Why NetNewsWire is Not a Web App

My computer is not a terminal. It’s a world I get to control, and I can use — and, especially, make — whatever I want. I’m not stuck using just what’s provided to me on some other machines elsewhere: I’m not dialing into a mainframe or doing the modern equivalent of using only websites that other people control.

A world where everything is on the web and nothing is on the machines that we own is a sad world where we’ve lost a core freedom.

I want to preserve that freedom. I like making apps that show the value of that freedom.

I love how Brent Simmons describes his feelings about his computer here. This describes what I also find to be something deeply important to me.

I think this article pairs well with my previous post. Here, Brent is reacting to ICEBlock getting removed from app stores. One way to prevent a subset of enshittification is to use software where you retain complete control over your data. The problem is that Apple and Google are gatekeepers for software that runs on their platforms and they fight hard to maintain that position, especially Apple.*

The Web remains a powerful open alternative to proprietary mobile platforms. However, as a developer, the Web has some considerable downsides. Mainly the developer becomes responsible for any user data hosted on their servers, both in financial and legal terms.

Earlier this year I contemplated building something in the RSS reader space. I even got as far as creating a prototype Web app that I self host and use pretty much every day. The issue of Web vs Mobile app is one thing I got stuck on when thinking about how I could take what I built and make it a available to others. Ideally, I wouldn’t have needed to host any server based components which would have defaulted me into building a native Mobile app. But this held little appeal due to needing to learn native development or at least selecting a cross platform Web based technology like React Native, which maybe would have been fine but then I’d still be stuck with the app store for distribution. For something like an RSS reader, it felt important to me that it be a available to anyone with a connection to the Web, which eliminates the app store model. There’s many reasons why I didn’t take this project further, but not having a good answer here is one of them.

One thing I didn’t try but do want to come back to is the progressive Web app approach. In this model, my app would utilize the browser for any data storage needs and I’d the only thing my server would be responsible for is distributing the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code for my app. This would be ideal but I’m not sure all the major browsers are in a place with data storage that my app would have functioned as intended. But this is an area I need to do more research on to fully understand the capabilities and limitations.

*: Google is better than Apple here as they allow you to install apps you’ve downloaded including open app stores like FDroid. I hope Apple moves in this direction as well.

Cory Doctorow: Way Past It’s Prime: How Did Amazon Get So Rubbish?

But this is wrong. There are meaningful differences between the internet as it stands today – the enshitternet – and the old, good internet we once had. The enshitternet is a source of pain, precarity and immiseration for the people we love. The indignities of harassment, scams, disinformation, surveillance, wage theft, extraction and rent-seeking have always been with us, but they were a minor sideshow on the old, good internet and they are the everything and all of the enshitternet.

Not because the internet is the most important issue facing us today. Far from it. Compared with the climate emergency, genocide, inequality, corruption, democratic backsliding, authoritarianism and sustained racist, homophobic, misogynist and transphobic attacks, the internet is just a sideshow. But the internet is the terrain upon which these fights will be waged.

I find Cory Doctorow’s writing on the enshittification (and I love this term so much!) of the Internet to be very insightful. The part of the article quoted here feels important to me. I think he’s right. The Internet itself is not the primary concern. But it is the medium that we will depend upon to fight for progress on the issues of primary concern. So, it’ll be important to keep at least slices of the Internet open and unenshittified.

Finished reading: Electrify by Saul Griffith 📚

jwz: Netscape Navigator 2.0 was released 30 years ago today

Wow, 30 years! I always enjoy jwz’s posts on the history of Netscape. Unfortunately for me, I’m of an age where I was spending a lot of time online during the Netscape 4.0 era, which I do remember not liking. Now I know why it sucked.

Happy first day of Fall! 🍂🍂

As someone not from the Atlanta area, I find fall to be different here in an interesting way. It’s as if you took the fall I’m used to and spread it out over nearly 3 months. Instead of all the trees turning colors and dropping their leaves in relative synchronicity, here different types of trees go through this cycle on separate paces. I notice some trees have color or have dropped leaves while others are totally green still. I do enjoy that the fall season here lasts so long! We’ve got a good while yet before winter weather will be here.

Happy 30 years to Hackers!

Escaping the chains of tethered products: the Juice Rescue project - J. Nathan Matias

Interesting article about rescuing EV chargers that were about to be bricked by the manufacturer.

Some news: I’ve started a job as a staff software engineer at EnergyHub! You can read more about it here.

While reading about the end of AOL, I came across a few interesting bits:

AOL started as Quantum Link for the Commodore 64.

Check out this demo of the interface:

And take a look at these photos from the Hayes modem manufacturer office. I had no idea they were located in Atlanta!

Goodbye, AOL!

AOL was my ISP for a good chunk of my childhood, and AIM was a huge part of my life in high school and college.

Ars Technica: AOL announces September shutdown for dial-up Internet access

A few photos from a recent trip to coastal Maine.

If you are an Apple computer nerd, you need to check out this masterpiece that showcases the evolution of the settings/control panel over time, complete with interactive emulators!

aresluna.org/frame-of-…

Finished reading: I, Robot by Isaac Asimov 📚

The book is structured as a series of short stories told by someone who is being interviewed by a reporter. I did not expect this setup (probably because of the movie)! Most of the stories I enjoyed, some I could have skipped. Overall a good read.

One year ago today, I arrived in London for the start of my Europe Train Adventure. Glad I blogged about it so now I can relive the experience!

Finished reading: Earthlight by Arthur C. Clarke 📚

Really enjoyed this classic! I need to read more Clarke.

Memphis Behind Other Cities in Data Center Legislation - 512 Pixels

I’m glad Stephen is reporting on the ongoing situation with xAI’s data center in his hometown of Memphis and I hope that Memphis can find some way to protect the environment and its citizens. I’m a fan of what was done in Atlanta:

The Atlanta City Council voted Tuesday, Sept. 3, to ban data centers along and near the Atlanta BeltLine and within a half-mile of MARTA stations.

Currently reading: Coders at Work by Peter Seibel 📚

Finished the first chapter which interviews JWZ and I’m really enjoying it so far! It’s fun to listen to JWZ tell his story and approach to programming. I think there’s some similarity in how we approach writing code so it was fun to hear what his work was like at Netscape and other places he’s worked in the early days of the Web.

Took a long e-bike ride on the Withlacoochee State Trail in Florida.

Finished reading: In Defence of Food by Michael Pollan 📚

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