The motivating factor for auto-updating browsers is to deal with security matters, not jamming features consumers aren't really asking for down the pipe.
Absolutely. I don't think anyone would disagree to updates for fixing memory leaks, buffer overflows, and similar security-related bugs. But when they come with disruptive changes including removal of valuable features and increased system requirements, it becomes more of a dilemma and in some ways almost feels like they're using security as an excuse, a "tool of obedience" to pull all the rest of the unwanted changes along too.
To me, the whole "we must move the Web forward" notion (I've heard it far more recently than before) is increasingly looking more like change for the sake of change; an indication that Web technology is reaching a saturation point - progress is outpacing demand - for a lot of use cases, and hence the stronger attempts to promote newer technologies that are adding more complexity while yielding diminishing returns.
The increasing browser requirements for websites is not unlike that of increasing hardware requirements for software - the average user probably doesn't require anywhere near a machine as powerful as the ones today to serve their needs (mostly email and realtime chat, watching videos, reading webpages, etc.), but is basically forced into upgrading due to newer versions of software requiring more resources than before. (The machine I'm using is currently ~6 years old, and it still serves my needs just fine.) This "progress" is arguably beneficial for the economy of those in the business, but it also creates enormous amounts of waste for everyone else, and I don't think it's sustainable either.
"Moving the web forward" has always been the push of content designers to have more control over what happens on the user's machine; to control the exact display and interaction. Designers always wanted the power of flash -- full audio/video/interaction control.
Comments
The motivating factor for auto-updating browsers is to deal with security matters, not jamming features consumers aren't really asking for down the pipe.
Absolutely. I don't think anyone would disagree to updates for fixing memory leaks, buffer overflows, and similar security-related bugs. But when they come with disruptive changes including removal of valuable features and increased system requirements, it becomes more of a dilemma and in some ways almost feels like they're using security as an excuse, a "tool of obedience" to pull all the rest of the unwanted changes along too.
To me, the whole "we must move the Web forward" notion (I've heard it far more recently than before) is increasingly looking more like change for the sake of change; an indication that Web technology is reaching a saturation point - progress is outpacing demand - for a lot of use cases, and hence the stronger attempts to promote newer technologies that are adding more complexity while yielding diminishing returns.
The increasing browser requirements for websites is not unlike that of increasing hardware requirements for software - the average user probably doesn't require anywhere near a machine as powerful as the ones today to serve their needs (mostly email and realtime chat, watching videos, reading webpages, etc.), but is basically forced into upgrading due to newer versions of software requiring more resources than before. (The machine I'm using is currently ~6 years old, and it still serves my needs just fine.) This "progress" is arguably beneficial for the economy of those in the business, but it also creates enormous amounts of waste for everyone else, and I don't think it's sustainable either.
"Moving the web forward" has always been the push of content designers to have more control over what happens on the user's machine; to control the exact display and interaction. Designers always wanted the power of flash -- full audio/video/interaction control.