[Tfug] Browser based UI's

[Bexley Hall]

Hi John,

> This was a stupid idea way back when
> Microsoft tried to "integrate" the browser into their OSes.

[I think it is just as stupid an idea today as Google tries
to sell the world on cloud computing, etc.]

> They were in a panic after realizing they messed up by
> discounting the Internet.
> 
> During that time period, practically every other "industry
> funded" BS white paper and study predicted a browser
> takeover of the desktop OS.
> 
> This was in the Microsoft 95/98 days..
> 
> Well, we see how far that vision carried forth...
> 
> Only now - ten years later, do we have sluggish Flash /
> silverlite apps that freeze up when loading on a moderately
> fast internet connection....

That could be a consequence of a piss poor "VM" model (dunno,
I don't do web programming).  I just don't see how adding
more layers to an already fragile computing environment
(regardless of your favorite OS-du-jour) can *improve* things.
It just seems like more possibilities of "the wrong libraries
being in place", "grey areas of the interface causing
unexpected behaviours", etc.

Not to mention the performance issues.

I.e., the browser interface seems ideally suited to very static
interfaces where you can (almost?) do everything in HTML 1.0.
Beyond that, you're just adding server and client side muck.