Infrequently Noted
Infrequently Noted
Alex Russell
My blog discusses browsers, web standards, web performance, and how they relate to the competition between the web and native app ecosystems.
Latest Posts
Frances has urged me for years to collect resources for folks getting into performance and platform-oriented web development. The effort has always seemed daunting, but the lack of such a list came up again at work, prompting me to take...
Before saying anything else, I'd like to thank the organisers of JSNation for inviting to speak in Amsterdam. I particularly appreciate the folks who were brave enough to disagree at the Q&A sessions afterwards. Engaged debate about...
At Apple's annual developer marketing conference, the Safari team announced a sizeable set of features that will be available in a few months. Substantially all of them are already shipped in leading-edge browsers. Here's the list,...
Over the past decade, my work has centred on partnering with teams to build ambitious products for the web across both desktop and mobile. This has provided a ring-side seat to a sweeping variety of teams, products, and technology stacks...
This post is an edited and expanded version of a now-mangled Mastodon thread. ContentsPlatforms Are Competitions...and We're LosingWin ConditionYou Do It To Yourself, And That's What Really HurtsGroundhog DayReboot Some in the JavaScript...
Other posts in the series: Reckoning: Part 1 — The Landscape Reckoning: Part 2 — Object Lesson Reckoning: Part 3 — Caprock Frontend took ill with a bad case of JavaScript fever at the worst possible moment. The predictable consequence is...
Other posts in the series: Reckoning: Part 1 — The Landscape Reckoning: Part 2 — Object Lesson Reckoning: Part 4 — The Way Out ContentsComplexity PerplexityCarrying CapacityShould This Be An SPA?The PitsAftermath Last time, we looked at...
Other posts in the series: Reckoning: Part 1 — The Landscape Reckoning: Part 3 — Caprock Reckoning: Part 4 — The Way Out ContentsThe Golden WaitThe Truth Is In The TraceZip ItNear PeersBlimeyJavaScript MasshatteryMaryland Enters The...
Instead of an omnibus mega-post, this investigation into JavaScript-first frontend culture and how it broke US public services has been released in four parts. Other posts in the series: Reckoning: Part 2 — Object Lesson Reckoning: Part...
The W3C Technical Architecture Group1 is out with a blog post and an updated Finding regarding Google's recent announcement that it will not be imminently removing third-party cookies. The current TAG members are competent technologists...
There are only two-and-a-half reasons to build a browser, and they couldn't be more different in intent and outcome, even when they look superficially similar. Learning to tell the difference is helpful for browser project managers and...
Update: OWA is out with an open letter appealing to Apple to do better. If you care about the future of the web, I encourage you to sign it, particularly if you live in the EU or build products for the common market. After weeks of...
The global device and network situation continues to evolve, and this series is an effort to provide an an up-to-date understanding for working web developers. So what's changed since last year? And how much HTML, CSS, and (particularly)...
The tech news is chockablock1 with antitrust rumblings and slow-motion happenings. Eagle-eyed press coverage, regulatory reports, and legal discovery have comprehensively documented the shady dealings of Apple and Google's app stores....
If you're a web developer not living under a rock, you probably saw last week's big Safari 16.4 reveal. There's much to cheer, but we need to talk about why this mega-release is happening now, and what it means for the future....