OT The State of Web Browsers

[VL Branko]

Excerpt:

Yesterday, Windows Central published a rumour that Microsoft is ditching its Edge browser, or more accurately put, to relaunch a new browser using the Chromium engine. The rumour has been picked up by mainstream media and as far as I know, not denied by Microsoft, therefore I assume it to be factual. A good reason as any for me to share some thoughts on the current landscape of web browsers.

If you’re new to my blog, I’ll add the background that I’ve been in the web game since 1996, and have seen every iteration of the browser wars up close. In terms of mindset, I’m from the Zeldman school of thought: a deep believer and proponent of the open web, web standards, a shared web.

I’ll also warn you that I am direct, frank, cynical, love dark humour, and don’t take many things serious, including myself. With that in mind, let’s go.

continue at: https://ferdychristant.com/the-state-of-web-browsers-f5a83a41c1cb

[ALsp]

As long as it's not merely a copy of Google Chrome (which has bugs, too), it's a good idea. Actually, a great idea. If all browsers support web standards consistently, it's a win for web developers and end-users alike. The only clear area of superiority Edge enjoys is animation smoothness, which is likely due to Microsoft programmers' more intimate knowledge of the OS (much like no browser on the Mac is as smooth at animation as Safari). So, it's not a bad thing. Since you're an old timer you might recall that Microsoft has contributed much to web standards over the years - sometimes with humorous backstories, such as the popularity of amazingly popular box-sizing: border-box being a declaration that causes modern browsers to change from the default standard box-model to the equivalent of Microsoft's original box-model.

[pziecina]

Microsoft have been adding the use of the webkit prefix to the Edge browser for a couple of versions now. I'm not certain if changing to the Chromium engine is a good idea though, as we have all seen what can happen to browser development when one company has the lions share of the browser market, (thinking of IE6).

I'm very sceptical when it comes to any product/company continuing to inovate, when it does not have any real competition.

[pziecina]

Just to add to my previous post.

In many ways one could blame web designers/developers, (and the tools they use, such as Dw) for the decline of other browsers. There is little point in browsers being innovative if the features they add are not used by us. If a tool such as Dw, does not support a feature then it goes virtually unused in the majority of sites, not because it cannot be used, but simply because most who develop sites now have no idea what features exists, how to use them, or how to create fallbacks.

If you read many of the discussion in this forum, you will often see that for cms's wordpress is recommended, and for rwd, bootstrap solutions are the default 'correct' answer. It is almost like watching a train crash in slow motion when bootstrap is mentioned as a solution, and one knows that that answer will often be the one marked as correct.

Who is to blame for this 'one size fits all' situation, is not clear, but why should browser manufacturers not simply say, "make every browser the same", when so many sites function the same?

The days when building web sites, (or even apps) required the designer/developer to know what they were doing, and keep up with what is possible in order to make a site unique, are simply over. Most want 'off the shelf' solutions, as easy and cheap to use as possible, with no requirement to actually learn anything beyond the basics.

So if one browser engine will fit all the developers and end users requirements, then that is what browser manufacturers will do.

[osgood_]

pziecina  wrote

Who is to blame for this 'one size fits all' situation, is not clear

Like everything else which ends up in the unskilled hands of the public domain it always ends up being about costs. We supposedly now have programs/solutions that can produce more of what could only be produced by a skilled worker so its only natural for those that use such processes to start bringing the prices down to leverage the work from the skilled and each other. The skilled if they want to compete may need to do likewise which ends up in a race to see who can produce the worst solution possible, based on who can do it the cheapest.

[W_J_T]

@VL Branko, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your the article along with the subsequent follow up article in their entirety. Your The writing style was very entertaining while providing keen perspectives and a lot of poignant yet humorous observations. I felt they were well done.

Edit: I missed the "Excerpt:" part of your post (apparently you are not the author).

[VL Branko]

W_J_T  wrote

https://forums.adobe.com/people/VL+Branko , I thoroughly enjoyed reading your the article along with the subsequent follow up article in their entirety. Your The writing style was very entertaining while providing keen perspectives and a lot of poignant yet humorous observations. I felt they were well done.

Edit: I missed the "Excerpt:" part of your post (apparently you are not the author).

Definitely not the author.