While the desktop version of Google Chrome has just been updated to 72, the next version, 73, will allow websites to bind JavaScript events to media keys. This means that websites will be able to listen to those buttons and respond accordingly, even if Google Chrome is a background application. Some websites should support this immediately, because it was already available on mobile, although I am not sure which ones and how.
Image Credit: Google
The update should be useful to those of us who, for example, listen to YouTube playlists. I am curious what sort of controls Google will add to tune its behavior. For instance, I probably do not want to close every old YouTube tab that I have laying around just so I can use Spotify in peace.
The feature will be added to Chrome OS, macOS, and Windows. Linux users will need to wait a little bit for some reason.
I do not want any of my
I do not want any of my laptops function keys under any webpage’s control including the media keys. This can only end badly for end users. Just present some webpage based media key interface that’s mouse pointer activated and leave it at that. Javascript anything is too untrustworthy and most webpages are already allowed too much scripted messing around with the Browser’s/Enduser UI functionality.
Youtube can offfer up its own UI and Button Interface like it has always done and Google can keep it’s hands off of my keyboard events. That’s what the mouse/track pad is for.
If the browser tab/window looses focus while some other application’s windows or Browser tab has focus then only that application or browser tab that has foucus should be able to trap and respond to any UI events.
This has Keylogger written all over it from the getgo!
This is just the Ad industry speaking via the websites and I’d rather not have the Browser UI taken over by any webpage/ad pusher like Google/any other entity.
It seems like a bad idea to
It seems like a bad idea to remove key bindings from Chrome’s UI…. but it turns out that Google wants its web OS to lock up its users.