> Is cloud-based file selection something that should be offered by a web developer, or by the OS?
You're hinting that it should be handled by the OS, and I certainly welcome that sort of change. That's the kind of thing that I think could set ChromeOS apart, so perhaps Google will make the first move.
That said, one of the reasons why the Web kicked Windows and MacOS's collective asses in the developer platform wards is that this sort of thing is often left to the developer on the web. There's only so much a centralized team at Microsoft of Apple can do. Tens of thousands of web developers constantly trying to one-up each other just have a MUCH larger creative output, and there's a strong natural selection programme at work. And so it's the Web where you've seen interface graphic design flourish, where you've seen leaps forward in the interfaces for sharing content, etc.
So part of me wants to say yes: let the developers play with this stuff. Build out the low level APIs in the browser (cameras, native data structures, etc) and let the best ideas duke it out in the marketplace. Good developers copy good ideas and standards emerge.
Jordan and team are good friends of ours (Filepicker.io team). We are trying to solve similar problems but approaching it from different directions. Its going to be an interesting future. :-)
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I find it interesting that this was in the same class as Filepicker.io
Is cloud-based file selection something that should be offered by a web developer, or by the OS?
> Is cloud-based file selection something that should be offered by a web developer, or by the OS?
You're hinting that it should be handled by the OS, and I certainly welcome that sort of change. That's the kind of thing that I think could set ChromeOS apart, so perhaps Google will make the first move.
That said, one of the reasons why the Web kicked Windows and MacOS's collective asses in the developer platform wards is that this sort of thing is often left to the developer on the web. There's only so much a centralized team at Microsoft of Apple can do. Tens of thousands of web developers constantly trying to one-up each other just have a MUCH larger creative output, and there's a strong natural selection programme at work. And so it's the Web where you've seen interface graphic design flourish, where you've seen leaps forward in the interfaces for sharing content, etc.
So part of me wants to say yes: let the developers play with this stuff. Build out the low level APIs in the browser (cameras, native data structures, etc) and let the best ideas duke it out in the marketplace. Good developers copy good ideas and standards emerge.
Jordan and team are good friends of ours (Filepicker.io team). We are trying to solve similar problems but approaching it from different directions. Its going to be an interesting future. :-)