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Comment by mxuribe | Hacker News Reader

I had originally mis-read this: I read it as a super-simple wrapper that converts web pages/apps into a native mobile app. But it seems it actually creates a desktop application. I understand the use-case: avoiding bouncing between web browser tabs, but I guess I don't see that as annoying enough. I'm sure there are other use-cases that I'm not thinking of.

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My main driver is Firefox, but Google Docs etc. won't work properly in it. I also wouldn't want it to use the same cookies (home vs. multiple work Google accounts, etc.).

`google-chrome --user-data-dir=$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gdocs/ --app=https://docs.google.com/` launches Chrome with a dedicated profile and in "app" mode (no browser UI, favicon as program icon, etc.), which works well for cases like this. Apparently this tool in particular works slightly differently, but the intent is comparable.

As someone who spends most of the time in the browser, I'd actually prefer as much as possible to be in browser tabs that I can easily jump to via ctrl+[tab position] instead of having to cycle between external programs with alt-tab.

Ha, I'm the exact opposite. Not for everything, but when I'm developing I find it easier to switch between, say, Trello, Github and Slack using alt-tab.

If you want a framework to turn a web application into a mobile app, try Crosswalk: https://crosswalk-project.org/

When I am working on projects, I would often have hundreds of tabs open (figuratively speaking) with reference material and whatnot, and my browser tab bar would end up being a gigantic mess. I just thought it would be handy if I could keep certain web pages that are important (such as Facebook Messenger / Whatsapp etc.) separately from the mess to facilitate easier navigation when switching between windows.

> I read it as a super-simple wrapper that converts web pages/apps into a native mobile app.

I would love that. Just one command and you're done.

I'm sure I've seen something like that. But I can't remember the name. Maybe someone else?

I've seen this on HN before - https://github.com/mess110/glassic

Performance and experience is so much better from an actual native app, though.

This trend toward building a parred-down version of a browser into link-rich apps is actually really troublesome, from both the broken user experience (different buttons for different common tasks, back and return functions not working consistently) and from a security standpoint.

http://www.manifoldjs.com/

"manifoldJS helps you reach more users than ever by packaging your web experience as native apps across Android, iOS, and Windows."

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