The Road Ahead for Browsing

Today is quite possibly the healthiest time for the Web-browsing industry — ever. Innovation is happening rapidly again, and since all of it is tied to the Web, this is helping to make the browser market competitive again, too. And you know what healthy competition means: better Web technologies and better user experiences — across all platforms.

By Samuel Sidler

More and more, the Internet is changing the way we compute. Interactions that once took place in dedicated desktop applications are now moving onto the browser. Companies like Microsoft and Google are betting their businesses on the continuation of this trend (Windows Live and Google Apps for example) improving the quality and robustness of the browser as they do so. If they succeed, the Web browser could ultimately become “the app to rule them all.”

Contrary to this, some companies are trying to shift our computing interactions back onto the desktop: namely, Apple, Joost, Songbird, and Miro.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the third platform: mobile computing. Mobile browsing is still very much in its infancy, but innovation on the mobile platform is moving faster than ever. What you are able to do today on your cell phone (surf the Web, view digital media) isn’t anywhere nearwhat you’ll be doing in five years.

Some mobile operators are more progressive than others. While many mobile providers still develop their services and applications for the most common protocols, WAP and XHTML Basic, Apple, however, has ben on the “real” web for its iPhone, following Nokia and advancing its Web-kit rendering engine.

To borrow a phrase from Bill Gates: Where does the ‘Road Ahead’ in computing lead over the next few years? What is the right platform to bet on: the browser, the desktop, or mobility?

I believe, in many respects, that everyone is right. Over time these platforms will be adapted to integrate more and more with each other. Imagine surfing to Google Docs and a custom toolbar appears in your browser (hopefully Firefox or Camino), making your browser feel just like a traditional word processor.

Likewise, desktop applications will provide simple, clean interfaces to the Web apps with the added bonus of tighter integration with your operating system. As Web browsers improve their robustness, and desktop applications begin to fully utilize the Internet, the line between a Web app and a desktop app will blur. This is a Good Thing.

And then, of course, there is mobile.

It’s hard to even begin to visualize the path that mobile browsing could take. If the iPhone succeeds (and similar phones from Nokia succeed in its wake), other handset makers will have the desire to compete. Competition will spawn more innovation, and suddenly the prospect of holding the “real Web” in your hand is plausible.

On the other hand, if the iPhone succeeds only in a niche way (meaning no other vendor finds a place in this space) consumers will be stuck with all the currently awesome (read: horrible) mobile specs for years to come. My heart wants the iPhone to catalyze change in the mobile space, but my mind just isn’t sure that one device (even one as remarkable as this) can do it.

But over all, one thing is certain: today is quite possibly the healthiest time for the Web-browsing industry — ever. Innovation is happening rapidly again, and since all of it is tied to the Web, this is helping to make the browser market competitive again, too. And you know what healthy competition means: better Web technologies and better user experiences — across all platforms.

Samuel Sidler is a QA Engineer for the Mozilla Corporation and the Team Coordinator for the Camino Project. His thoughts, however, are his own and not his employer’s.