Ask HN: Anyone want to help me build a browser?
4 comments
Can't Chrome or Firefox plus extensions already do these things?
And if not, why not write an extension that will, rather than a whole new browser that no one will use.
And if not, why not write an extension that will, rather than a whole new browser that no one will use.
Not really. There are form-fillers and password managers, but that's not what I'm talking about here.
Similar there are some "apps" and "widgets" available for some browsers, but its not the same thing as the apps with local storage that I'm talking about.
Perhaps I'm not being able to clearly communicate my ideas...
Similar there are some "apps" and "widgets" available for some browsers, but its not the same thing as the apps with local storage that I'm talking about.
Perhaps I'm not being able to clearly communicate my ideas...
You can do the automatic sign ups with extensions pretty easily.
As for the offline access native apps: does each site then have to write a native app module for your browser for it to work. This doesn't sound like something you can do without work from each site owner.
The same for locally stored data. You could keep a local copy of any files you upload to sites, but if you are uploading, you already should have a copy. But you can't do anything in a browser to make facebook serve images from your computer instead of theirs. This is another feature which requires work from every site to make happen.
As for the offline access native apps: does each site then have to write a native app module for your browser for it to work. This doesn't sound like something you can do without work from each site owner.
The same for locally stored data. You could keep a local copy of any files you upload to sites, but if you are uploading, you already should have a copy. But you can't do anything in a browser to make facebook serve images from your computer instead of theirs. This is another feature which requires work from every site to make happen.
Making a browser takes alot. This post reminds me the 'I want to build my own MMORPG, it will have X/Y/Z feature and I need developpers to help me.' posts. Great idea but why not fork an existing opensource browser instead of reinventing the wheel?
Forking Chrome is fine by me. But I don't have the programming skills needed to do that, so I need help.
Opera does automatic sign-up. (Without extension)
http://ashraful.org/introducing-browsr/ http://ashraful.org/browser-features/
Unfortunately, the programmer working on this left. So I am looking for a someone to take over the lead development. If you happen to be a desktop programmer and are interested in this, please email me at [email protected]
For your convenience, here are the three main features (copy pasted from the second blog post):
AUTOMATIC SIGN-UP
If you have been using the internet for any length of time, chances are you have signed-up for more than one website. In fact, you probably signed up for more than a dozen. Whether its an email service, a social network, a forum or simply a blog, users have to “Sign Up” or “Register” on each website separately, often providing the same data to to each and and every one of them. Browsr hopes to eliminate this by using its built-in identity manager to automatically sign-up and sign-in users.
When the user first launches Browsr they fill up their profile with all their personal information. Now whenever the user visits a website that requires registration, instead of asking the user, the website can ask the browser for the information needed. Browsr provides the data based on the identity selected by the user, and so the user never sees the registration form. Instead everything takes place between the browser and the website, and user is automatically signed in without having to worry about the sign-up process.
In the identity manager, users can choose the edit the data provided to a specific web services, move the service to another identity or remove it entirely.
NATIVE APPS WITH OFFLINE ACCESS
Do you have any website that you visit regularly? Isn’t it a waste of bandwidth, and more importantly your time, to load the same website interface again and again? After all, all you really want is the new email you received or the updates from your friends. Using native apps, Browsr eliminates the wasteful nature of downloading the same website interface repeatedly.
In the “Home” screen, users can install apps the same way they do on their iPhones or iPads. Adding an app is simple as click the “+” button and searching for the desired app and clicking “Install”. Apps are not simply bookmarks, they are full-fledged applications that you can use instantly. When you install the app for a particular web service you no longer have to load the entire website, all you download is the new data – like your facebook messages or tweets from your friends. And best of all, you don’t need to connect to the internet to gain access to your data, you can read all your old messages, or browse all your photos while you’re offline.
LOCALLY STORED, PERFECTLY MOBILE DATA
Nowadays almost any website you use has a lot of information about you. Google knows your search history, Microsoft has your emails, Facebook has your social graph and photos, Last.FM has your music history, Foursquare has your check-ins. And even though you are the owner, you cannot take your data with you.
You should be able to take your search history from Google with you, so you can use Bing and still get relevant results. You should be able to take your photos with you from Facebook to Google Plus so you can share it with your friends. You should be able to take your emails from Hotmail to Gmail so you can search through it more easily. And most importantly you should have the right to deny access to your data to any web service.
Browsr tries to provide you with complete control over your data by storing all our information locally. Instead of storing your information on some server that you don’t have access to, all of it is stored on your PC. And you can do whatever you want with it: back it up, put it on Dropbox, or provide access to any web service you choose. Having control over your data means you can quickly get started with new web services you want to use, with all your past data right there with you.
On top of that, Browsr also lets you keep your social connections with you by using the identity manager. Your entire social graph stays with you regardless of what social network you are using.