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Firefox 4 Will Push Edges of Browser Definition

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the all-kinds-of-fun-new-toys dept.

Chris Blanc writes "Mozilla Lab's push is to blur the edges of the browser, to make it both more tightly integrated with the computer it's running on, and also more hooked into Web services. So extended, the browser becomes an even more powerful and pervasive platform for all kinds of applications. 'Beard wants the new online/offline, browser/service to be more intelligent on behalf of its users. Early examples of this intelligence include the "awesome bar," which is what Mozilla calls the new smart address bar in Firefox 3. It offers users smart URL suggestions as they type based on Web searches and their prior Web browsing history. He's looking to extend on this with a "linguistic user interface" that lets users type plain English commands into the browser bar. Beard pointed me towards Quicksilver and Enso as products he's cribbing from.'"

4 of 501 comments (clear)

  1. "Blur the edges of the browser" by Raineer · · Score: 5, Funny

    Cleartype fonts will clear that right up.

  2. This is all wrong!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Surely Firefox is going in the wrong direction! IMHO, blurring the edges of the browser should be the job of the Window Manager.

    I'll get my coat..

  3. Re:I hope they implement this as plugins by iONiUM · · Score: 5, Funny

    You're not the "average" user. You know how I know?
    a) you're on slashdot
    b) you used && in your comment, perhaps by mistake
    c) "I am not at all into social networking."

    On the plus side you definitely belong here!

  4. It's EMACS all over again. by serviscope_minor · · Score: 5, Funny

    Firefox will be a great OS. The only thing it lacks is a decent browser.

    What we need is the browser equivalent of vi. And it actually exists. How wierd is that?

    --
    SJW n. One who posts facts.