…

You can make a virtual file system in the browser using localStorage. You can then sync it across devices and browsers via a server. You can upload files to the PWA using drag-n-drop or file input. You can also send files from the PWA to the device file system. I think it's important that Web browsers can't automatically control the device hard drives, imagine if all web sites you visited would be able to do rm / -rf…

Yeah, sure complete access to all files is rediculous. I think more of something like: By default every app has its own directory and the user can (easily) grant an app access to additional directories.

That way it can't do much damage and when you trust it, you can give it more access.

I use the localStorage as a cache for some of the offline capabilites but as a persistent storage it sucks as you can't easily open the stored "files" with other programms or PWAs.

Re: Chrome Apps are dead, as Google shuts down the Chrome Web Store section

#142

Post by BrandoElFollito »

JepZ wrote: post #141
z3t4 wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can make a virtual file system in the browser using localStorage. You can then sync it across devices and browsers via a server. You can upload files to the PWA using drag-n-drop or file input. You can also send files from the PWA to the device file system. I think it's important that Web browsers can't automatically control the device hard drives, imagine if all web sites you visited would be able to do rm / -rf…

Yeah, sure complete access to all files is rediculous. I think more of something like: By default every app has its own directory and the user can (easily) grant an app access to additional directories. That way it can't do much damage and when you trust it, you can give it more access. I use the localStorage as a cache for some of the offline capabilites but as a persistent storage it sucks as you can't easily open…

The private directories is the way Android does it. It is a good idea, provided you can easily allow access to other directories (as you suggested). Unfortunately they missed that second point.

Re: Chrome Apps are dead, as Google shuts down the Chrome Web Store section

#143

Post by berkes »

MBCook wrote: post #135
berkes wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a strange argument. The website operator/publisher is the one choosing to track you (or not). Not some magic third party. If you don't trust example.com from tracking you, you certainly cannot trust example.App from tracking you. For web, the technology is at least transparant and you can detect being tracked. With native apps, there is nothing you can do, other than reverse engineering the binaries, monitori…

I trust example.com. The problem is they include Google ads which can do anything to track me the browser allows. If I download the example.com app then any tracking is limited to what they included either themselves or through an SDK. I know that $random_advertiser doesn’t get to execute their own code.

> I trust example.com. The problem is they include Google ads which can do anything to track me the browser allows.

You either trust them, or you don't. If you don't trust the ad-networks they embed in their site then you don't trust them.

> If I download the example.com app then any tracking is limited to what they included either themselves or through an SDK.

You either trust them, or you don't. If you decide you trust the ad-networks they embed in their site then you can trust them.

Both are no different. Other than that you can evaluate the first quite easily but not the latter.

My point is that it is silly to trust someone from including advertising and tracking on one platform (binary-app) but not when they do the exact same on another (html-app).

Re: Chrome Apps are dead, as Google shuts down the Chrome Web Store section

#144

Post by drvortex »

5ilv3r wrote: post #114
dragonwriter wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> All please note. Electron is not a native app. Electron is an extremely heavyweight native app frsmework, not a native app, but Electron apps are (bloated, sure) native apps.

Native means it uses the os rendering engine and widgets. Electron is not that. I don't know when web devs decided they could put a website in a box and call it native, but it's not very nice.

By that logic, GTK/Qt, basically any cross platform GUI library etc. is not 'native'.
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