[HN Gopher] Replacing My Window Manager with Google Chrome
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       Replacing My Window Manager with Google Chrome
        
       Author : foxmoss
       Score  : 99 points
       Date   : 2025-11-27 19:34 UTC (4 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (foxmoss.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (foxmoss.com)
        
       | chasing0entropy wrote:
       | I'm interested in a how-to which accomplishes the absolute
       | opposite result.
        
         | jonhohle wrote:
         | 1) uninstall Chrome
         | 
         | 2) install it once a year when some backwards website won't
         | work with anything else.
         | 
         | 3) go to 1)
        
         | somat wrote:
         | here you go
         | 
         | https://plan9.io/magic/man2html/4/webfs
        
       | jauntywundrkind wrote:
       | Pyro Desktop! But with Chrome instead of Firefox.
       | https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2007/07/exper...
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39541
        
         | ComputerGuru wrote:
         | Sounds like a more performant and cleaner solution than TFA.
        
       | jeffjeffbear wrote:
       | When I was younger I thought of replacing most of the OS with a
       | browser since that is how I used it. but this is weird and not in
       | a good way. Maybe using Firefox would feel better.
        
       | GaryBluto wrote:
       | I believe the earlier versions of Chrome/Chromium OS took this to
       | the logical extreme.
       | 
       | https://www.technologyreview.com/2009/11/19/208062/google-gi...
        
         | nolist_policy wrote:
         | On ChromeOS, Chrome is the window manager, compositor and
         | desktop session all in one.
        
         | sunaookami wrote:
         | This reminds me of the Windows 8 version they had for a short
         | time where you got a full-blown ChromeOS "clone" when launching
         | the Metro version: https://www.howtogeek.com/179980/how-to-use-
         | the-chrome-os-de...
        
       | raphinou wrote:
       | This is based on the Chromium Embedded Framework. I've always
       | been surprised this kind of framework was not encouraged for
       | Firefox by Mozilla (I've read they were even against it).
        
         | saint_yossarian wrote:
         | They used to have XULRunner long ago.
        
         | mid-kid wrote:
         | Before they got rid of XUL, this was the sort of thing possible
         | with it.
        
           | stuaxo wrote:
           | Exactly, this sort of thing was the whole idea of XUL.
           | 
           | It was a little too flexible to make secure and fast though.
        
       | yokljo wrote:
       | This is a pretty neat idea, and shows that maybe a desktop
       | environment could be a lot more flexible than we're used to if it
       | was based on something flexible. Not exactly counter intuitive.
       | 
       | I'd like to see how complex a CEF-based Wayland compositor would
       | be in comparison.
       | 
       | How about using Godot instead of CEF? It has a pretty full-
       | featured UI system.
       | 
       | So many possibilities.
        
         | yokljo wrote:
         | While you're at it, go on a huge tangent writing a library that
         | allows one implementation to work as both an X11 and Wayland
         | compositor.
         | 
         | Actually why stop there? Make said library also compile to a
         | full screen Windows and Macos application that somehow renders
         | the contents of windows to textures and does event handing etc.
         | that way you can write your desktop environment once and use it
         | everywhere.
         | 
         | I've gone crazy with power.
        
       | wiseowise wrote:
       | > It's quite a bit easier to tweak CSS constants, and JS snippets
       | then it is to change style embedded already in a long standing
       | modern desktop/window manager. So let's bring the web to the
       | desktop and have a browser control the system.
       | 
       | Jesus, bro, you can't say stuff like this here.
       | 
       | Half of HN is going to have a stroke and will end up sounding
       | like Hodor - native, natuve, ntve.
        
       | throwaway290 wrote:
       | I looked around the Windows skin source but I guess I'm too dumb
       | for it because this line makes no sense to me
       | https://github.com/FoxMoss/dote-dreamland-win95-example/blob...
        
       | nahuel0x wrote:
       | Windows 98 Active Desktop vibes :)
        
       | SpikedCola wrote:
       | Not sure why, but the text doesn't appear in Chrome 109:
       | https://imgur.com/a/QyIdfax
       | 
       | If I disable "font-family: Atkinson" it comes back, so guessing
       | it's font related. I do see the two .woff files load in the
       | Network tab. Interestingly, when I preview either font file, I
       | see the sample of the font (AaBbCc etc.) in a flash for just
       | milliseconds, and then it disappears and I see nothing.
        
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       (page generated 2025-12-01 23:02 UTC)