Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion

the actual browser divide: plugins

(1/3) > >>

urlwolf:
Now that chrome is out, it seems that there's a new browser divide:
IE, FF and Chrome have plugin/extensions. (well, chrome in the future).

Opera, Safari and other webKit-based browsers don't.

This could be a big deal. Plugins are adding pretty outstanding functionality right now. Have you tried Gnosis?

Gnosis is a Firefox (3.0 and 2.0) and IE  plugin that automatically analyzes content as you read it and provides you with a variety of tools to explore the people, companies, places and things you’re reading about.
 
--- End quote ---

Really impressive.
 
Tip of the iceberg of what the semantic web can do and much smarter machines can get!

What I'm saying is: other than standards, 'real-life compatibility, speed, etc... the killer feature is right now plugins.

After seeing Gnosis, I'm having a hard time using Opera only. I want that functionality. And things will only get more interesting with time...

What do you think?

f0dder:
I definitely wouldn't use a browser without plugin support. An out-of-the-box browser might come close to serving my needs, but I prefer a relatively LEAN_AND_MEAN base browser, with room for adding the extensions I need.

Btw, it might take a while before Chrome gets plugin support... a quote from this arcticle:
What is not immediately evident, however, is any kind of extension mechanism. There is no directory in the source tree called "plug-ins," for example. Building an ad blocker for Chrome might be harder than it sounds.
--- End quote ---

Dormouse:
Not an issue for me. I use Opera for 99(ish)% of my browsing. No biggie to use FF or something else for specific issues. Certainly don't want to be bogged down by plugins for most of my browsing.

f0dder:
Noscript, adblockplus, scrapbook, "it's all text"... wouldn't want to browse without them. And I much prefer integrated ad-blocking to external solutions like admunch or privoxy.

housetier:
A web browser which is extensible and customizable with plugins simply make a point of "the web is the OS": in a typical OS you install software you need or want and twist settings until it has become a tool you can work/play with.

Whereas the OS is a means to access the resources of your computer, the web browser is a means to access the resources of the internets.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page