I’ve to say I’m not a selected fan of internet browser plugins. Once I consider them I’m usually reminded of the “golden age” of plugins the place you needed to set up RealPlayer, Home windows Media Participant or QuickTime to look at a video. Or putting in Flash or Shockwave for some type clunky interactive graphic, or putting in Java Applets to run a sport comparable to Runescape, which admittedly, is the place I’ll make an exception as Runescape was the place to be within the early 2000s. Most depressingly was putting in Adobe Acrobat Reader to learn some PDF.
Since then I haven’t bothered a lot with plugins, the one frequent plugins I’ve put in is adblocker and a few developer instruments to examine cookies, run a fundamental accessibility verify or a web site efficiency checker. I haven’t actually had the necessity to trouble with plugins.
Nevertheless I’m discovering that want altering quickly, not as a result of I’ve out of the blue found a brand new love for the world of browser add-ons, however as a result of I’m discovering the net is feeling damaged.
The fixed barrage of cookie consent messages, pop-up adverts, non-skippable video adverts, a mismatch of web site experiences, poorly designed UI’s like video gamers are all getting a bit an excessive amount of.
Even Apple has slowly however certainly realised how damaged the net is, they launched iCloud Non-public Relay to try to forestall cross-site monitoring. Earlier than that they launched a reader expertise to take away all the gunk across the article and make it truly doable to learn the net web page as supposed. This yr they launched a “cover distracting objects” choice to take away annoying components from the web site for good.
The query is, are we coming into a brand new “golden age” of plugins and browser add-ons that improve, or let’s reframe it as fixing, our internet experiences as a result of it’s now not doable to have a pleasant internet expertise?
In the event you’re interested by what plugin-ins I’ve put in right here is the checklist, and for those who’ve put in a plugin just lately let me know on Bluesky what you’ve put in:
- Cosent-O-Matic: dealing with the cookie permissions
- Noir: creates a darkish mode expertise for web sites that don’t have a darkish mode theme
- Baking Soda and Vinegar: changing customized video participant UIs with plain outdated native HTML video UI
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Senior Interplay Designer and Co-Writer to Tiny CSS Initiatives
