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You could not watch Netflix on Linux until Chrome came along. You also didn't have very good security from browser exploits until Chrome. Chrome also made the

You could not watch Netflix on Linux until Chrome came along. You also didn't have very good security from browser exploits until Chrome. Chrome also made the web significantly faster to use. Chrome was critical in unblocking the use of Linux on desktop.

belter 1y ago
Al Capone did a lot of good on his neighborhood...
- mensetmanusman 1y ago
  Chrome didn’t murder anyone
  - belter 1y ago
    Neither did Al Capone
    - NetOpWibby 1y ago
      Now that’s a mic drop moment
lukan 1y ago
"Chrome was critical in unblocking the use of Linux on desktop." Sure, but it was about more people using the internet in general. The very small minority using linux desktop (hello, I am among them) could and did use the internet before chrome. And from a technical point of view, I do love chrome dev tools. But that is besides the point.
- mopenstein 1y ago
  Isn't Android Linux based? The development of chrome on desktop Linux have any benefits for mobile Linux?
  - lukan 1y ago
    The other way around. "development of chrome on desktop Linux have any benefits for mobile Linux?" Android is the big market, that gets prime support. Otherwise android and linux desktop just share the kernel (and not even the same one). So the developement of chrome on android probably makes it a bit easier to target linux desktop, but not much. (I still don't have WebGPU on my linux desktop but since quite a while on my old android phone)
  - Izkata 1y ago
    Dolphin Browser was the go-to in the late 2000s for Android.
ndriscoll 1y ago
I've been using exclusively Linux on the desktop for almost 10 years now. If there was an unblocker, it was wine/Proton, or for laptops, NetworkManager (I remember having a bit of difficulty configuring wpa_supplicant for my university in 2008). I don't even have Chrome/Chromium. Linux on the desktop is enough of a niche/bubble still that it wouldn't surprise me if a large number of other users don't have Chrome either (e.g. I don't use or care about services with DRM, and have it disabled in my browser). Honestly besides flexbox and TLS updates I'm not sure I know of anything useful that's been added to browsers in the last 20 years.
- NetOpWibby 1y ago
  +1 for Wine, I didn’t bother with Linux until Wine showed up.
  - mananaysiempre 1y ago
    Uh, Wine showed up in June of 1993[1], a full month before the first official release of Windows NT. Not necessarily in a usable form, mind you, but even now the usability is heavily dependent on what specific software you are trying to emulate. [1] https://gitlab.winehq.org/wine/wine/-/commit/2c25c3e9442c69bd2402f94f264f0aafa58b00e0 https://gitlab.winehq.org/wine/wine/-/commit/2c25c3e9442c69b...
- lukan 1y ago
  "Honestly besides flexbox and TLS updates I'm not sure I know of anything useful that's been added to browsers in the last 20 years." Wasm and webgl/webGPU are really useful for anything performance related.
  - raudette 1y ago
    Yeah - I think the big problems are solved, and then you start moving into more and more niche cases. I really love being able to flash firmware on ESP32 devices with webserial! The use of USB authentication devices (FIDO2) is also interesting.
  - 1y ago
korse 1y ago
This is the first time I've heard a dedicated Linux desktop user complaining about the inability to watch paid streaming content. What is the world coming to! \o/

belter 1y ago

Al Capone did a lot of good on his neighborhood...

mensetmanusman 1y ago
Chrome didn’t murder anyone
- belter 1y ago
  Neither did Al Capone
  - NetOpWibby 1y ago
    Now that’s a mic drop moment

lukan 1y ago

"Chrome was critical in unblocking the use of Linux on desktop." Sure, but it was about more people using the internet in general. The very small minority using linux desktop (hello, I am among them) could and did use the internet before chrome. And from a technical point of view, I do love chrome dev tools. But that is besides the point.

mopenstein 1y ago
Isn't Android Linux based? The development of chrome on desktop Linux have any benefits for mobile Linux?
- lukan 1y ago
  The other way around. "development of chrome on desktop Linux have any benefits for mobile Linux?" Android is the big market, that gets prime support. Otherwise android and linux desktop just share the kernel (and not even the same one). So the developement of chrome on android probably makes it a bit easier to target linux desktop, but not much. (I still don't have WebGPU on my linux desktop but since quite a while on my old android phone)
- Izkata 1y ago
  Dolphin Browser was the go-to in the late 2000s for Android.

ndriscoll 1y ago

I've been using exclusively Linux on the desktop for almost 10 years now. If there was an unblocker, it was wine/Proton, or for laptops, NetworkManager (I remember having a bit of difficulty configuring wpa_supplicant for my university in 2008). I don't even have Chrome/Chromium. Linux on the desktop is enough of a niche/bubble still that it wouldn't surprise me if a large number of other users don't have Chrome either (e.g. I don't use or care about services with DRM, and have it disabled in my browser). Honestly besides flexbox and TLS updates I'm not sure I know of anything useful that's been added to browsers in the last 20 years.

NetOpWibby 1y ago
+1 for Wine, I didn’t bother with Linux until Wine showed up.
- mananaysiempre 1y ago
  Uh, Wine showed up in June of 1993[1], a full month before the first official release of Windows NT. Not necessarily in a usable form, mind you, but even now the usability is heavily dependent on what specific software you are trying to emulate. [1] https://gitlab.winehq.org/wine/wine/-/commit/2c25c3e9442c69bd2402f94f264f0aafa58b00e0 https://gitlab.winehq.org/wine/wine/-/commit/2c25c3e9442c69b...
lukan 1y ago
"Honestly besides flexbox and TLS updates I'm not sure I know of anything useful that's been added to browsers in the last 20 years." Wasm and webgl/webGPU are really useful for anything performance related.
- raudette 1y ago
  Yeah - I think the big problems are solved, and then you start moving into more and more niche cases. I really love being able to flash firmware on ESP32 devices with webserial! The use of USB authentication devices (FIDO2) is also interesting.
- 1y ago

korse 1y ago

This is the first time I've heard a dedicated Linux desktop user complaining about the inability to watch paid streaming content. What is the world coming to! \o/