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Chrome Tests Picture-in-Picture API To Show Floating Video Popups Outside the Browser (bleepingcomputer.com)

Browser makers are working on a new W3C API that will standardize Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode and allow websites to show a floating video popup outside the browser window itself. From a report: In the past, picture-in-picture has only been supported inside a web page's canvas as a floating window that only appeared inside the current website, as the user scrolled up and down the page. Some platforms added support for a picture-in-picture mode, but those were OS-specific APIs that worked with all sorts of video apps, not just browsers. Now, the Web Platform Incubator Community Group (WICG) at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), has released details about a browser-specific API for standardizing picture-in-picture interactions that allow websites to open an external "floating video" popup outside the browser window itself. [...] Chrome and Safari have already shipped out the new Picture-in-Picture API.

150 comments

  1. Worst. Idea. Ever. by ErikTheRed · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You thought pop-over ads and auto-play videos were bad before?!?? Hopefully this can be disabled...

    --

    Help save the critically endangered Blue Iguana
    1. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm with you on this:

      You thought pop-over ads and auto-play videos were bad before?!?? Hopefully this can be disabled...

      Do. Not. Want.

      I can think of a few legitimate uses for this outside advertising, but I know that advertising will be the main use of this. This WOULD make me switch browsers. I would not use a browser that allows such an egregious violation of my desktop. Implement this and be boycotted.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    2. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by TheWanderingHermit · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Exactly. Now all the sites that obnoxiously start playing videos when you load the pages (and nothing stops all of them) are going to pop open windows to do the same. Pop-up to the side, pop-up over top, pop-under...

      And is there a limit to how many windows a site can open this way?

      What could possibly go wrong?

    3. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly my first thought as well. Great, now we'll have pop overs that literally cover my entire desktop, great.

    4. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seriously.
      This idea is shit and I hope it dies in a toilet.

    5. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Lab+Rat+Jason · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I came here to say this... Who is asking for these features?

      --
      Which has more power: the hammer, or the anvil?
    6. Re: Worst. Idea. Ever. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It is indeed the worst idea ever, and will give crypto miners another way.

    7. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You forget, you are the product. Your opinion doesn't count.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    8. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      The same people who asked for autoplay and demanded browser makers implement it on by default (something, thankfully, they're finally backtracking on)?

      I want my Flash video back. It was better. Easier to control. One plug-in per operating system rather than per-browser (if you're going "Huh?" look up how W3C implemented DRM in HTML5.) I was OK with Flash. I didn't like it, but only the W3C could make something worse than Flash.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    9. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by jwhyche · · Score: 5, Funny

      Oh this is just fucking awesome. I really can't think of any way for it to get better than this!! I thought having the video chase me down the page was the greatest thing since paper cuts and hang nails. But was so fucking WRONG!!!

      --
      I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
    10. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by ctilsie242 · · Score: 1

      I can't wait for the malvertisers to use this functionality to make yet another generation of Trojans and scareware, fleece users, and entry points for intruders in company networks.

      Can this piece of junk be tossed? We already had this garbage with pop-up ads, where one web page could bring up enough pop-ups that it would grind a box to a halt. Now, browser makers are bringing it back, but with video and sound capability?

      Hopefully uBlock Origin and other ad blockers are updated to nip this garbage at the bud.

    11. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by SumDog · · Score: 1

      No you're not. Everything is either webkit, chromium or gecko based today (or Titan for people who hate themselves). Firefox quantum is far from the performance beast we were told it was going to be. I'm on Vivaldi right now, but it follows the Chromium rendering engine (which itself was split from a hybrid webkit/gecko source years ago).

      Pretty soon we'll be out of options. Remember when Firefox was the scaled down, super fast version of Mozilla? Today a web browser is a bloated heavy weight operating system in and of itself. There's no going back.

    12. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by SumDog · · Score: 1

      This is the reality for web browsers. This is why I hated Chrome when it came out. Google made a closed source browser based on open components in Webkit/Gecko (it has since been opened under Chromium, but it didn't start that way).

      We're pretty much in the same browser world that we are with most of our other "free" as in beer products.

    13. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by jbmartin6 · · Score: 1
      MANY USERS:

      "Many users want to continue consuming media while they interact with other content, sites, or applications on their device," Google software engineer François Beaufort explained this past January when he proposed the idea of a browser-specific API, different from the existing OS-level implementations. "The proposed Picture-in-Picture API allows websites to initiate and control this behavior," he says.

      --
      This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
    14. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

      Who is asking for these features?

      The advertisers, of course. They are, after all, the ones paying the bills.

    15. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by higuita · · Score: 3, Informative

      use firefox, there you are not the product ... they may still do not listen to you, but at least they are finally slowly disabling tracking

      --
      Higuita
    16. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by higuita · · Score: 2

      firefox quantum had one big component replaced with better, multi-thread code ... there are still many parts to be replaced. Some parts, chrome will always be faster, spawning 100 process to render 5 tabs may be more flexible in terms of performance... but at cost of ram! chrome eats my machine ram with few tabs, while firefox with hundred of tabs stays with about 4GB

      --
      Higuita
    17. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Causemos · · Score: 2

      This will be used to make those "Your machine is infected" ads look even better for non-tech people to fall for. Anything browser related should be clearly in the browser!

    18. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by sexconker · · Score: 1

      The same people who asked for autoplay and demanded browser makers implement it on by default (something, thankfully, they're finally backtracking on)?

      I want my Flash video back. It was better. Easier to control. One plug-in per operating system rather than per-browser (if you're going "Huh?" look up how W3C implemented DRM in HTML5.) I was OK with Flash. I didn't like it, but only the W3C could make something worse than Flash.

      Uh, Flash, Adobe reader, Java, etc. require different plugins for different browsers.

    19. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by postmortem · · Score: 1

      And how does Mozilla get their money?
      https://www.computerworld.com/...

    20. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      Uh, Flash, Adobe reader, Java, etc. require different plugins for different browsers.

      Now they do, but only IE needed a "special plugin" back when Flash was a thing. At the time Flash was at its peak, everything (except IE) supported NSAPI.

      Moreover, if a third party wants to produce a browser today, supporting Flash just means supporting NSAPI. Whereas the "Each browser/operating system combination needs its own DRM plug-in" is by design, there will never be a case where you'll be able to workaround the lack of a native Adobe DRM implementation for BrowserX by installing the DRM plugin for Firefox.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    21. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow. I couldn't agree more. What a terrible addition. Auto-playing video is bad enough, now it's going to be tied to my desktop ?!? Who wants that crap ? I certainly don't want to play a video if I change focus away from the page.

    22. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You forget, you are the product. Your opinion doesn't count.

      You forget, if your "product" leaves, then so to do the people who pay you.

    23. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by scdeimos · · Score: 2

      use firefox, there you are not the product ... they may still do not listen to you, but at least they are finally slowly disabling tracking

      Very slowly. This tracking bug is still going after only 17 years, https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/s...

    24. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Many users want to continue consuming media while they interact with other content, sites, or applications on their device,

      I already do. It's called a movie app. In fact, I have three to use where best. Don't need my browser handing the reins to some advertiser.

    25. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by mr_resident · · Score: 1

      Yes, the default setting should be for all the videos to float over the heads of the people who came up with this.

    26. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Daneel+Olivaw+R.+ · · Score: 1

      when was the last time you donated to Mozilla? Good code doesn't write itself... their first priority is users, plus you can always change your search engines. From what I understand, they defaulted back to google because that's what people requested.

    27. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hopefully this can be disabled...

      Here, hope that helps.

    28. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by maglor_83 · · Score: 1

      Yeah I can see the use case. However, I can already pull the tab out into a new window if I want. Problem solved, without adding yet more stuff for advertisers to take advantage of.

    29. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 1

      This idea is shit and I hope it dies in a toilet.

      Since Chrome is doing it, Chromefox will of course slavishly copy it. While Google will eventually realise that people need this like they need a hole in the head and back out the change, Mozilla will keep it in there.

    30. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      This is why I never stopped using Firefox in the first place. Trust matters. Don't go from ownership to sharecropping just because a company made you the offer.

    31. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      Lots of people use open source browsers, even Free Software browsers. They work quite well. So claiming it is "the reality for web browsers" is just a ridiculous statement.

      If you're pathologically unable to use good software, own it, don't blame reality.

    32. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      If only you actually used web browsers, you'd probably think of doing a web search to find out what the other options are.

      If you did use a web browser, you wouldn't really even have to know how search works, you could just type a question into the part of the screen with a place to type stuff and then press Enter.

    33. Re: Worst. Idea. Ever. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ok then.. I will never use Chrome again

    34. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Clearly bullshit. Google started including an ad-blocker in Chrome ffs. They very obviously do care about your experience using the browser.

      And with Chrome you are not the product. You can use it without any connection to Google. Their interest is in developing the web as a platform, because that's where they make their money.

      As usual the reality of this feature is rather different to the default assumptions of most posters. It's basically like the F12 full screen key. If you want to have the video overlaid you can, but the site can't force it.

      It's insane that anyone would think otherwise. Chrome blocked pop-up windows from day one. It makes no sense that they would introduce a new way to abuse users when they just finished killing Flash and background tab audio.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    35. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Only if you allow yourself to be and slavishly accept whatever any browser maker throws at you. There are alternatives. There are always alternatives. Yes, that means you have to take care of it yourself instead of simply accepting what's thrown your way.

      Freedom doesn't just mean you can do what you want. It means that you must, because if you let others decide what you want, you'll get what they want.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    36. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      This comic pretty much sums up what I think of Google's "adblocker". Or as I like to call it, "ad-sieve" because it only weeds out those ads that don't pay protection money to Google.

      If I want to play a second video, I open a second browser window and play the video. Care to inform me what I'd want about this contraption?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    37. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      You mean, like, having a browser window with YouTube open on one screen while reading an article in another browser window on the second screen?

      Care to inform me what the huge invention is about the planned change? Get to the part where it actually offers me any benefit.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    38. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Armonk · · Score: 1

      This idea is shit and I hope it dies in a toilet.

      Since Chrome is doing it, Chromefox will of course slavishly copy it. While Google will eventually realise that people need this like they need a hole in the head and back out the change, Mozilla will keep it in there.

      if that happens... then its opera only for me from that point on...

    39. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Armonk · · Score: 1

      This will be used to make those "Your machine is infected" ads look even better for non-tech people to fall for. Anything browser related should be clearly in the browser!

      I predict a significant rise in the number of Zombie machines owned by various botnets in the near future...

    40. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Google doesn't take money to pass ads through it's block. Show me some evidence if you have it.

      The overlay feature is borrowed from mobile. When you are on one screen you might want the main browser to be full size, but also have the video playing overlaid in the corner. It's not something I would use, but it's something that people seem to like on phones. Some manufacturers even offer in the browser already, e.g. Samsung.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    41. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by fox171171 · · Score: 1

      The overlay feature is borrowed from mobile. When you are on one screen you might want the main browser to be full size, but also have the video playing overlaid in the corner. It's not something I would use, but it's something that people seem to like on phones.

      I hate it on my phone. Glad I don't use Chrome on the desktop.

    42. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Google gets to define what is an "acceptable" ad and what isn't. I don't doubt that they actually have an interest to weed out the most obnoxious ones simply to keep people from installing adblockers that shut out every ad, but since there are hardly any hard guidelines to follow, it basically comes down to "whatever Google deems bad".

      And unless you can name a different motivator for a corporation than money, I'd like to hear it.

      If it's for mobile, fine, implement it in the mobile browser. I can't argue whether it's useful in a mobile environment because I'm old enough that watching videos on a screen the size of a few stamps isn't a worthwhile endeavor for me anymore unless I have a decent magnifying lens with me. I cannot see a sensible application on a desktop, though. If you want to have a second window playing a video, the technology is already there. With total control over whether, where and how long this window is going to be open and playing that video.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    43. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Details of what counts as unacceptable here: https://www.betterads.org/stan...

      Google is a member of this group, but only one of many.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    44. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by gnick · · Score: 1

      if that happens... then its opera only for me from that point on...

      As a browser, Opera's fine. But you know they were bought by a Chinese shell company, right? "Golden Brick Capital Private Equity Fund I L.P.".

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    45. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What alternatives exist for Windows users? Genuine question, because I'm searching for a new browser.

      Firefox has been out for me for a long time. Some of its most popular forks, such as Pale Moon and Waterfox, go a long time without updates, which is a security risk.

      Brave (Chromium) isn't as virtuous as it trumpets itself to be. It replaces ads with its own ads. Since the article is old, I went to Brave's site and read through their FAQs; they use a lot of weasel wording to give the appearance that they no longer do this, without actually saying so.

      I was thinking about Opera, but I saw somewhere in the comments that it's now owned by China.

    46. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ugh. I didn't want to reply to myself, but Chrome is also out, as it scans your entire hard drive under the pretense of looking for malware that targets Chrome.

      I plan on returning to Linux when Windows 7 support finally ends, so maybe I'll end up with Konqueror or something, but until then I need a Windows option.

    47. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Yes, I've read that. In the end what remains is that Google, and only Google, will get a say in what is going to be considered "permitted ads" in Chrome and what isn't. That requires trusting them. And so far I am sorry to say it but Google is not a company I would put my trust in. I prefer to trust an ad blocker that simply disables all ads, mostly because I know why Google created this ad filter in the first place.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    48. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I doubt that, because if they just started blocking ads that compete with their own there would be legal consequences. The EU would be involved, applying some hefty fines.

      But let's not speculate, let's just see what actually happens.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    49. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by higuita · · Score: 1

      notice that bug is a "tracking bug", not a but about tracking! :D

      It is a meta-bug to follow all the favicons related bugs, so unless favicons disappear or all bugs are fixed, it will be open for a long time
      But you can find other bugs related with tracking, most of then related with cookies and fingerprinting methods in the browsers that have several years...it is not easy to fix most of then as they may have valid usages

      --
      Higuita
  2. Can this be disabled? by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 2

    This seems like a return to the bad old days of pop-up ad windows over pop-up windows, but now with extra bandwidth-sluuuurping video. Disable. For good. With prejudice.

  3. Stop with the Standards Bloat. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Stop with the Standards Bloat.

    1. Re: Stop with the Standards Bloat. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When it comes to jamming shitty ideas through - yeah make them as hard to implement as possible

    2. Re:Stop with the Standards Bloat. by Lunix+Nutcase · · Score: 1

      No, I’d rather the feature die in a fire along with the people pushing it.

    3. Re:Stop with the Standards Bloat. by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      Yeah, if you need some kind of special functionality that would be awful to include in a web browser, then you should have to write some fucking application software and run it in its own damn process.

      This isn't something that "sites" have a legit reason to do. All the legit use cases are people at work doing jobs, who could just install a damn application, and if it includes a browser plugin, that's what plugin technology is for. People who gave up that technology deserve to live without it. They certainly don't have a need to force all the possible obnoxious plugins on all users to make up for the fact that they deleted their plugin system.

  4. i can't wait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    a popup window is NOT 'picture-in-picture'. it's a 'picture outside of picture all on its own' in a fucking popup.

  5. Oh fuck you google!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We all know that this will be used for ads, more ads and even more ads in under 10s. Fuck you.

    Also: Fuck you harder

  6. Why? by Train0987 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    No user has ever asked for this. Advertisers, yes, but actual users, no. This move should prove once and for all who Google exists for.

    1. Re:Why? by Lunix+Nutcase · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Google’s customers are ad buyers. Now this decision makes much more sense, no?

    2. Re:Why? by omnichad · · Score: 1

      I would ask for this. They actually broke an extension that used to provide this. I had to install the Netflix app to put video in the corner when it was easier to just use the browser. That old extension let you put video always-on-top in its own window with no UI.

      Of course, it should be fully opt-in without even so much as a request prompt being possible by the vendor, much the same way that casting from the browser works now.

    3. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What was wrong with opening the url to the video in a new window, putting that window on one side of your screen, and browsing away on /. in the other window?

    4. Re:Why? by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Window border, scroll bars, single tab wasting space, address bar row, bookmarks bar. Lots of wasted screen space. And then the video playing site would waste more space with its own UI. Plus, no always-on-top option.

    5. Re:Why? by WaffleMonster · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Window border, scroll bars, single tab wasting space, address bar row, bookmarks bar. Lots of wasted screen space. And then the video playing site would waste more space with its own UI. Plus, no always-on-top option.

      All anyone can do is hope those advocating for a windowless context free area outside the browser window simply to avoid "wasting space" are either kidding or trolling.

    6. Re:Why? by omnichad · · Score: 1

      So we should never advance technology until the 3rd world has caught up? That argument doesn't even make sense.

    7. Re:Why? by Rakarra · · Score: 0

      Window border, scroll bars, single tab wasting space, address bar row, bookmarks bar. Lots of wasted screen space. And then the video playing site would waste more space with its own UI. Plus, no always-on-top option.

      These are options that used to be available with window managers under Linux. I remember doing this in gnome 1 with just a keystroke to remove all decorations and border, another keystroke to toggle always-on-top. Then with Gnome 2 (and even worse with Gnome 3) the gnome team went with a "options confuse people. Let's get rid of them all."

      I still don't have something as easily customizeable and usable as ye olde Gnome 1. Now everyone wants to take all the bad ideas (mostly just those) from Microsoft's and Apple's offerings and make something even less usable.

    8. Re:Why? by omnichad · · Score: 1

      I had this with the ATI All-in-Wonder Pro back in the late 90's. Granted, it was cable TV and not streaming video. But I've been trying to get this feature back for the last 20 years. It's not like hovering the window or clicking it can't bring back some context or controls. But I only have room for one 4K monitor on this desk and it still feels cramped if I try to use a browser tab for video. I still hate using the Netflix app. I use video in the background as a way to not lose focus entirely while working on mundane work.

    9. Re:Why? by Bite+The+Pillow · · Score: 1

      You're wrong. People want to watch the current YouTube video while they find the next video to watch. This is the same functionality as PiP on tv's originally. Watch the very basic video, hear the audio, do something else.

      The argument that no one wants it is bullshit. The argument should be put that in an app. If you want YouTube PiP get the app. Skip the web browser.

    10. Re:Why? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      We should advance, but the direction matters. Ask anyone living next to a cliff.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    11. Re:Why? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      And why would I want that video to play in a window I cannot control instead of another browser tab?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  7. News sites terrible offenders by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Almost every news site now is already being offensive with their autoplay video that follows you and also jumps around on the page as you scroll down. And the video players don't all work the same -- some of them you click in the middle to pause, some you have to locate the pause button (wherever it may be), some of them can be closed entirely, others cannot. But universally I stop all of these videos. Neither the video nor the audio are wanted.

    Putting these autoplay video sinto a popout window doesn't solve the problem, it only moves the problem into a popout window. W. T. F.

    1. Re:News sites terrible offenders by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ^ And that is why you keep javascript disabled....

    2. Re:News sites terrible offenders by sims+2 · · Score: 2

      /. is one of few sites today that still plays nice without javascript.

      --
      Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
    3. Re:News sites terrible offenders by higuita · · Score: 2

      use umatrix ... you can enable the main site javascript (and so the site works) and disable the 10 other site javascript that will load all sort of shit!

      --
      Higuita
    4. Re:News sites terrible offenders by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Close page.

      NEXT!

      Fuck them. I'm not wasting my time making their site work. If it doesn't provide what I'm looking for or makes using it more painful than it has to be, close page and add the URL to the "-site:" string in the search.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  8. Please Stop by OYAHHH · · Score: 1

    Just stop, nobody wants this but those who live to make everyone else's life miserable.

    Please just stop..

    --
    Caution: Contents under pressure
  9. No.. NO,No,No by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Seriously,,, this browser is getting un installed..like now

  10. Stop Using Chrome by ecsyle · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Stop using a web browser developed by an advertising company. This is all of our fault, for making Chrome popular.

    1. Re:Stop Using Chrome by Merk42 · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Exactly! You should use something like Safari since Apple isn't dependent on advertising dollars and has said how they care about your data and...

      Chrome and Safari have already shipped out the new Picture-in-Picture API

      ...oh...

    2. Re:Stop Using Chrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, it's mozillas fault for sucking sooooooo hard....

    3. Re:Stop Using Chrome by cybersquid · · Score: 1

      Does Firefox really suck?
      I'm using it right now; it's my standard browser. I'm not really suffering.
      At all.

    4. Re:Stop Using Chrome by higuita · · Score: 1

      yes, you stop using firefox like 5 years ago, correct?

      --
      Higuita
    5. Re:Stop Using Chrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yup! Using PaleMoon everywhere I can instead.

    6. Re: Stop Using Chrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At least firefox works with hotmail/outlook/live, unlike chrome, where the menu buttons only work randomly.

    7. Re:Stop Using Chrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes it really sucks. They removed the ability to save a file outside of the OS's download location. I made heavy use of plugins which saved your downloads into folders based off the website you downloaded them from. Such a thing is completely impossible now. I understand that it improves a minor security risk, but there were other ways of addressing the issue without removing the feature.

    8. Re:Stop Using Chrome by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      Maybe you're right that you're one of the people responsible, but don't blame me.

      I've been running open source browsers since the 90s. They work well. And did you know you can bypass many news paywalls by browsing with lynx? (Or just turning stylesheets off for that page)

      There was a time when slashdot was only safe to browse in ASCII, even.

    9. Re:Stop Using Chrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So apparently pip ads is what you want. Shut up and have your ads then. Because that is the alternative.

    10. Re:Stop Using Chrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Safari a video will only display in PIP mode if you right click on the video and select 'Enter Picture in Picture'.

    11. Re:Stop Using Chrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds like someone is a little butt hurt.

    12. Re:Stop Using Chrome by Schmorgluck · · Score: 1

      They removed the ability to save a file outside of the OS's download location.

      No, they didn't.

      I made heavy use of plugins which saved your downloads into folders based off the website you downloaded them from. Such a thing is completely impossible now.

      No, it isn't.

      --
      There's nothing like $HOME
    13. Re:Stop Using Chrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The WebExtension API only allows saving into directories relative to the default download directory.

    14. Re:Stop Using Chrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL right, Safari is the alternative everyone thought of.

  11. Oh geezey petes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    there's something ripe for exploitation and annoying the hell out of users.

    1. Re:Oh geezey petes by ebyrob · · Score: 2

      Seems like a <blink>GREAT</blink> idea!

  12. Which tab do I close to make it go away? by bytestorm · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This breaks the window to content relation, unless it goes away when unfocused. And if it goes away, why bother having it outside the content window? If the user can't figure out which web page/app generated the pop-out, this feature is only going to cause frustration.

  13. No by sims+2 · · Score: 1

    Nooooooooooo.

    --
    Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
  14. Coming up next: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    videos that bypass your volume controls and blast you with their ads!

  15. What an abomination of an idea. by QuietLagoon · · Score: 1

    To me, it looks like the only reason why google is proposing this "feature" is to allow advertiser to be even more intrusive into my browsing experience.

    1. Re:What an abomination of an idea. by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Netflix, Youtube, Google Play, all allowing video separate from your browsing window with no space wasted on tabs. Back in the 90's, I accomplished this with an ATI All-in-wonder card and a coaxial cable tv connection. The TV app was an always-on-top window and could be set to have no borders and resized as small as you want.

  16. A typical work scenario with Chrome PiP... by TheZeitgeist · · Score: 1

    1. Lazy IT guy surfing the internet at desk

    2. Boss walks up to desk; Lazy IT guy sees him approach in rear-view mirror taped to monitor

    3. Lazy IT guy minimizes Chrome session.

    4. Boss stares hard at un-minimized pr0n video auto-playing behind the now-minimized Chrome session.

    5. Lazy IT guy does Walk of Shame with box out to parking lot...

    1. Re:A typical work scenario with Chrome PiP... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lazy IT guy deserves to have the walk of shame .... cause you know .... watching pr0n during work hours and on company property is a HUGE violation of (most) company policies (and possibly categorized as sexual harassment).

      So if you are a "lazy IT guy" .... be lazy with something that can't potentially destroy your career.

    2. Re:A typical work scenario with Chrome PiP... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're missing the fact that advertisers use sex to sell things as often as they can and this new feature will cause video pop-unders. The IT guy doesn't know a sexy ad (often considered as porn by far too many people afraid of visible skin) is active under the browser. Just like when that school teacher got in trouble when a spam site she accidentally visited starting opening tons of porn pop-ups. The New York Times has hosted malware ads before. No site with ads is safe.

    3. Re:A typical work scenario with Chrome PiP... by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      I hope you never stumble upon a page with information that pop-under's you a porn ad.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  17. Horrifying by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 2

    Adverts, yes. Bleah.

    What about security implications? Perhaps the "video" simulates other applications, other windows?

    1. Re:Horrifying by seanellis · · Score: 1

      Agreed. Adverts are annoying, but the potential for spoofing other applications is far worse (even if initially difficult to exploit). 100% user-controlled may just about be acceptable - simply make it a property of any video control in the webpage, and it's instantly available on all websites without having to change a thing - but even then I wouldn't bet against it being exploited.

  18. Letâ(TM)s bring back the blink tag by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If weâ(TM)re adding obnoxious features

    1. Re: Letâ(TM)s bring back the blink tag by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whilst they are at it... spinning fire logos and hidden tables with invisible gifs for layout too.

  19. Most of it's open source by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    So it's not hard to stop using their version of this crap takes off. And there's always Firefox.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  20. Forget it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I use a white list now for javascript. If they want to show obnoxious ads and their site doesn't work without it js, fuck them. Don't need it. Plenty of better things to do than watching lame videos and badly produced advertising.

  21. Only If it's absolutely impossible to auto popup by LostMonk · · Score: 1

    Only If it's absolutely impossible to auto popup, I just maybe... possibly... nope. Still blocking it.

  22. World Wide Web by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 1
    The World Wide Web.

    Born 1991. Died 2018

    RIP.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    1. Re:World Wide Web by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The World Wide Web.

      Born 1991. Died 2018

      RIP.

      Fuck me. Melodramatic much?

    2. Re:World Wide Web by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Born 1991. Died 2018

      No. It died the moment we let it get infested with procedural languages.

      Since then it has been reaping the consequences of that.

    3. Re:World Wide Web by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Born 1991. Died 1960.

  23. And if I make the browser window full screen? by tlambert · · Score: 1

    And if I make the browser window full screen?

    Does it pop up on the screen of the dip shit whose idea this was?

    Because I could kind of get behind that...

    1. Re:And if I make the browser window full screen? by ebyrob · · Score: 1

      That's awesome! How can I help this get written into the standard where it belongs?

    2. Re:And if I make the browser window full screen? by SlaveToTheGrind · · Score: 1

      And if I make the browser window full screen?

      Three little words: Always on Top.

    3. Re:And if I make the browser window full screen? by Armonk · · Score: 1

      And if I make the browser window full screen?

      Three little words: Always on Top.

      let me guess... its what she said yesterday? :-)

  24. There is one positive angle by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

    If you are browsing on a phone and lock your phone, the standard dictates a drone deliver a second phone to you with the video still playing where you left off.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:There is one positive angle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or, if you have credits, you can pass viewing. But it implies penalty.

  25. YAY! More crap! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Feature creep is now the main feature!

  26. Not Enough Time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Every time I hear some news about the internet I want to make my own browser. They all suck, often for different reasons, but they all stuck. I think MyIE2 (Maxthon) was my best browsing experience for the short time I used that one.

  27. *vomit* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    *vomit*

  28. Ok everyone, hang on a moment by Weaselmancer · · Score: 1

    First off, it's not enabled just yet. You have to jump through some hoops to enable it. You have to go through all this, at the moment:

    In chrome://flags enable the following flags:
    #enable-experimental-web-platform-features
    #enable-surfaces-for-videos
    #enable-picture-in-picture

    Download and extract the extension zip file.

    In chrome://extensions toggle Developer mode (upper-right corner) if it is not already on.

    To load the extension, click Load Unpacked.

    In the dialog box that appears locate and select the src/ folder from the directory where you unpacked the zip file.

    Navigate to any YouTube video and click the extension browser icon to toggle Picture-in-Picture for the current video.

    And if you want to see what all that gets you, it looks like this.

    All that being said, I'm sure that this feature will be abused at some point in the future, and there will be a setting to turn it off, and your clueless parents/aunt/grandparents/whatever will call you and bug you about a little TV on your screen they can't make go away.

    It's the IT circle of life. Advertiser wants feature to pester people with, people are pestered for a while, IT people turn off feature, advertiser wants new feature to pester people with...

    --
    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.
  29. No window management by amorsen · · Score: 1

    This is what the lack of decent window management on all the major platforms has led to. Both Windows, MacOS, and Linux have evolved their window management to the point where the only reasonable choice is to keep everything full screen.

    Sure, you CAN have overlapping windows, but:

    1) You'll have to fiddle endlessly with the mouse to get them arranged half-decently
    2) New windows will appear in annoying places
    3) As soon as you try to interact with a window, that window will pop in front of the actually useful data you were looking at in the other windows

    You can use keyboard shortcuts to get 2 windows side-by-side on all the major OS's, which is something at least. But woe be you if you try to make windows overlap and stay in the right Z-order.

    Now it seems that the ones to turn to, in order to fix this mess, are the website designers?! How can they possibly know where I want my video to be on the screen??

    --
    Finally! A year of moderation! Ready for 2019?
    1. Re:No window management by techno-vampire · · Score: 1

      3) As soon as you try to interact with a window, that window will pop in front of the actually useful data you were looking at in the other windows

      I use Linux with Xfce and Compiz. It's not uncommon for me to open a terminal, set it to Always On Top and compare what I see there with what's on a web page. The browser has the focus, I can scroll up and down and even fill out a form, or make a comment, such as here, with the terminal still covering part of the browser. If you can't do that, there's something wrong with your window manager.

      --
      Good, inexpensive web hosting
    2. Re:No window management by Megane · · Score: 1

      I've been doing that since 1985 when the screen was just 512x342. Now my usual screen is 1920x1200, with a web browser taking up about 60% of that area. You just have to learn a few habits, mostly strategic management of edges and corners, hiding apps you aren't using, and often the Dock's "bring all windows of one application to the front" behavior helps too.

      Actually, the thing that helps that most is apps that remember where you last put windows and which things you last had open. Web browsers remembering all their tabs when they crash was a big thing, then OS X later being able to reboot and reliably re-open all your documents was enormous.

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    3. Re:No window management by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      3) As soon as you try to interact with a window, that window will pop in front of the actually useful data you were looking at in the other windows.

      Do not project your visual layout inabilities onto me.

  30. Google you $^*^%$$ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ok, everyone stop using chrome, google can't be trusted.

  31. No. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There, I said it. Google should just give me a couple million dollars for that one easy decision. I can do far more with the money than they could anyway.

  32. Test of W3C by WaffleMonster · · Score: 3, Interesting

    To be fair "This specification was published by the Web Platform Incubator Community Group. It is not a W3C Standard nor is it on the W3C Standards Track."

    If this ever changes and W3C is willing to pursuit such a blatantly anti-user misfeatures the organization will have lost all remaining respect and legitimacy with me for what little that's worth.

    1. Re:Test of W3C by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > ... and W3C is willing to pursuit such a blatantly anti-user misfeatures ...

      This sentence no verb. (Hint: pursuit is a noun. https://www.merriam-webster.co...)

    2. Re:Test of W3C by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... W3C is willing to pursuit such a blatantly anti-user misfeatures ...

      I take it the W3C's standard for DRM wasn't enough?

  33. Browser initiated or website initiated? by jetkust · · Score: 1

    First it says:
    "The proposed Picture-in-Picture API allows websites to initiate and control this behavior," he says.
    According to the new API, websites will be able to control when to open or close the PiP popup, set the popup size, overlay custom controls, restrict certain
    interactions inside the popup, and gather statistics on when users open or leave PiP and how they used it.
    Then it says:
    Most importantly, during Bleeping Computer's experiments, we've noticed the PiP extension would float almost all videos we tested, meaning the feature doesn't rely on website owners changing their code for it to work.

    Which is it? I understand it being a browser feature that the user initiates. I can see the use of playing a video while doing other stuff on the computer. But I can't understand why a website would be able to control this feature and gather statistics about it. Why?

  34. Two Words by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fuck Chrome.

    Seriously, I switched to Opera (after being a loyal Chrome user for years) and haven't looked back. Occasionally I'll fire up a firefox session to watch a video Opera on Linux might not want to play (security can have its cons, after all), but 99.999% of the time Opera is perfect, and a whole lot less annoying to use than Chrome, Firefox, etc. if for no othe reason than that videos don't just start playing with no user input and blaring out of my speaker.

    Advertisers really have wrecked the Internet, almost as badly as social media has.

  35. Bad web sites ... by Misagon · · Score: 1

    The stated reason for this proposal is:
    [blockquote]"Many users want to continue consuming media while they interact with other content, sites, or applications on their device"[/blockquote]

    How about, instead web designers design their sites to work well with windows open side by side?!
    I'm talking about you, Google! And especially about Youtube after the redesign. There is a reason why I still use the "classic mode" on Youtube.

    --
    "We mustn't be caught by surprise by our own advancing technology" -- Aldous Huxley
  36. Wow. Genius. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What could POSSIBLY go wrong?

    </s>

  37. No! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just No!

  38. Terrific by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just terrific.

  39. Here's one use by orundarkes · · Score: 1

    I can see this being useful for help videos on some of the web apps we design so that your average user can play a video, slid it out from the content (preferably on a secondary screen) and follow along to the video without having to leave his current session. I can also see this being annoying for pretty much everything else.

  40. Off Switch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just as long as there is an OFF switch that actually works, who gives a flying fuck?

    If the off switch does not exist or does not work, them have that chrome shit join the symantec shit as the software "that should no be allowed in the same room as a computer:.

  41. Re:Only If it's absolutely impossible to auto popu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    NoScript .... saving the world from malware / nagware / popups

  42. Spoof-N-Goof [Re:Horrifying] by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    Perhaps the "video" simulates other applications, other windows?

    The potential fail-level on both security and UI/UX is grand enough to put this in the top running for Worst Tech Idea of the Year.

    I bet the PHB's patted themselves on the back as a way to "make our wonderful ads stand out from the crowd", and gave each other raises. Sick.

  43. Uninstall by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Buying BAT now.

  44. idiocracy predicted this again by dillee1 · · Score: 1
  45. rarely used it by Armonk · · Score: 1

    I rarely use chrome... my go to browser is firefox and it has been for a long time... Sometimes I use Opera but very rarely do I use Chrome, Safari, IE or Edge.

  46. Omg ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's full of ads !

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