Linux

47341 readers

1195 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

Rules

Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
No misinformation
No NSFW content
No hate speech, bigotry, etc

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

426

Projects To Watch Out For: Ladybird Browser (ladybird.org)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

211 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Finally, another web engine is being developed to compete with Chromium and Firefox (Gecko), and they're also working on a browser that will use it.

Here's the maintainer talking about the current state of the project, and a demo of the current functionality

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Some of the new features most people aren't aware of us that I used recently :

WebXR, make a Web page immersive and work in the browser of VR/AR headsets, e.g Meta Quest, Lynx XR1, Apple Vision Pro, etc
WebBlueTooth, connect to a BT device, e.g a Lego controller in order to move actuator, data from sensors, etc
WebUSB, connect a device and update its firmware, e.g SmartWatch, mechanical keyboard, etc
GamePad API, use a gamepad or joystick to play from a browser window
Realms in JavaScript for "better" sandboxing, it's a relatively new feature of the language so the engine must be updated

So... sure none of that really helps to read a 2D Web page (like this one on Lemmy) but they pretty much all help to achieve better cross-platform support. By using the Web rather than native to connect to hardware then it is instantly delivered without having any OS specific driver to build and install. Practically speaking it does make the browser increasingly complex but IMHO it is worth it.

PS: I probably also used some modern CSS so there also the engine (which is ridiculously complex by the way) has to be updated too.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Web Bluetooth and web USB aren't web standards and are Chromium specific

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

AFAICT that's correct for WebBluetooth indeed, as it's only implemented by Chromium (and thus all browsers relying on it) but for but for WebUSB https://wicg.github.io/webusb/ it's still being discussed at the W3C level so even though not standards (which I don't think W3C even produce, only API specifications, e.g HTML isn't a standard whereas Bluetooth is) thus allowing others to possibly implement it.

To clarify Firefox is my main browser, but (sadly) for those very specific cases I'm relying on Chromium (WebXR on standalone XR devices, even now Wolvic switching to Chromium as a backend).

It's an important point as by doing this Google is pushing for it's own set of technologies and is pushing for it's own engine which comes with a lot of business (namely ads) related "feature" e.g Manifest v3 that aren't good for privacy.

That is also interesting to consider on "why" a browser keeps on evolving, i.e having the most "advanced" browsers does give an edge and pushes competition away.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

From a security and privacy stand point webUSB and web Bluetooth seem very bad. We already see webRTC and webGL being abused.