Question

The web browser as a platform for multiple applications and activities

• Short Summary: The future web browser as a platform for different applications, users and activities. This proposal was made in order to answer: “What would a browser look like if the Web was all there was? No windows, no unnecessary trappings. Just the Web.”

As multi-task users (programmers, designers, entrepreneurs, writers, etc) we move from one website to another, from one application to another, from one environment to another; all this in order to make our daily work.

With this in mind, the web browser should take the user into a context (according to the user’s information stored in the user profile) related with the user’s activities and choices, leading to a very suitable and comfortable user’s experience.

The main idea is to have a component that allows us to manage both environments (web and desktop) directly from our web browser in an easy way. This is, to manage desktop applications, shortcuts and folders from our computer as much as websites, web services, etc.

• The structure:

Two small tabs on each side of the browser. Every time we roll the mouse over one of them, a panel appears. Both of the small tabs can be visible or not. If the user chooses not to see them, an invisible area will appear instead, but the action areas are going to remain in that place and working as always.

The “Applications” panel (on the right side of the browser) contains a list of the most used applications, websites, shortcuts, etc. This list is dynamically updated and the user has the option to add a new item to it. All these items are stored in the user profile. The apps panel also has the “web browser area”, that allows the user to drag any content that can be displayed in the browser or just click on it to get focus on the browser to keep navigating.

The “Windows preview” panel (on the left side of the browser) contains all the opened windows that the user has at the moment. In order to manage the windows “overflow”, there are preview groups in the top of the panel that allows the user to group the windows as he/ she likes. When clicking on one of the groups, the list of windows of that group will be expanded in the scrolling area. If the user wants to change that window to another group, he/she will have to drag the preview window to the new group icon. Each group can be named with a label (e.g. “Must read”, “Don’t forget this!”) or with a number.

The user can click on any window preview and keep working on the content (text, images, music, video, etc.) and drag that content to the browser and viceversa.

Main characteristics of the panels:

• Auto hide: Whe the user roll the mouse over the “panels zone” they hide/appear again (the user can chose not to see them anymore).

• “Windows preview” panel: “As you like”-organized groups of apps (the user can organized, manage, name them as he/she likes (I prefer to call them groups, rather than “workspaces”).

• The “Applications” panel: Most used apps at the side, with the option for browse new ones.

By this way, user won’t need any “distraction” from changing to one environment to another, just enjoy from a complete experience directly from the web browser.

See my presentation!

Any comments are more than welcome! :)

Answer 1

I think there are some really interesting implications of this for mobile devices. Have you seen for example the way the new Nokia N900 (Maemo-based) phone handles this?

-Pascal

Answer 2

Though that would be interesting, it makes the browser no longer a browser, just an underperforming OS. What instead would be interesting would be a browser that integrates fully into an OS, so commands can be run from the Address Bar, or so files can be searched from the browser, and so windows open in browser tabs instead. I believe the file-search function is being pioneered by Google Desktop. In all, it would be an interesting prospect to see full browser integration into an OS.

Answer 3

What about Google Chrome OS? Ok, I haven't looked into it, but I just heard about it.

" to manage desktop applications, shortcuts and folders from our computer as much as websites "

What about the inverse? Namely, manage the web from the os. What about complete integration? From your structure, it's just two sides of a browser. The real goal is total and seamless integration -- and better, co-operation -- between the os and the browser. (by co-operation, I mean the browser is utterly integrated into the OS.

But wait. Didn't Microsoft try that? No they didn't, because other browsers got in the way. What they did do is make it hard to uninstall IE, and integrate some of IE settings into the OS's.

So. What about that?

.

EDIT (actually that's an ADD)

I just thought: look at the question I just posted. http://mozilla.stackexchange.com/questions/36/tab-bar-redesign-tab-dock Look at Windows 7 and Mac OSX. What about making the OS's dock/taskbar be the browser's (for bookmarks and/or tabs)? That's integration for you. Think about it.

Answer 4

Nice idea. In particular after posing a good question like

What would a browser look like if the Web was all there was? No windows, no unnecessary trappings. Just the Web.

Firefox add-ons provide a good deal of it, but it would make more sense when it is all melted into one solid browser product. It would bring us into a new era of powerless hence 'greener' computers, of which the netbooks are already the proof of where the future lies.

And yes, Google is already going that way, so Mozilla community: Hughe competition is around the corner! As a Mozilla community we fought Microsoft with IE and recovered, be prepared to fight a stronger battle with the Chrome development of Google!

Answer 5

Interesting. I read something similiar a few minutes ago ...

http://mozilla.stackexchange.com/questions/13/idea-application-focus

Answer 6

I believe WebOs is already developing itself as we speak. But the technology has to be set at it's own course. This is because we rely on software we installed on our system today and not many people can just shift in a day. By the way nobody can answer how the web would look like in say, 10 years from now, but a shift in change is happening. You see more on-line applications that can do as much (sometimes even better) things than on your current running system. This question is like trying to develop the car in the future, nobody knows how it ends up. Do cars fly or levitate? Do they run on gasoline or water and sun or even have their own nuclear power source?

The best way is to let technology set it's course and change overtime... There are many Cloud-based or WebOs based evangelists out there. But not one can say how the internet will look like in 10 years from now. Will it have everything in one screen (Like a WebOS)? I think not because people still rely on their privacy. But again, I might be wrong....

As my mother always say when I was little, and still says it everytime I run like a horse...

"babystep son! babysteps..."