> Web Browsers really make poor client application runtimes for all but the most basic of things.
Little did he know that we'd have Microsoft to thank for the innovation (XMLHttpRequest) that would eventually bring the era of desktop software to a close.
> Somewhere around this point, people began spewing mindless drivel about how browsers would somehow magically replace operating systems eventually, and how in the future all applications would be "web based". This, of course, got Microsoft's attention.
Maybe we haven't gotten there completely yet, but holy cow. WebGL, more web-based applications than you can shake a stick at, and OS emulation in-browser. I think it's close. :)
One person's future is another person's mindless drivel, I guess.
I know most people are psyched about the end of desktop software, but personally I can't stand apps that don't belong in the browser, being ported to run in the browser.
Translation: we can thank Microsoft for creating a world where you need to run whatever arbitrary software some website sent you just so that you can click on some underlined text and go to a different website.
(Also the fact that at least half the websites I see these days manage to break basic browser features like "Back," "Forward," "Bookmarks," etc.)
One of my faves: Acme Klein Bottles: http://kleinbottle.com/ , a novelty glassware shop ran by astronomer, author and glass blower Cliff Stoll. They sell hats and Moebius scarves just as well :-)
Despite the looks, the website is very much active and grows over time.
Yep, same guy (my first time posting to Ycombinator - smiles to all!).
To my amazement, people still want Klein bottles (in 1995, my wife told me that nobody would buy these things) For the past five or ten years, I update m'website mainly to add content.
Someday I'll drag its code into the 21st century - remove the old cruft and maybe even use css. But flash just tires my eyes.
As my friends (online and off) can attest, I make Klein bottles mainly for fun. It's a zero-volume home business, small enough to be run from one room; the warehouse occupies the crawlspace under our house.
Of course, the best part of Acme Klein Bottles is meeting people: via email, occasional visits, talks at schools & math colloquia, and chattering about physics & LTE & coding with friends at my day-job (Hi Newfield People!). Which is to say, it'll be a while before I recast my kleinbottle website - I'm having too much fun doing other things.
Some (most?) of the samples in there work in IE11 but not in FF25. Some of them don't even work correctly in IE11. That's a taste of the good old days, right there.
My 1995 "homepage" is still online. I haven't had access to it since '96, and the company that hosted it seized to exist round the turn of the century.
I have no idea where exactly it is, and why on earth it is still online, but I'm fully expecting to celebrate it's 20 year anniversary soon.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with websites that use basic HTML and styling from 199x. If anybody remembers, the power of the web is that it democratizes publishing so anybody can have a global presence. Putting hosting, styling and development requirements on that are simply barriers that fewer and fewer people can cross.
Keeping things simple, even if they aren't the latest js framework running on the latest hosting backend is actually totally fine.
The "Welcome to Netscape" page (http://home.mcom.com/home/welcome.html) also still has working links to "What's New" on the Internet from June 1993 through October 1994:
I've actually been to the dole/kemp website because I thought it was hilarious that he closed his presidential debate with a mention of it. Yeah, Bob, the "Young people of America" are going to go to your webpage in droves. Kodos had a better chance.
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[ 2.4 ms ] story [ 110 ms ] threadhttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6672029 -> http://nypost.com/2013/11/05/microsoft-com-is-stuck-in-the-1... -> https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6681746
http://html5zombo.com/
http://toastytech.com/evil/ieisevilstory.html
Little did he know that we'd have Microsoft to thank for the innovation (XMLHttpRequest) that would eventually bring the era of desktop software to a close.
> Somewhere around this point, people began spewing mindless drivel about how browsers would somehow magically replace operating systems eventually, and how in the future all applications would be "web based". This, of course, got Microsoft's attention.
Maybe we haven't gotten there completely yet, but holy cow. WebGL, more web-based applications than you can shake a stick at, and OS emulation in-browser. I think it's close. :)
One person's future is another person's mindless drivel, I guess.
Edit: Oh gosh, it's still being updated.
http://toastytech.com/evil/rants.html
(Also the fact that at least half the websites I see these days manage to break basic browser features like "Back," "Forward," "Bookmarks," etc.)
(in terms of looks)
Despite the looks, the website is very much active and grows over time.
To my amazement, people still want Klein bottles (in 1995, my wife told me that nobody would buy these things) For the past five or ten years, I update m'website mainly to add content.
Someday I'll drag its code into the 21st century - remove the old cruft and maybe even use css. But flash just tires my eyes.
As my friends (online and off) can attest, I make Klein bottles mainly for fun. It's a zero-volume home business, small enough to be run from one room; the warehouse occupies the crawlspace under our house.
Of course, the best part of Acme Klein Bottles is meeting people: via email, occasional visits, talks at schools & math colloquia, and chattering about physics & LTE & coding with friends at my day-job (Hi Newfield People!). Which is to say, it'll be a while before I recast my kleinbottle website - I'm having too much fun doing other things.
Some (most?) of the samples in there work in IE11 but not in FF25. Some of them don't even work correctly in IE11. That's a taste of the good old days, right there.
http://hallofshame.gp.co.at/index.php?file=shame.htm&mode=or...
EDIT: MY mistake. Apparently this is a mirror of the original.
Here is old version: https://web.archive.org/web/19991129021746/http://www13.goog...
I have no idea where exactly it is, and why on earth it is still online, but I'm fully expecting to celebrate it's 20 year anniversary soon.
Keeping things simple, even if they aren't the latest js framework running on the latest hosting backend is actually totally fine.
http://home.mcom.com/home/whats-new.html
... and a page on the team:
http://mosaic.mcom.com/highres/bios.html
(Penultimate sentence) http://www.debates.org/index.php?page=october-6-1996-debate-...
Be prepared to be amazed by the animated gifs, HTML maps and statements like "this site is best viewed in Netscape 3.0"