Computer Help and Support

mikelewis

(4,505 posts) Mon Jun 30, 2025, 01:33 PM Jun 30

I built my first real APP: I call it the Photon Browser.

This is not a production grade app and I've not fully tested it out but I do like it so I thought I would share it on the DU.

I wrote some literature on it and made a video so you can see how it works.

I think it's cool. You can chat in real time, browse pages with others in real time and even download files to anyone in your chatroom instantly, just drag and drop. And this is fast! I used a special algorithm to strip out all the bullshit and so all you get is a web page with no trackers or cookies or any of that shit. Sorry... stuff.

Anyway... please try it out and try to break it. As I said it's just a test so don't expect it to be perfect and I doubt it will react well to Apple products so I would advise Chrome or Edge... they both seemed to work fine.

So here's the literature... it's really just a sales ad as I don't really intend to give up the secret sauce... LOL

photon-browser.glitch.me|photon-browser.glitch.me

Photon Browser – Your All-in-One Collaborative Window

Why juggle half-a-dozen apps when you can browse, share files, and chat together in one clean tab? **Photon Browser** distills real-time teamwork down to a single, instantly sharable session—no installs, no logins, no compromises.

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1. Spin-Up Sessions in Seconds

* One-Click Start – Tap New, copy the six-character code, and you’re live.
* Truly Ephemeral – When the last person leaves, every byte disappears—no crumbs, no archives.
* Guest-Friendly – Anyone with the code can join from any modern browser. Nothing to install, nothing to remember.

---

2. Shared Browsing That Just Works

* Beam Any URL – Paste a link, press Beam, and everyone’s viewport updates in lock-step.
* Progressive Rendering – Content paints as it arrives, so the group never stares at a blank page.
* Click-Sync Control – Let anyone steer, or lock navigation to a host—your call.

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3. Drag-and-Drop File Transfer

* Instant Streaming – Drop a file and watch the unified progress bar glide on every participant’s screen.
* Size-Agnostic – From quick screenshots to hefty decks, transfers start the moment you let go.
* One-Tap Save – Recipients click once; the file lands in their downloads, ready to open.

---

4. Built-In Chat & Activity Feed

* Unified Timeline – Messages, beamed pages, and file events flow into the same scrollable feed.
* Zero Distraction – Stay at the conversation’s edge while reading older posts; auto-scroll resumes when you’re ready.
* Lightweight & Snappy – No emoji bloat or sluggish history loads—just fast text.

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5. Ultra-Responsive by Design

* Client-Light, Server-Smart – Heavy lifting happens off the browser thread, so even low-power devices stay fluid.
* Instant Feedback – Every action—Beam, file drop, chat—echoes back in under a blink.
* Network-Adaptive – Happy on gigabit Ethernet, graceful on café Wi-Fi.

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6. Privacy That Makes Sense

* No Accounts, No Footprints – Sessions live in memory and self-destruct on exit.
* Host-It-Yourself Option – Point Photon Browser at your own server and keep every packet on-prem.
* Zero Tracking – No cookies, no pixels, no “helpful” analytics.

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7. A Layout That Gets Out of Your Way

* Two-Pane Workflow – Sidebar for controls, chat, and transfers; full-width pane for the shared site.
* Responsive Everywhere – From ultrawide monitors to handheld tablets, Photon re-flows elegantly.
* Accessibility First – Focus rings, semantic labels, and keyboard shortcuts keep the experience inclusive.

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Try It in Under 60 Seconds

1. Open your Photon Browser link.
2. Click New and copy the session code.
3. Send the code to teammates—no install required.
4. Paste a URL to Beam a page, drag in a file, and type a chat message.

Done. You’re collaborating.

---

Why Photon Browser?

Teams lose momentum when they flip between chat, links, and file shares. Photon Browser fuses them into a single, zero-friction space: start fast, focus together, end cleanly. If you’ve ever said “Wait—what tab are you on?” or hunted for “the latest PDF” in a chat log, you already know why Photon matters.

Give it a whirl. See how effortless real-time web collaboration can be when everything lives in one elegant window.

So that was just the eventual sales literature, I think. I don't know if it will actually every evolve beyond this toy. I hope you can find some time to try it out and use it if it's helpful.

Glitch is closing it's hosting so I will be migrating to Render soon. That will be free as well so you can use it as much as you like...

Enjoy

3 replies

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Highlight:

I built my first real APP: I call it the Photon Browser. (Original Post) mikelewis Jun 30 OP

I was thinking maybe some DU'ers could use it to chat amonst yourselves.... mikelewis Jun 30 #1

I've been conversing with a friend who uses Facebook exclusively usonian Jul 2 #2

That's why I like about my browser... mikelewis Monday #3

mikelewis

(4,505 posts)

1. I was thinking maybe some DU'ers could use it to chat amonst yourselves....

Reply to mikelewis (Original post)

Mon Jun 30, 2025, 02:14 PM

Jun 30

You know, meet up and just cruise web pages together and chat.

You could set the Id as DU_Chatgroup or whatever and then browse DU pages or even make fun of other sites together... do we still hate Freepers? LOL!

While it's totally possible that I could have put all sorts of tracking on the system, I did not... so take that for what it's worth and do not share anything sensitive or personal that you don't want others to steal.

This is the most unsniffable system I could devise so your data is as ephemeral as possible... it's only alive as long as you are in a session. You of course can save the data and any files that are transmitted are shared with everyone... so be careful what you open up and what you send.

This is not a 'safe' system in that regard at all. It's basically a live wire and you can play with it as much as you like for for free.

I do think it would be cool if you could find a real use for it... I think it's a very useful tool.

I plan on making video streaming a real feature so everyone can see the exact same pixels at the same time. It's not as hard as it sounds but I need to work on the execution but I think that would be awesome... drag and drop a video or stream a live video and everyone sees it all at the same time.

Anyway... I hope you enjoy it and use it as a tool. Don't abuse it by watching pornos with a lot of your weird freinds... seriously? Is that what technology has become?

LOL.

usonian

(18,857 posts)

2. I've been conversing with a friend who uses Facebook exclusively

Reply to mikelewis (Original post)

Wed Jul 2, 2025, 05:27 PM

Jul 2

Because his audience ( in the Philippines) all use Facebook for everything. They hop onto free wi-fi at the Malls etc.
We do use zoom for our own meetings and he is setting up zoom sessions for discussion meetings with his audience.

I suggested using Signal, but it turns out that he can't install the app due to some lost icloud password. (He hasn't tried all the suggestions I sent).

Now, given that people do use Facebook and Zoom, I am sure (though he isn't) that a website (accessible via a link, who doesn't have a browser?) would be fine for all kinds of shared info, and even collaboration.

I am an old-timer and "grew up with" Moodle. I used to install it on PC boxes and even laptops to hold my project/software docs.

No containers at the time. You either used the native apache, php and mysql or loaded up a LAMPP or XAMPP stack.

Anyway, I'll take a look, along with the other 5000 things to try.

"Low Tech" often means "Low effort", as in "Let Facebook do it all" 😡

I won't go there (create a profile) even to see his excellent postings beyond the tiny public window, though I might have to (suggestions for pen names?) just to see the content, but no messenger for me. (Is that what they call it?)

Any free service can be shut down any time for no reason. I've read the horror stories.

mikelewis

(4,505 posts)

3. That's why I like about my browser...

Reply to usonian (Reply #2)

Mon Jul 7, 2025, 12:06 PM

Monday

It's not Facebook! LOL...

I am not a fan of social media... Democratic Underground being the only real exception to that rule...

But A: There's no way to track or hack it.

B: It's fast, light and free.

C: It doesn't try to do everything.... but what it does, it does very well.

The idea is just to connect two users in real time... files, chatting and web browsing...

Soon it will be gaming and video streaming... you'll jump into a massive p2p game that's hosted by no one and costs you nothing to play and then if you want to watch a movie... and a freind has it... you just ask them to drop the movie onto the screen and it will stream for you or thousands at the same exact time... and you can even ruin the movie by talking through it... LOL

That's the plan for it anyway...
As soon as I port it over to Render, I'll post the new link.

And no... this is not a commercial app just yet... it's still in beta but it's actually gaining a lot of attraction, I don't monitor the users or collect any data about what they are doing whatsoever, so I have no idea how many people are using it. I just see the down time... when people stop using it, it goes to sleep. It hasn't gone to sleep on me yet! LOL... meaning people are using this... which is all I really wanted.

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