The future of Browsers
(how about adding your driving forces, and summary of the research papers, references etc here? - Daniel)
Team members
- Sharjeel Malik
- Raman Cheloi
- Mathijs Vlasveld
- Peter Hendriks
Paragraph
Our scenario’s research topic is about ‘the future of the computer browser’. More specified we
are interested in web-browsing and not file or private network browsing. This due to the latest
trends (and hypes) regarding the World Wide Web like cloud computing, web 2.0 and web 3.0.
These technologies start to get more and more weaved into the interest of the business world.
Transactions are done with browsers but entertainment is even as important.
We intend to focus our scenario’s research into the future of the web browser. In other words
what justifies the existence of the web browser?
- Is it going to be a stronger commodity, especially because of all the development and
trends around the web browser?
- Or is it going to be just a supportive tool and shift more to the background in the future?
- Is the browser going to be blown away as a staged setting with replacing technology or
because of sociological awareness?
- How does the future of the browser fit into the strategy of companies like Mozilla, Opera,
Apple, Google and Microsoft?
- Will there be eventually one main browser? Are the browser wars going to continue?
- What are the roles of the upcoming economies (Asia, South America) to future
development of the browser?
Driving forces
Background research
What was Ted Nelsons original idea regarding ‘browsing’?
Ted Nelson’s original idea regarding browsing was ‘open space’. His idea was a medium that is above the staged setting of paper size. Most of websites or documents of today are based on A4 size or other paper formats.
Ted Nelson: ”So, the point was to be able to have a medium that would record all the connections and all the structures and all the thoughts that paper could not. Since the computer could hold any structure in any form, this was the way to go.”
Other quotes of Ted Nelson are: “The four walls of paper are like a prison because every idea wants to spring out in all directions - everything is connected with everything else, sometimes more than others.” What Ted Nelson is in fact suggesting is that we all have to go fully digital to have fewer constraints such as printing. Ted Nelson: “What we now call the browser is whatever defines the web. What fits in the browser is the World Wide Web and a number of trivial standards to handle that so that the content comes.”