>From the current HTML-Goodies newsletter:
No one has ever asked me what I want in a browser.
If anyone ever did, I'd probably say something like
this:
I want the BACK, FORWARD, STOP, etc., buttons moveable.
I want them on the right side actually. It would be
better if they weren't there at all yet would pop up
when I called for them. Yes, I know that I can get
somewhat the same effect by right clicking, but I would
like the buttons to be a little control panel so I can
move it where I want - or have it appear when I want.
I feel the same way about the location bar. Give me
the ability to lose it and pop it up when I want it.
I want the text of the page to come in right away no
matter if the author has used the HEIGHT and WIDTH
attributes or not.
I want the main window to be seen as a main window.
All pop-up windows should pop behind the parent
window. I don't want to see them either. Don't show
me a quick outline and then put the window around the
back - just do it.
In addition, don't put a second window tab in the
taskbar unless I drag and drop it down there. After
an hour of surfing, I don't want fifty tiny tabs at
the bottom of my screen.
I would like to be able to see a running tab of the
cookies as they are delivered. I think I should be
able to open a little window that will show the header
from the cookies being placed. I should also be able
to erase the cookies quickly and easily. I should also
be able to stop individual or all cookies quickly and
easily. It's a darn fight to find the options now.
I would like a button that, with one click, I can erase
absolutely every trace of where I've been or what pages
I've visited. Also - when I erase a cookie, erase it.
Don't keep a second copy in a "Temporary Internet Files"
folder.
I would like an option to set the entire screen to black
and white before I print it.
Speaking of printing, I would like a button that loses
all of the images straight away so I can get a quick
text-only printable page.
I would really like it if browsers were allowed to
"borrow" from another. I am so sick of one browser
doing something that another won't. If I have both
browsers on the computer, let them talk to one another
so that if my Netscape can't run something but my
Internet Explorer can, then let it happen. Something
as simple as a rollover should work in all browsers.
This will never happen of course but hey...this is my
wish list.
I should be able to "dumb-down" the browser to a text-
only browser with one easy click.
I should be able to turn off all error messages with one
click. The system should be set up so that if an error
occurs, the browser ignores the code and simply displays
the page.
I should be able to say no to all download requests before
they come up. One "no" should stop all of them.
Furthermore, if requests do occur, then I should be able to
see a listing of those requests made in a file kept by the
browser. I can see the file now, one Comet Cursor install
request after another after another.
I would like my favorites list and "home" selection
locked up tight. They should never be able to be altered
by any page or site. Period.
I would like a file to be set up so that, with the click
of a button, I can fill out basic, name, address, and phone
forms.
I would like to be able to turn off that "click" every time
a page changes or a choice is made without having to turn
off my speakers.
I want the browser to be able to resize elements so that
the page "fits" into whatever format I set for the browser
width. Furthermore, I would like to be able to go from a
landscape to a portrait format and not have any horizontal
scrollbars. That way I could see more of fairly long
pages without scrolling. It's the resizing thing though.
The page should be seen as a single image that is all
scaled down as one item to fit the parameters.
How about that? I've not heard any new browsers proclaim
any of these suggestions. Yes, I know I can get some of
them right now, but not as easily as I would like to.
I'm sure you personally have even more suggestions for a
new browser. Has anyone ever asked what you want?
I'm sure that Netscape and Microsoft perform some kind
of research before putting out a new browser product, but
I wonder if it's enough. After all the browser are for
users not for programmers. How many "normal" surfers
are consulted before putting together the structure of a
new browser? I don't know.
I look upon new browsers much like I do the People's
Choice Awards.
No one ever asked me what I thought yet the little
statuettes were handed out anyway.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
That's that. Thanks for reading this day's rant.
Joe Burns, Ph.D.
And remember: The sound "ee" is apparently familiar to
a cat. Research has shown that naming a cat something
that ends in the "ee" sound will help the cat to more
quickly learn the name. No doubt a big government grant
went to funding that research. I have two cats, Mardi,
and Chloe. Both names end in "ee" and both the cats
respond to their names. Of course they also respond to
my shaking the cat treat box but I didn't see any research
done one that.
