This has been a really interesting debate. One of the assumptions underlying many of the comments here is that the web is still the default paradigm of the internet. This is still true to some extent - we consume content on web browsers on a range of user agents: laptops, desktops, mobile devices, embedded hardware, fridges, and a range of other IoT devices.
But how long is that going to be the case?
Will the web be the default paradigm in the age of the metaverse? What if Firefox was able to be a metaverse platform? There was some early work done on this in around 2014 by @vvuk, which integrated WebGL. VRML integration also progressed. At the moment, Facebook is changing its entire organisation to focus on the metavers (see also their Oculus acquisition), while Google and Apple own the hardware (mobile phones) that it will presumably run on, and have their own browsers. Microsoft's Hololens is also heading in this direction, but they already have Edge.
Facebook needs a web browser for the metaverse. Mozilla needs to remain relevant. Strange bedfellows?
But how long is that going to be the case?
Will the web be the default paradigm in the age of the metaverse? What if Firefox was able to be a metaverse platform? There was some early work done on this in around 2014 by @vvuk, which integrated WebGL. VRML integration also progressed. At the moment, Facebook is changing its entire organisation to focus on the metavers (see also their Oculus acquisition), while Google and Apple own the hardware (mobile phones) that it will presumably run on, and have their own browsers. Microsoft's Hololens is also heading in this direction, but they already have Edge.
Facebook needs a web browser for the metaverse. Mozilla needs to remain relevant. Strange bedfellows?