Web Browsers have existed almost since the birth of the internet.  From the earliest web browser WorldWideWeb, to text browsers like lynx, to some early crude graphical web browsers to the modern day browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera etc., the browser has indeed come a long way, but a paradigm shift in browsing is due. Layout Engines like Gecko (Mozilla) and Trident (Microsoft) etc. were built in the 90’s for the 90’s while the internet was still a baby. With the internet growing faster than ever before and business moving to the web at a rapid pace, increasing bandwidths and demands for desktop like experiences on the web are majors asks for a Browser overhaul.

Languages like JavaScript (AJAX) are used to provide ‘rich’ apps for today’s browsers. Being an interpreted language with much less functionality and power as opposed to say C++, Lisp etc. makes the ‘rich’ experience very poor indeed. Reasons like these and the demands of the web certainly warrant a walk back to the drawing board for a serious rethink on how the browser should mould itself for the ever changing needs of the internet. Here are some of the things that are fundamental to the next gen browser and some reasons why the today’s browser might soon be a thing of the past.

• Something faster and better than Javascript, perhaps an open standard language designed and built for working especially with Web Controls (Open Standard again) and working with Mutlimedia (Audio, Images, Videos). Yeah, just what the world needs, another language and another standard.
• Better and more UI Controls that would make Web Apps closer to Desktop Apps or maybe even better
• HTML is a thing of the past, enough plumbing has been done on it already (DHTML, AJAX etc..) to try to improve and add to HTML. It’s long due for a change.
• TCP/IP is what the internet is built on today. But things like ECN (Something that I worked on for my Masters Thesis) suggests that TCP/IP and its current feedback mechanisms for handling congestion will soon be outdated with the increased bandwidth speeds and traffic, as we move along. Most applications that depend on networking (like Web Browsers) are often limited by the bounds of TCP/IP.
• The coming few years will see the birth and rise of huge server farms like this one. This will lead to increasing demand of innovation in area of Web Applications. Browsers better be ready for this.
• Paradigm shift to collaborative computing. Blogging, Social Networking, Sharing etc.. are pushing todays browsers to the limit. So much so that, there have been tons of desktop applications written (Windows Live Writer etc..) to just circumvent the shortcomings of the browser

It’s time for a Browser Overhaul

According to Interbrand, Microsoft is now the second most valuable brand name in the world, next only to Coca-Cola. Check out the top 100 list for the year. Eligibility criteria to be even being considered to make the list, includes things like having a third of the earnings outside the US, and being recognizable outside its customer base. Brands like VISA, Walmart etc… did not qualify due to some of these reasons.

This is a surpising news. The House of Representatives have passed an act with an overwhelming majority asking Social Networking sites to be banned from federeal institutions in the US that have received funding for computers and net access via the US E-Rate scheme - primarily schools and libraries. Around two-thirds of US libraries apparently receive this funding. While I truly support the primary cause behind this act, I don’t think this is the right way to approach this problem. Putting this act into place would potentially mean sites likes MSN Spaces, MySpace, Friendster, Orkut, and even sites like Digg and other blogging sites making it to the hit list.  The FCC will come up with a definition of what qualifies as a Social Networking Site.

There are a number of reasons as to why this is not the correct solution.

• This does not totally prevent children from accessing these sites.
• There are going to be a ton of sites that does not make this list.
• Not all institutions are a part of this ban.

Online Bank Fraud is a big problem in the US. To fix this problem you wouldn’t ban online banking features altogether.  Email Spam is another nagging issue. You wouldn’t ban email to fix this problem. While neither of these examples wouldn’t compare very well to problem at hand, we need to find a better way to fix the issue rather than just ban these sites. One way to do this will be at the website level, by coming up with a way to make sure whether the user signing up is an adult or a minor. The web services can then decide what content to serve to the user. Although this is possible in theory, it could prove hard to execute, and also will share some of the loopholes that banning websites have.

A better solution could be to do this at browser level instead of at the website level. Getting better parental controls into the browser and force-update such features into existing browsers already out there, without which it will be impossible to visit these sites.

It will be interesting to see how various companies react to this issue, particularly when its going to hit them from a business standpoint.