• blobjim [he/him]
    ·
    7 months ago

    I wish another country developed their own browser engine. Or their own web protocols and standards. It's insane that countries like Russia and China continue to invest absolutely nothing in taking control of the most common software systems people use away from the US.

    • Formerlyfarman [none/use name]
      ·
      7 months ago

      There is yandex browser, i used to have it in my phone but for some reason it wss deleted and now my phone provider does not let me install it. But its there. That being said the yandex guy is somewhat sus but since the company is in russia its generally more free than american search engines browser.

      • alexandra_kollontai [she/her]
        ·
        7 months ago

        Every browser is Chrome, except for Firefox. It's impossible to make a new browser: https://drewdevault.com/2020/03/18/Reckless-limitless-scope.html

        • Formerlyfarman [none/use name]
          ·
          7 months ago

          Wow. I dont think ive read that many words in my lifetime. But couldnt they mske a simpler browser with less features?

          • alexandra_kollontai [she/her]
            ·
            7 months ago

            Sure, there does exist a browser called Dillo, which recently got an update letting it connect using modern HTTPS encryption. It's a lighter weight browser with fewer features. It sort of works? You can load some pages, submit some forms. The link above shows off some screenshots, where you can see the article is readable, but the page layout is a funky and some of the colours are wrong. A notable missing feature is JavaScript. Any kind of dynamic content on the web relies on JavaScript, which is sometimes option, but these days many sites load the entire page using JavaScript because they're assholes.

            You can use Dillo, but you can't realistically switch to Dillo in 2024, because you wouldn't be able to read many news sites, do online shopping, or visit hexbear.net. They just won't load, you won't be able to read them.

            To be viable for everyday or popular use, it would need JavaScript, a DOM, and to be available on smartphones. These are basically impossible tasks (and the Dillo project isn't interested in doing that anyway).

            • Formerlyfarman [none/use name]
              ·
              7 months ago

              Thank you for the tougthful response. Now that you mention it. I think this maigth be a problem with software development in general. Because people have been piling black boxes nobody knows how some elementary things work.

              So many aplications are still single threaded or fail to utilize ram.

              Wheras before even small game companies had their propietary game engines now even the biggest actors have to recicle 15 old engines wich are mot desinged to make use of proper hardware. I hear the chinese have problems with their videocard drivers.

              Is this also a problem for industry at large where catching up involves following several steps that are very expensive and unprofitable?

              Or is it more excacerbated in software because the propensity to use black boxes?

      • memory_adept [he/him]
        hexagon
        ·
        7 months ago

        Yeah they are sus indeed but the translation is sooooo good I want a better mobile option

    • RustCat [he/him]
      ·
      7 months ago

      I agree with web browsers, so much lock-in for no gain for consumers.

      But for web standards and protocols, well... Why? It's a huge amount of work for basically no gain. 99% of the web works fine right now and is supported by open source stuff. The government can't stop China from cloning public GitHub repos.

      • blobjim [he/him]
        ·
        7 months ago

        Because web "standards" are shaped by Google and western companies for the things they want (ads and tracking). And being able to clone a repsoitory is not the same as having intimate knowledge of how it works, to maintain it or add on to it or the ability to contribute to it and shape its direction.

        I think some part of the reason why open source software has been so accepted is that it is mostly under the control of the US. The US Congress wanted to restrict RISC-V because China is one of its main implementors.

      • iridaniotter [she/her, she/her]
        ·
        7 months ago

        A funny outcome would be America cutting itself off from international web standards due to communist infiltration of open source code.

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