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Here is the official description of what BrowserPlus is:
Yahoo! BrowserPlus is software that extends the capabilities of your web browser to make richer web experiences possible. Different websites can use BrowserPlus to support things like drag and drop from the desktop, easier file uploads, more efficient and secure acquisition of feeds and information, and native desktop notifications. BrowserPlus is a technology designed to "extend the web," so that developers can build more exciting web applications and so end-users can get more done inside their web browser.
So, how about security? Here is Yahoo's official stance.
* All BrowserPlus updates are signed and verified by Yahoo! so you can trust their authenticity. Updates are never applied without your approval.
* If a security issue is found in a service we can quickly deactivate it so it can't be exploited by malicious sites. Also, seamless updates mean quick and easy fixes for everyone.
* We respect the web security precedent set by browser developers. We never let sites have access to your data or resources unless you approve it.
Well, the functionality of the 3 demos is obviously very cool and their public documentation of the other APIs that will be offered will include things like Notify for desktop alerts, PStore for persistent storage, and a RubyInterpreter which will allow for the use of Ruby rather than JavaScript for coding with BrowserPlus.
But, the whole security aspect is still pretty scary to me.
Please post your comments as I would love to know how the RIA community feels about this new step forward in RIA technology.
You thoughts echo mine Rich. Security will be a big issue here. I don't believe that Yahoo has fully addressed all of my concerns yet - but it will be cool to see where it goes!
While cool, I also question the whole security model. What is Yahoo!'s signing and verification process exactly anyways? Do they sign and verify every update to an application as well?
I do think it is kind of cool, though, and could very well fill the middle ground between a restricted experience in the browser, and open ended Java applets which tends to scare off web developers and end users.
Great, Google releases Gears and Yahoo does this. The whole point is to aim for a more level development environment, not an increasingly fragmented one...
Yes Greg but competition leads to innovation so sit back and enjoy the show.
well the fact is, security has, and always will be a concern, so what has changed?
the question here is how much do they respect their user? and how much control/privicy does this grant the user?