Matthew Lang

Chrome’s continued dominance of the web now puts it in the same position as Internet Explorer all those years ago. “It works on Chrome” is the new “It work on IE”. I’d like to think though that most web developers out there don’t just build for the one browser.

Reda Lemeden’s post, “We Need Chrome No More”, sums up this change.

The dominance of Chrome has a major detrimental effect on the Web as an open platform: developers are increasingly shunning other browsers in their testing and bug-fixing routines. If it works as intended on Chrome, it’s ready to ship. This in turn results in more users flocking to the browser as their favorite Web sites and apps no longer work elsewhere, making developers less likely to spend time testing on other browsers. A vicious cycle that, if not broken, will result in most other browsers disappearing in the oblivion of irrelevance. And that’s exactly how you suffocate the open Web.

— We need Chrome no more

While I can see Reda’s point, I don’t think that the developer’s building for the one browser is as big a problem. I’ll be honest, it’s been a while since I visited a website that only worked in Chrome.

For me, the problem isn’t so much that Chrome is the most popular browser, it’s the organisation behind the browser and how they integrate features into that browser that support how they use data and ads to make profits.

Switching to another browser is one answer to this problem, but perhaps there’s also another answer.

For Google to change as an organisation.

That sounds like a pipedream, and even looking back at that sentence, it just seems ridiculous. I’ll leave it though because even the most ridiculous of ideas can still happen.

It would be “one permanent, comprehensive home where anyone in Britain can get all of our library content - both the ITV and BBC library - in one place and they can watch it anytime, anywhere,” Dame Carolyn told Today.

— BBC and ITV set to launch Netflix rival

An attempt by the two big broadcasters in the UK to build a streaming service to rival Netflix seems like a lost cause to me. Streaming services are global, so any attempt to compete with the likes of Netflix and even YouTube is a going to be a massive task for the new streaming service.

In our home, we’re not big watchers of either of these channels. For us, other streaming services and cable channels replaced the BBC and ITV a long time ago. This isn’t representative of the UK as a whole, but I’m sure that there are plenty of other households like this.

I think the BritBox might just be too little, too late.

What’s better than one Star Wars trailer for one movie? How about a Star Wars trailer for all ten movies!

Hat-tip to Jason Kottke for this one.

Whether you believe the fable about boiling frogs or not, it looks like we’re becoming a world of slowly boiled frogs.

Researchers, led by Frances Moore, professor of environmental science and policy at University of California-Davis, analyzed 2 billion tweets published between March 2014 and November 2016, to determine when people turn to Twitter to talk about the weather. Unsurprisingly, they found that there are far more weather-related tweets during unusual conditions, such as an exceptionally hot day in March or one in September that’s far colder than normal. But, they found that there was significantly less Twitter chatter when historically unusual weather conditions repeated within a few years. If a country experiences exceptionally cold weather for more than five years in a row, these conditions were no longer considered remarkable. And, overall, people’s perceptions of normal weather are based on by experiences from the past two to eight years.

— Humans are “boiling frogs,” slowly getting used to climate-change temperatures

Will we recognise the danger and do something about it, or will we accept our changing environment while we being slowly cooked?

A massive milestone for the team shooter. 30 characters to choose from and still going strong.

Blizzard’s team shooter Overwatch is hitting a major milestone today with the official unveiling of Baptiste, the game’s 30th hero. Baptiste is a support character described as a “combat medic” who uses an array of gadgets to aid his team in battle. That includes a device called an immortality field that prevents nearby allies from dying, healing grenades, and Baptiste’s ultimate ability, described as “a matrix that doubles the damage and healing effects of friendly projectiles that pass through it.” The reveal follows a few days of teasing, including a short trailer yesterday.

— Overwatch’s 30th hero Baptiste is here to shake things up

Fortnite might be stealing the spotlight across the globe, but for me, Overwatch is a better and more enjoyable game to play. At first, I was sceptical about the game. As I watched my son playing it, I couldn’t make out what was going on. I succumbed though, and now I’m a long-term fan of the game.

Games are facing an exciting time. With continual updates, games can now have a longer shelf life. Sounds excellent and while Blizzard is executing this plan nicely, there are others that I think aren’t doing so well.

Fornite might be a worldwide sensation, but I think it’s already under-attack from copycat clones. How long can they fend them off?

EA started launched Star Wars Battlefront 2 late in 2017 and quickly found out that their loot box monetisation was very unpopular with gamers as well as the progression system. I don’t think the game has recovered since then. Sure it’s an okay game, and yes I did buy it, but I definitely think it has had its day. It seems that every other week there’s some kind of points promotion to get people to play. And don’t get me started on the unlimited heroes in a game.

Blizzard though has slowly improved the Overwatch game since it’s release and remains as enjoyable as it was on the day that I first played it.

Will we get to 40 characters in the game? That might be a push, but I’ll keep on playing and being a fan in the meantime.