This is potentially huge. If other browsers can also jump into this, we could potentially see a rise in a new generation of apps that are local first and enable much richer real time collab features. I might be reading into this wrong but this could also usher in a better and open implementation for iot devices to provide interfaces for the user. Excited to adopt this and try some experiments out.
One interesting thing to figure out is the combination of local and global. When I have an iot device and I'm away from home, or someone collaborating with me from a different location, the same app needs to fall back to using standard internet based interfaces. Not sure if that disqualifies it from being a potential use case of this.
The other major players being Google and Apple, they'll almost certainly want to push their proprietary app platforms to increase their market power, instead of open technologies which are in the interest of and benefit the consumer.
As far as I know, the Chromium project has been pretty good about pushing open standards. I reckon that's because the company divisions operate as silos.
And this doesn't need to contradict pushing their proprietary app platforms. An addition to Google Drive that allows people to send files over the office intranet without going through the internet (i.e. faster and more securely) would give Google a small competitive advantage over the Microsoft suite of tools.
I agree when it comes to Apple, disagree when it comes to Google. The Chromium project has been heavily pushing industry standards for web apps, service workers, home screen installation, etc etc. IMO they're doing just about everything they can to promote the open web as a viable app platform.
That's just wrong. Imagine a (definitely plausible) future where a snapchat-level social app is created which relies on this local communication. People would obviously jump ship from Chrome to FF if it meant being on the new local social network where all of their friends are. Google isn't going to keep a stick up it's ass when this happens. They will conform, because they follow the money.
I sure hope your scenario will happen. I'm just saying Google or Apple will probably not actively push this technology. And most app developers are either Apple or Google platform addicts (A and G being the duopoly in the mobile application space).
One interesting thing to figure out is the combination of local and global. When I have an iot device and I'm away from home, or someone collaborating with me from a different location, the same app needs to fall back to using standard internet based interfaces. Not sure if that disqualifies it from being a potential use case of this.