I was surprised he mentioned Javascript in the same breath as images. While turning it off should take a little bit of effort from the user (since the result is non-obvious) it is a mandatory part of a web browser, since you may not trust the websites you are going to.
How many users turn off JavaScript when visiting an untrusted site? I for one never have in over 15 years.
And if you did turn it off, and the site doesn't work, what do you do? Read the source code and look for malicious JavaScript? Your down to the 0.0001%.
Extension.
Re:Checkboxes that kill your product
by redblacktree on Monday March 18, 2013 @03:13PM
(#5396466)
I run with javascript off full-time, except for a whitelist. I use Chrome's basic settings to do this (not a plug-in). It's actually really handy, since most sites don't really need javascript to serve their purpose. It has made reading news online much more enjoyable. I find that on a majority of sites, javascript is used only to serve ads or pop up annoying "join our useless mailing list" dialogs.
Agreed. Apple AFAIK allow the user to disable JavaScript in the iOS Safari options http://osxdaily.com/2012/11/18/disable-javascript-safari-ios... and Android browsers have the option too. Maybe the browser designers know something the article writer doesn't: enough people need the option and are smart enough to understand the consequences.
You're the 2% who needs to install add-ons.
But why should I have to install an addon? This is something already built in to the browser, in all honesty, if you removed a feature I used frequently then told me to go elsewhere to re-download it, I would be going elsewhere to download some software and the software would be Google Chrome.
You already know why it should be in an add-on: because your use case is a rare one, and rare features for particular audiences don't belong in the main browser UI.
There are some fields where "But it's traditional," is a reasonable response to a proposed change. But software isn't really one of them.
I'd like to know on where the notion that removing features used by only a fraction of the user base is what should be done comes from ?
It is brandished right and left as if obvious, but it is never explained.
Consider all the possible features that 1% of the userbase wants. Are you saying they all should be included?
Re:Checkboxes that kill your product
by king_jester on Monday March 18, 2013 @02:07PM
(#5395999)
So the solution for someone with expensive bandwidth limitations is to download additional software on top of the software they already downloaded just to configure a setting that was already inside of the first download?
Yes and if you want to browse more securely with Javascript turned off, you should also download a 3rd party add-on from unknown developer that will do this for you ;-)
No he/she is the 2% that need to touch the advanced settings tab.
(Although, this says more about the state of wireless internet fees, 15GB for £15, then £100 per GB after that, ridiculous!)