Do we need web standards if everyone is using webkit?
At least webkit is open source, unlike IE6
At least webkit is open source, unlike IE6
Indeed, open source helps a lot. It is amazing how far KHTML has gotten. But still, no standards would mean no Opera, no Mozilla, no any other entrants to the game.
Anyway, this article prompted me to switch from Chrome to Aurora on my Android tablet. Feels good so far...
Not necessarily, it would still be possible for them to embed webkit or even to re-implement it.
Webkit would simply become the reference implementation.
If WebKit becomes the standard, every user from now until forever will be using the same pile of C++ to browse. That may be fine to you; I personally don't think that WebKit is so good as to make it the gold standard for the Web. Imagine if that had happened with NCSA Mosaic...
Surely anybody else could even fork webkit if they so desired.
Having one pile of C++ to browse beats having multiple piles of C++ all with their own bugs an eccentricities.
Given the increasing trend to browse using tablets, phones, TVs, and other "non-traditional" devices, I suspect we're about to find out.
WebKit is already dominant to the point that no other browser engine matters in the mobile space. It's possible that Microsoft will shake the tree a bit if tablets based on Windows 8 make a rapid impact and IE 10 becomes a serious player. However, for all practical purposes Gecko is already irrelevant on mobile devices.
(For the avoidance of doubt, I am not arguing that such a browser monoculture is necessarily in users' best interests, nor that the trend to lock down many modern consumer devices so use of alternative browsers is less likely is any better. I'm merely commenting on the reality of the market today.)