> "If you want to use performance critical software that pushes the limits of your machine, download it, use Java or whatever."
This is a bit too simple. The web is becoming a platform for rich interactive applications more and more. Nowadays we can use tons of applications without downloading and installing any software. Most people would agree this is a good thing.
However, the web as a platform is inherently broken. Engineering large scale web applications with the sheer combination of HTML, CSS and JavaScript is just a pain in the ass. Every level of abstraction you introduce is pushing the limits of the browser already. Having a sandboxed machine code interpreter would allow developers to spend their time on developing software using their own favorite abstractions. This can save time and frustration.
Maybe NaCl or even some bytecode alternative have their disadvantages, but they solve a very annoying problem for sure.
This is a bit too simple. The web is becoming a platform for rich interactive applications more and more. Nowadays we can use tons of applications without downloading and installing any software. Most people would agree this is a good thing.
However, the web as a platform is inherently broken. Engineering large scale web applications with the sheer combination of HTML, CSS and JavaScript is just a pain in the ass. Every level of abstraction you introduce is pushing the limits of the browser already. Having a sandboxed machine code interpreter would allow developers to spend their time on developing software using their own favorite abstractions. This can save time and frustration.
Maybe NaCl or even some bytecode alternative have their disadvantages, but they solve a very annoying problem for sure.