Re: SimpleWebKit (was GNUstep Web browser (was Re: WebKit Bounty))

[Mark Rowe]

On 03/23/07, "hns@computer.org" <hns@computer.org> said:

> And: where would Linux or GNUstep or Gecko or IE or WebKit be now if
> they had followed your recommendations? We would still all use BSD and
> Netscape 1.0. Period.

Gecko, IE, and WebKit all have commercial backing.  KHTML, prior to 
Apple's involvement, had a very insubstantial market share and suffered 
from one of the problems I alluded to earlier: great standards support, 
but poor real-world compatibility.  This is still true to a small 
extent with Webkit and has been a big area of focus.  GNUstep is still 
an incredibly niche platform, and it could be argued that Linux has 
only headed in the direction of the mainstream when commercial backing 
became common.

> How do you know before you have done it? Can you predict the future?
> And has the pure number of developers ever been an indicator for
> project success?

You don't know, but the web isn't going to sit still for the next two 
or three years while a fledgling browser catches up.  The Internet is 
becoming a central part of the computer experience, and many new 
technologies are being introduced to meet needs as the arise.  Keeping 
up with the start of the art takes work.

- Mark