We're on the brink of another world browser war
Summary
TLDRThe Code Report discusses the importance of a diverse web browser market for the health of the internet. It highlights the dominance of Google-backed browsers and the emerging open-source alternatives like Verso, Blitz, and Ladybird. The video emphasizes the ambitious Ladybird browser, created by Andreas Kling, which aims to be entirely independent and funded by sponsorships and donations. It also mentions Convex, a Firebase alternative for app developers, and underscores the complexity and importance of browser development in maintaining internet freedom.
Takeaways
- 🌐 The worldwide web is a critical part of human civilization, offering freedom of expression and impacting society significantly.
- 🌌 John Perry Barlow's 'Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace' highlights the creation of a world where individuals can express their beliefs freely.
- 💻 Major web browsers like Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox, controlled by Google, dominate the market, raising concerns about potential monopolistic control.
- 🛡️ The importance of browser diversity is emphasized to prevent a single entity from controlling the internet's openness and freedom.
- 🔥 Browser 'wars' are ongoing, with new and innovative browsers like Arc and Firefox introducing new features to compete in the market.
- 🌟 Verso and Blitz are two open-source browsers gaining attention, built in Rust and offering a fresh approach to web browsing.
- 🚀 Ladybird, an ambitious open-source browser, is being developed independently without relying on other browsers' code, aiming to decentralize browser technology.
- 🤝 Ladybird's development is a collaborative effort, with contributions from over a thousand contributors and is managed by a nonprofit organization.
- 💡 The project is funded by sponsorships and donations, ensuring that the browser remains free from commercial incentives and focused on user needs.
- 📅 The first alpha version of Ladybird is not expected until 2026, indicating the complexity and time-consuming nature of building a web browser from scratch.
- 🛠️ Developers can access and contribute to Ladybird's code on GitHub, showcasing the open and collaborative nature of the project.
Q & A
What is the significance of the worldwide web in today's human civilization?
-The worldwide web is considered a critical pillar of human civilization, enabling freedom of expression, impacting governance, creating wealth, and allowing content to reach a global audience, as illustrated by the example of a popular cat video.
What is the potential risk to the openness of the internet mentioned in the script?
-The script highlights the risk of a monopoly on web browsers, with the majority of market share controlled by technologies or funding from a single entity, Google, which could theoretically be misused to control or censor online content.
What is the importance of having multiple web browsers in the market?
-Multiple web browsers are important for maintaining a diverse and competitive internet ecosystem, preventing a single entity from controlling the internet and ensuring freedom of expression and access to information.
What is the significance of the browser 'Ladybird' in the script?
-Ladybird is a futuristic open-source browser that aims to be independent from other browsers. It is significant because it is an attempt to diversify browser options and reduce reliance on a single company's technology.
Who is Andreas Gal and what did he create?
-Andreas Gal is a software engineer who created Serenity OS, an operating system that includes a web browser, after being unemployed and having time to work on a personal project.
What is Serenity OS and how is it related to the Ladybird browser?
-Serenity OS is an operating system created by Andreas Gal, which includes a web browser engine that later became the Ladybird browser, an independent, cross-platform project.
What is the role of the nonprofit formed by Andreas Gal and a GitHub co-founder?
-The nonprofit was formed to manage the Ladybird browser project, ensuring it remains free from commercial incentives, funded by sponsorships and donations, and committed to open-source principles.
What is the current status of the Ladybird browser's development?
-As of the script's date, the first alpha version for Linux and Mac OS is not expected until summer 2026, with the Windows version expected even later.
Why is building a web browser from scratch considered complex and challenging?
-Building a web browser from scratch is complex due to the need to adhere to the constantly evolving W3C specifications, which contain millions of words and require the integration of various technologies like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and video rendering.
What is Convex and how does it relate to the script's discussion on open-source tools?
-Convex is an open-source alternative to Firebase, offering backend services like database queries, server functions, and file storage in TypeScript. It is mentioned in the script as an example of a successful open-source project.
What is the script's perspective on the importance of open-source projects like Ladybird and Convex?
-The script views open-source projects as crucial for maintaining a diverse and open internet, challenging the consolidation of power and providing alternatives to proprietary technologies.
Outlines
🌐 The Importance of Open Internet and Browser Diversity
This paragraph discusses the significance of the open nature of the worldwide web, which has led to unprecedented freedom of expression and economic opportunities. It highlights the potential risks of browser monopolies, particularly those controlled by a single entity like Google, and the importance of browser diversity to maintain internet freedom. The script introduces the ongoing 'browser wars' and the emergence of new open-source browsers like Verso and Blitz, emphasizing the need for alternatives to prevent any single entity from controlling the internet.
🔧 The Birth of Serenity OS and Ladybird Browser
The paragraph tells the story of Andreas Clling, a software engineer who, after a period of unemployment and rehab, embarked on a project to build his own operating system, Serenity OS. Named after the Serenity Prayer, this OS was a labor of love that included a web browser, which later became known as Ladybird. The browser is an ambitious open-source project, aiming to be independent of other browsers' code and funded by sponsorships and donations, ensuring it remains free from commercial incentives.
🛠️ The Complexity of Building a Web Browser from Scratch
This section delves into the technical challenges of creating a web browser from the ground up. It explains the necessity for browser engines to adhere to the W3C specifications, which are extensive and constantly evolving. The developers of Ladybird have built their own HTML and JavaScript engines, named libHTML and lijs, and are using established tools like FFmpeg for video support. The development cycle is described as moving from making the browser work to making it efficient, highlighting the complexity and the ongoing effort to create a browser that is both functional and fast.
🏗️ The Future of Ladybird and the Importance of Open Source Projects
The final paragraph addresses the long development timeline for the Ladybird browser, with the first alpha version for Linux and Mac OS not expected until 2026. It encourages the audience to engage with the project by building it from source on GitHub, acknowledging the complexity of browser development. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the benefits of open-source projects like Ladybird, which contribute to a more diverse and less centralized internet landscape, potentially serving as a safeguard against the increasing consolidation of online power.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡World Wide Web
💡Cyberspace
💡Browsers
💡Market Share
💡Open Source
💡Browser Wars
💡Rust
💡Serenity OS
💡Ladybird
💡W3C Spec
💡Consolidation of Power
💡Convex
Highlights
The worldwide web is considered a critical pillar of human civilization.
John Perry Barlow described cyberspace as the new home of the mind in his Declaration of Independence of cyberspace.
The freedom on the web has led to the failure of governments, creation of new millionaires, and viral internet sensations.
An existential threat to the openness of the web is the dominance of web browsers controlled by a single entity.
The browser market is largely dominated by Google, with Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox accounting for over 90% of market share.
Browsers are a critical point of control over the internet, with potential for misuse if controlled by a single entity.
Open source browsers like Firefox and Arc are gaining popularity as alternatives to dominant browser technologies.
Two new open source browsers, Verso and Blitz, built in Rust, are trending in the browser market.
Ladybird, a futuristic open source browser, is being developed as an independent project separate from major browser technologies.
Andreas Clling, the creator of Ladybird, built his own operating system, Serenity OS, from scratch.
Serenity OS was named after the Serenity Prayer, reflecting the project's philosophy of acceptance and change.
Ladybird browser development is funded by sponsorships and donations, emphasizing a lack of financial incentives.
The Ladybird project aims to provide a browser that is entirely free and not borrowing from other browsers.
Convex, a Firebase alternative, is highlighted as a sponsor of the video and an innovative project in app development.
Convex offers a full-stack development solution with typescript, providing type safety and autocomplete features.
The first alpha version of Ladybird is not expected until summer 2026, indicating a long development timeline.
Building a web browser from scratch is complex, with browser engines needing to follow the constantly evolving W3C spec.
The Ladybird developers have created their own HTML and JS engines, named libHTML and lijs, and are using established tools like FFmpeg.
The development cycle of Ladybird is in its initial phase, focusing on making the browser work before optimizing it.
The effort to create Ladybird, regardless of market share, contributes to reducing the consolidation of power on the internet.
The video concludes by emphasizing the importance of open source projects like Ladybird in maintaining internet freedom.
Transcripts
the worldwide web is arguably the most
critical pillar of human civilization
today John Perry Barlo called it
cyberspace the new home of the Mind in
his Declaration of Independence of
cyberspace he said we are creating a
world where anyone anywhere May Express
his or her beliefs no matter how
singular without fear of being coerced
into silence or Conformity freedom on
the web has caused governments to fail
it's minted millions of new Millionaires
and has allowed this one humble cat to
be viewed trillions of times but there's
an existential threat to this openness
we tap into cyberspace via web browsers
with chrome Safari Edge and Firefox
accounting for over 90% of the market
share all these browsers Share
technology or funding controlled by
Google thank God Google's not evil but
hypothetically if it was evil it could
pull its resources to exterminate all
cap memes from the internet as a society
we can't allow that to happen and
luckily there's someone actually doing
something about it it is August 12 2024
and you're watching the code report he
who controls the spice controls the
universe but he who controls the browser
controls the Internet you may not
realize it but the browser Wars are
raging right now Firefox just launched
tabs managed in the sidebar which was
already supported on the increasingly
popular Arc browser but as we speak two
separate open source browsers built in
Rust are trending right now Verso which
is built with the servo engine and Blitz
a super minimal web renderer but I want
to talk about something even more
ambitious a futuristic open source
browser called ladybird in October 2018
Andreas clling a software engineer who
worked on webkit at Apple and Nokia had
just gotten out of a 3-month Swedish
rehab program and was unemployed and
bored and when smart people like him get
bored and don't have access to drugs
they start doing extreme things like
when he built his own operating system
to use as a daily driver that included a
1990s guey with a late 2000s Unix CLI
everything from the colonel to the web
browser had to be made from scratch and
this is how Serenity OS was born which
is named after the Serenity Prayer God
grant me the serenity to accept the
things I cannot change the courage to
change the things I can and the wisdom
to know the difference on July 4th 2022
the serenity OS browser engine declared
its independence as a cross-platform
project and now a full web browser it
was renamed ladybird over a th000
contributors half a million lines of C++
code and two years later Andreas joined
forces with one of the GitHub
co-founders to form a nonprofit to
manage the browser believing the way to
not have bad incentives is to have no
incentives the project is funded
entirely by sponsorships and donations
and most importantly the code is
entirely free and won't borrow from
other browsers and that's a big contrast
even to privacy focused browsers like
Brave which is for-profit and built on
top of Google's chromium but speaking of
tools that are free and open source
another incredible project you need to
know about is convex the one true
Firebase alternative and sponsor of
today's video as an app developer it
allows you to make one decision for your
back end by providing schedule job
server functions database queries and
file storage all in pure typescript and
that gives us this beautiful trcp style
autocomplete and type safety across the
entire stack in addition convex delivers
an acid compliant database with
optimized caching and optional schema
enforcement but without the pain points
of SQL like migrations and ORS and like
a true Firebase alternative you can get
automatic real-time subscriptions on all
database queries use the link on the
screen to build a project for free right
now seriously convex is an awesome
project but now let's get back to
ladybird and talk about the
disappointing part the first Alpha
version for Linux and Mac OS isn't
expected until the summer of 2026 and
you'll probably die of old age by the
time the windows version comes out the
good news is that you can play around
with the code and build it from Source
on GitHub but building a web browser
from scratch is extremely complex and
the general consensus is that it's
impossible to pull off in order for web
developers to build websites with their
half-ass HTML CSS and JavaScript code
browser engines need to follow the w3c
spec which contains over4 million words
and it constantly evolves with new
features that raise the barrier to entry
it's not a project you build in a
weekend by pring chat GPT the developers
have already built their own HTML and JS
engines creatively named lib HTML and
lijs and are leveraging established
tools like FFM Peg for videos in
software development the cycle goes from
make it work to make it good to make it
faster and they're very much in phase
one of the cycle making a web browser
ain't easy but it's honest work
regardless of the market share ladybird
gets we all benefit from them trying
because the consolidation of power on
the Internet is only getting worse and
who knows maybe one day it'll be our
last hope to smuggle dank cap memes in
and out of cyberspace this has been the
code report thanks for watching and I
will see you in the next one
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