Ask HN: Is a P2P browser possible?

Re:Ask HN: Is a P2P browser possible? by cup-of-tea on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @08:41AM (#15905475)

Browsers already are peer-to-peer, but they make the connection through a packet-switched network (the internet). I think that you are getting at is decentalisation. This is absolutely possible. In fact, the Internet was specifically designed for it.

The problem you'll run into is physical infrastructure. At some point you can't escape the fact that you need to transmit packets over a great distance. This infrastructure comes at great cost and is best distributed and shared amongst everyone much like the highways.

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Re:Ask HN: Is a P2P browser possible? by pbhjpbhj on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:17AM (#15905665)

I wouldn't describe client-server as p2p.

Opera created a peer-to-peer browser not long before going under, Unite IIRC. The browser was both a client and server, you had a virtual fridge to put messages and photos on, could open folders on your computer to any subset of your chosen peers, etc..

I was really excited about the prospects it seemed to offer; I blogged about it at the time, http://alicious.com/opera-about-to-change-the-world/.

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Re:Ask HN: Is a P2P browser possible? by zaphirplane on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:30AM (#15905761)

You mean point to point? a browser connecting to a server is not a peer connecting to a peer, a browser’s peer is another browser type or some non server in loose language

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