Rick Byers
@rbyers.net
Web Platform engineer at Google on the Chrome team, helping the open web to thrive.
Opinions are my own, not my employer's.
Opinions are my own, not my employer's.
Now, if two engines have shipped a feature for an extended period and the third is still holding out, that's something to be suspicious of! We are always keeping an eye on the data to try to ensure Chromium isn't holding back interoperability. webstatus.dev/stats
November 27, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Now, if two engines have shipped a feature for an extended period and the third is still holding out, that's something to be suspicious of! We are always keeping an eye on the data to try to ensure Chromium isn't holding back interoperability. webstatus.dev/stats
I think it's fair to criticize the Chromium project for apparently getting the initial cost/benefit prediction wrong on JPEG XL. But the fact that JPEG XL is moving forward anyway is a success to be celebrated in the consensus-forming process of the web platform! groups.google.com/a/chromium.o...
November 27, 2025 at 9:04 PM
I think it's fair to criticize the Chromium project for apparently getting the initial cost/benefit prediction wrong on JPEG XL. But the fact that JPEG XL is moving forward anyway is a success to be celebrated in the consensus-forming process of the web platform! groups.google.com/a/chromium.o...
Most Chrome engineering was happening in Mountain View, not "Kitchener" (where the Google Waterloo office moved to in 2010). I would see most of the Chrome engineering leaders (Sundar, Darin, Ben, etc.) when I visited Mountain View.
en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?...
en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?...
November 18, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Most Chrome engineering was happening in Mountain View, not "Kitchener" (where the Google Waterloo office moved to in 2010). I would see most of the Chrome engineering leaders (Sundar, Darin, Ben, etc.) when I visited Mountain View.
en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?...
en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?...
One of my jobs on Chrome is quantifying overall product quality signals. This quarter we're taking a hit on crashes entirely due to iOS, which looks to be primarily due to WebKit and iOS bugs. When I try to check on the status of the current major one (bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi...), I get this:
October 3, 2025 at 11:44 PM
One of my jobs on Chrome is quantifying overall product quality signals. This quarter we're taking a hit on crashes entirely due to iOS, which looks to be primarily due to WebKit and iOS bugs. When I try to check on the status of the current major one (bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi...), I get this:
Yup. We're ready at Google Waterloo, we've got a beautiful new building open! Common north!
September 20, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Yup. We're ready at Google Waterloo, we've got a beautiful new building open! Common north!
Indeed. Really enjoying my spontaneous bike ride this morning too!
August 16, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Indeed. Really enjoying my spontaneous bike ride this morning too!
Who is free in the bay area this afternoon and wants to be inspired by computing's past while chatting about the future of the web?
Join me at the Computer History Museum around 3-5pm today! [1/7]
Join me at the Computer History Museum around 3-5pm today! [1/7]
August 16, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Who is free in the bay area this afternoon and wants to be inspired by computing's past while chatting about the future of the web?
Join me at the Computer History Museum around 3-5pm today! [1/7]
Join me at the Computer History Museum around 3-5pm today! [1/7]
How did I go 46 years without experiencing the joy of enterprise-grade network gear at home? Worth every penny...
July 19, 2025 at 9:11 PM
How did I go 46 years without experiencing the joy of enterprise-grade network gear at home? Worth every penny...
The Radiacode gamma spectrometer is a fun toy! My daughter discovered that this Mosasaur jaw we have is radioactive! It contains Bismuth-214, likely from uranium ore decay. Radiation is about 10x the background level, a bit more than the Am-241 smoke detectors in my house.
March 9, 2025 at 5:11 PM
The Radiacode gamma spectrometer is a fun toy! My daughter discovered that this Mosasaur jaw we have is radioactive! It contains Bismuth-214, likely from uranium ore decay. Radiation is about 10x the background level, a bit more than the Am-241 smoke detectors in my house.
My very scientific extrapolation & prediction 😛
March 4, 2025 at 8:29 PM
My very scientific extrapolation & prediction 😛
Great stuff for web devs in Interop 2025! View transitions, navigation API, core web vitals, anchor positioning, etc!
We started the year with a low score (27%) so have a lot of work to do as a browser engine community to get broad interoperability on these important features!
wpt.fyi/interop-2025
We started the year with a low score (27%) so have a lot of work to do as a browser engine community to get broad interoperability on these important features!
wpt.fyi/interop-2025
March 4, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Great stuff for web devs in Interop 2025! View transitions, navigation API, core web vitals, anchor positioning, etc!
We started the year with a low score (27%) so have a lot of work to do as a browser engine community to get broad interoperability on these important features!
wpt.fyi/interop-2025
We started the year with a low score (27%) so have a lot of work to do as a browser engine community to get broad interoperability on these important features!
wpt.fyi/interop-2025
I've always hated how hard it is to track spending trends through e-commerce sites like Amazon. Thanks to Gemini Nano and the experimental Chrome Prompt API (and an Amazon data access request) I'm finally able to easily analyze my Amazon purchase trends!
January 4, 2025 at 5:01 AM
I've always hated how hard it is to track spending trends through e-commerce sites like Amazon. Thanks to Gemini Nano and the experimental Chrome Prompt API (and an Amazon data access request) I'm finally able to easily analyze my Amazon purchase trends!
Blink is more diverse than Chromium as a whole (which includes blink), with 78% of contributors being from Google (87% of commits) vs. 84% for Chromium (95% of commits). chrome-commit-tracker.arthursonzogni.com/organization...
November 24, 2024 at 3:32 PM
Blink is more diverse than Chromium as a whole (which includes blink), with 78% of contributors being from Google (87% of commits) vs. 84% for Chromium (95% of commits). chrome-commit-tracker.arthursonzogni.com/organization...
As is the total number of reviews and commits by organization. chrome-commit-tracker.arthursonzogni.com/organization...
November 24, 2024 at 3:32 PM
As is the total number of reviews and commits by organization. chrome-commit-tracker.arthursonzogni.com/organization...
The number of distinct quarterly reviewers is also interesting to watch: chrome-commit-tracker.arthursonzogni.com/organization...
November 24, 2024 at 3:32 PM
The number of distinct quarterly reviewers is also interesting to watch: chrome-commit-tracker.arthursonzogni.com/organization...
Yep, here's what I said on X back in Sept about this: The Chromium commit tracker can now count unique contributors. It's neat to see how this has changed over time, and great to see Microsoft nearly back up to their peak! chrome-commit-tracker.arthursonzogni.com/organization...
November 24, 2024 at 3:32 PM
Yep, here's what I said on X back in Sept about this: The Chromium commit tracker can now count unique contributors. It's neat to see how this has changed over time, and great to see Microsoft nearly back up to their peak! chrome-commit-tracker.arthursonzogni.com/organization...
Don't think we have any old NASA Ames buildings. But if you drive a little over 30 on your way to the Bayview campus next door, you get to have a chat with a NASA cop 😛.
November 24, 2024 at 4:48 AM
Don't think we have any old NASA Ames buildings. But if you drive a little over 30 on your way to the Bayview campus next door, you get to have a chat with a NASA cop 😛.
Not just cybertruck. I didn't find this poor guy napping in my model 3 until it was too late and it tried to leave while I was driving 😢.
November 24, 2024 at 3:16 AM
Not just cybertruck. I didn't find this poor guy napping in my model 3 until it was too late and it tried to leave while I was driving 😢.
Yeah, I've been trying to understand the trends better myself. The number of monthly commits and contributors per project seem to have been a pretty consistent (and probably unsustainable) trend for the past decade:
November 24, 2024 at 1:07 AM
Yeah, I've been trying to understand the trends better myself. The number of monthly commits and contributors per project seem to have been a pretty consistent (and probably unsustainable) trend for the past decade:
Indeed! It's so ironic that we seem finally on the verge of being freed to achieve that on mobile (starting in the EU) when funding may be cut in the name of "improving competition online". 😢
On the plus side, have you seen this? assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/673f2d...
On the plus side, have you seen this? assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/673f2d...
November 24, 2024 at 12:55 AM
Indeed! It's so ironic that we seem finally on the verge of being freed to achieve that on mobile (starting in the EU) when funding may be cut in the name of "improving competition online". 😢
On the plus side, have you seen this? assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/673f2d...
On the plus side, have you seen this? assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/673f2d...
Canadian bilingualism in a nutshell?
November 16, 2024 at 4:21 PM
Canadian bilingualism in a nutshell?
In particular, great analysis here on the quality of "top site" lists. Kimberly says "This is site popularity data from today's foremost web browser, and many of you may never have heard of it prior to today. That's intriguing."
https://developer.chrome.com/docs/crux/
https://developer.chrome.com/docs/crux/
June 2, 2023 at 2:28 PM
In particular, great analysis here on the quality of "top site" lists. Kimberly says "This is site popularity data from today's foremost web browser, and many of you may never have heard of it prior to today. That's intriguing."
https://developer.chrome.com/docs/crux/
https://developer.chrome.com/docs/crux/
Heathrow airport seems to be one of the best run airports in the world. It's crazy busy here but everything has been fast. That Air Canada says I should arrive *4* hours in advance just destroys all their credibility. I arrived 2.5 hours in advance and ate breakfast, now I have an hour to kill!
May 13, 2023 at 9:19 AM
Heathrow airport seems to be one of the best run airports in the world. It's crazy busy here but everything has been fast. That Air Canada says I should arrive *4* hours in advance just destroys all their credibility. I arrived 2.5 hours in advance and ate breakfast, now I have an hour to kill!