Alex Russell

Alex Russell's avatar
Alex Russell
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Trying to make the web work for *everyone*. https://infrequently.org/about-me/ Still not speaking for my employer, lo these many years. Blog: https://infrequently.org Currently: Microsoft Edge Previously: Chrome, Project Fugu 🐡, PWAs, W3C TAG, Web Components, TC39 & ES6, Chrome Frame, Dojo Also: Making nostr:npub1mmnggrncp2h9pscpfp7chmj08v2w93v4hz3qut3xjjk92c2vyz3qul4juk tea ☕
The Verge is actually doing it. Actually connecting the dots between the fascistic tendencies of app stores with the profit motives of their proprietors. FINALLY. The open web has been roadkill in the profit games the mobile duopoly has set up, muscled out of view with policies and choices that were designed to leave no fingerprints. But we can all see it clearly now:
Americans on the left of fascism need to internalize that this [ gestures expansively] is why staying out of the ICC and international law with teeth is terrible for the US. These people would not be doing this shit if they truly feared consequences.
A conversation with an incredibly technical friend last night made it clear to me that the biggest change in computing of the last 15 years eludes the SV blob: most client devices are slow, low-end Androids with *incredible*, *up-to-date* browsers.
Frontend is failing. 75% of devices with browsers are smartphones, but not even half of sites pass Core Web Vitals on them. Why not? Too much JavaScript, added to indulge SPA fantasies the data is falsifying in real time:
Inspired by perfnow.nl, I've dusted off drafts of my network and device situation analysis. Good news/bad news: devices and networks are improving, but web page payloads are swelling. The result is predictable: the web is usable for the wealthy, but less so for everyone else. This is an ethical crisis for frontend: