> Microsoft was worried that the browser would become the operating system
Thank god that never happened! Can you imagine how huge the browser would get? How limited apps would be? How much control the browser maker would have?
Even today, with all the electron based apps and “full stack” Javascript developers, it’s hard to say Microsoft’s worries didn’t come to pass albeit with a twist …
It’s not really that the browser would be an OS, precisely, it’s that the browser would become the primary application API, replacing WIN32 for the most part. This could very well have happened, and to some extent, it did play out - except it doesn’t make sense for things like games, server software, local admin tools and so on… and then also, for some reason people like native mobile apps.
