FPP: Chrome OS

Undoubtedly everyone's who's anyone has heard of the Chrome OS by now.

I've been keen on the idea that applications can replace every desktop application you use, and an OS should be built around this. The key that's critical here is organizing the GUI to take advantage of the way the web works-- especially with tabs-- rather than the way desktop applications have worked in the past (i.e., windows & chrome, in the traditional sense of the terms). Google Chrome has already taken care of the other technicalities, such as website 'sandboxing', which really just means that websites get their own processes, which better utilizes system resources, and pretty much makes it so that websites are their own individual desktop applications, for all intents and purposes. Except-- you don't have to install them. :)

An idea I liked for GUI can be found on Aza's Blog:
http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/firefoxnext-tabs-on-the-side/

(I'm a big proponent of tabs-on-the-side, and I use the Firefox Tree Style Tab extension religiously.)

Someone mentioned games in a forum discussing the Chrome OS. Games are not going to be made and played in the traditional manner. Adobe Flash is most likely not going to be included on this OS, according to AppleInsider, which makes sense.

Flash is outdated, anyway. There are host of web standards that Chrome is currently involved with that will lead the way into the future:
- HTML5 (with video, audio, canvas tags, and database storage)
- SVG (web-based drawing programs using both vector and canvas technologies may eventually spring up in Inkscape's and Aviary's stead-- Inkscape is desktop and Aviary is Flash)
- O3D for 3D games using JavaScript and Google's 3D technology. Mozilla's push for C3DL is probably not going to be included.

Gears is sorta iffy. It will probably be included, but it's underutilized, and HTML5 makes a lot of its features rather redundant. What originally prompted me to think this was the fact that Google is already working on using HTML5 storage for Gmail.

I see the primary obstacle to transitioning from Flash towards open and free standards as being the editors and libraries that will be available for developers. All in all, once developers and artists get better tools, the user experience will be much better.

FPP: Beta Browsers

I'm very happy to say that there's some great beta web browsers out now. Initially, I was hesitant to early adopt. However, as time went on, my trigger finger itched and now, running beta is so addicting, it's like crack. I keep jonesing for my next fix-- what are they gonna do now? Where's this gonna go? How's this gonna get better? It's the same rush you get from politics, and almost on the same timescale.

Webkit r43000

Safari 4 is undoubtedly the fastest browser here. I've used it quite a bit, and I love it for its snappiness and minimal amounts of chrome-- that's right, I'm a fan of tabs-on-top! Why waste all that space on a useless title bar? It has some neat 3D effects, but I'd prefer not to use them. It has a lot of potential, and I hope Apple delivers. I don't have much to say on this, other than that I used Safari 4 for a few months after having abandoned it for Firefox years ago. It was alright, but after returning to Firefox, I realized where my loyalties lie.

Acid3: 100%
Sunspider: 1039.0ms +/- 1.9%

Firefox 3.5b4

For those who didn't get the memo, 3.5 is the new 3.1 for the 'Fox. A few of my add-ons couldn't find updates, but the ones I need were not affected.

Here's what I'm running:
- Adblock Plus 1.02
- NoScript 1.9.2
- Flashblock 1.5.10
- Tree Style Tab 0.7.2009042301
- Firebug 1.4X.0a14
- Google Reader Watcher 0.0.14.3

I'm somewhat conservative in the things I add, mostly due to beta testing, and partly due to speed. I'm the sort of person who needs my tabs in a hierarchical list, I open that many. I open hundreds! There's another sticking point in Webkit-- after a three day haze of hectic night-long programming sessions, you're looking up dozens of pages from the API reference, documentation from all different sources, even blogs from people doing what you're doing. Well, after those, your browser takes a beating. Where the most memory I've seen Firefox take is about 600mb, I've gotten Safari up to the big 1GB. That's when you need your Power Browser. As much as I love Webkit for its speed, I believe we all love our Firefox for its features. Besides, its Awesomebar is, indeed, rather awesome. I've heard of improved rendering times and JS optimizations, and they're noticeable, which is really great, but who cares? Nobody uses Firefox just for its speed!

Acid3: 93%
Sunspider: 1279.2ms +/- 2.7%

Chromium r14927

This isn't even beta, folks. This isn't for work, it's not even for play, this is for kicks! This is my fix for whenever I want to sate my thirst for the bleeding edge in browser development. I love to see the new stuff they add in, especially for the Mac. Judging from the state of development, the Mac build seems to be the last on the list to be released under the reputable heading, Chrome, one day to be released to the masses... They've also made quite a bit of progress since I'd last tested it a few months ago. Back then you couldn't use command-keys. Now you can do a lot, it's very usable for the most part, fast, and has some nifty animations for opening and closing tabs. You can also drag tabs out, where the rest of the Leopard chrome goes transparent, until it's placed. As for testing, Google's V8 engine is extremely fast!

Acid3: 100%, but fails linktest
Sunspider: 791.8ms +/- 3.1%

Wishlist

- I love less top-chrome. By that, I mean, less pixels between your system's menu bar and the actual page, while still having access to tabs, navigation, and status. Some people browse the internet with so many toolbars they can't see half their page on a 1280x800 screen. You know, those sort of people! You'd think Safari 4 would win this for me, but actually, no. Firefox wins the top-chrome test if you have only the navigation elements, no tabs. Is this cheating? No! My tabs are on the side! Which brings me to the next point.

- Tree Style Tab has been a world-changer for me and my 'Fox. Tabs on the side looks odd at first, and takes a little while to get used to, but if implemented well enough, it's sure to be more accessible. I mean, think about it-- modern LCD screens are wider than they are tall. However, this implementation could be even better... Next point, please.

- We need more web-application interface optimizations. I mean, think about it! For almost every application you use on your desktop that isn't already OS-related, you could use an internet equivalent. Of course, they might not do everything you're used to, or in the case of Mozilla Bespin, are in early, early beta. But if you asked me today if I could live with having no application on my hard drive other than my web browser? You bet.

- So, in recognition of this, we need what The Dock is to OS X, for web browsers. This is where they have to go next, considering that most web applications are gaining ground, both in terms of popularity and features. Check out some discussion at Aza's blog:
http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/firefoxnext-tabs-on-the-side/

- Finally, in the pursuit of less chrome, Instead of Tabs-on-top, let's have Nav-on-top! Lose the page title (that's in the tabs anyway), and put your back/forward, awesomebar, and search, just right of the red-yellow-green gumdrops! Yes, I know, it's small, but it counts.

Test your own browser!

Sunspider tests the speed of your JavaScript engine, which determines the speed of many of the more demanding sites, such as gmail, yahoo mail, and facebook. JavaScript is increasingly important in these days when applications are being moved from the desktop and onto the web.
http://www2.webkit.org/perf/sunspider-0.9/sunspider.html

Acid3 determines how standards-compliant your browser is at rendering websites-- will websites written exactly to the standard run the same on your browser as the theoretical 'perfect' browser? Moving towards this helps us website coders make sure websites look and work right for everyone.
http://acid3.acidtests.org/

Let me know what you think of your beta browser!

FPP: Innovations in 3D in-browser technologies

Google Code Blog: Toward an open web standard for 3D graphics (part 2): Introducing O3D

What's interesting about this one is that JavaScript is used to develop the applications themselves. This is in-line with Unity 3D, but with better browser integration. Needless to say, this will undoubtedly compete with Flash within the 3D marketplace in the years to come. It's my hope that Flash loses the battle on this one, especially if there's integration of the 3D technologies-- O3D, C3DL, then HTML5's features such as audio and raster graphics (canvas, for textures, possibly), and finally, SVG or VML for vector graphics. An engine that provides common game functions wouldn't hurt either. It's possible... Is it sane? Let's hope so.

Preferably, there would be a framework that would 'glue' many libraries together. It would check for either library, then check for HTML5 for 2D graphics manipulation and sound, and finally, SVG or VML (such as through the RaphaelJS library).

Check this post out by a C3DL developer. I agree with many of his views, including those on integration and even on SVG. I have spent a lot of time on SVG, but like I always do, I often fall into the wrong track. I'll admit that was the case, as SVG is a very large specification-- as he mentions-- and because of this, it is very slow. Google's API does a lot, and that's great, but I appreciate the C3DL library because it's already reached 1.0 status, and I applaud its integration efforts. Hopefully more will come of this soon.

I will also investigate these implementations and see what I can come up with in the future, as well. It is my sincere hope that these technologies will come together with all the others in the years to come in order to shift application development towards the web, and onto the browser.