09.08.99
The Next Browser
After the heady days of ’95-’98 it seems like web technology has really ground down.
During those years, a new version of a browser came out nearly each quarter, the big guys were still looking in at their own projects, rather than out at the rest of the net, and I’d never seen a URL in print., and certainly not on TV.
I guess things have really turned the the corner. I was thinking to myself the other day, “what’s next?” What am I really looking forward to in regards to the web?
There’s just one place to look: Mozilla.
With IE 5.0, MS again proved that it’s chasing taillights (then eating the car) that it’s best at. That’s great during those times when Bill’s looking for a new thrill, but once it’s in front, the pace of the race drops flat on it’s face.
The real differences between IE 4 and IE 5 were negliable. Builder.com had this list as part of their review of IE5:
* Listen to Net-broadcast radio stations while you browse
* Get links related to the site you’re currently visiting
* Make Hotmail your default email client
I can’t say I’m overwhelmed.
So what do I want? I want a Mozilla in every computer and a Flash/SVG plug-in in every browser. PNG would be nice to, but only once it can do animation.
<http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/>
This is what _I_ want. I will do what I can to encourage people to head in this direction. I think a lot of people are looking for the same thing. Once I get this, I’m sure other technologies will be added to the wish list, but if Mozilla delivers HTML 4.01, CSS-1, and support for SVC and PNG come about I will have all the tools I want for now. Color, motion, sound, placement and text: these are the controls I want.
(If the core of Mozilla (Gecko) will be really modular, will you be able to swap out the core of IE and replace it with Gecko? Will someone create an ActiveX control that will do this automatically? How about a Melissa type macro that automatically swaps out the proprietary heart of MS’s browser with the open source heart of gold? Can’t imagine it? You will. 🙂