Alice Averlong🏳️‍⚧️
Did anyone ever make an MDI web browser?
Like, you have one browser window, which has multiple subwindows within it, each of which is another browser?
Mar 18 at 11:10amWeb
Show threadguenterhack5d ago
@foone Early Opera
Show threadendrift 🏳️‍⚧️5d ago
@foone oh god anything but MDI. I'm having flashbacks to multi-server in mIRC
Show threadRaphael5d ago
@endrift @foone this got me finding out that mIRC 7.83 was released on november 12th 2025. Love to see it going
Show threadendrift 🏳️‍⚧️5d ago
@raphael @foone I have to wonder if Khaled Mardam-Bey has another job or not
Show threadRairii   5d ago
@endrift @raphael @foone i wonder how much money he got from the us military over the years
Show threadit me 5d ago
@foone I believe the current version of edge does that. I was highly irritated by finding that out accidentially the other day.
Show threadMolten Software5d ago
@justabit @foone Edge is just Chrome
Show threadit me 5d ago
@vileboss @foone This specific thing might be part of the rendering engine and the same on both, I don‘t know.
But I recon that there is more to a browser than just it‘s rendering engine so… not it‘s not the same. :)
Show threadMarta Threadbare5d ago
@foone Opera ~3?
Show threadJernej Simončič �5d ago
@cygnathreadbare 12.
Show threadAlice5d ago
@foone the windows APIs allow you to put another executable's window into your own MDI area so this wouldnt be hard to implement with any existing single window browser methinks
Show threadɗ𐐩ʃƕρʋ5d ago
@foone Opera used to be like that.
Show threadMolten Software5d ago
@foone AOL's client was sort of in that ball park
Show threadLP🔸Light up the night5d ago

@foone Opera, back when it was *actually* Opera, with the Presto engine and owned by Opera Software of Norway, not yet another Chrome wearing the skin of a purchased name.

It did it with a tab bar as a window switcher, so was the best of both worlds.

The screenshot in https://www.lionsphil.co.uk/phd/ is three arranged subwindows. Unfortunately I cropped away the outer UI.

"Split view", pah.

LionsPhil's Stuff - Open Semantic Hyperwikis

Dr. Philip Boulain's PhD thesis.

Show threadTabby5d ago
@foone does Cyberdog fit the bill?
Show threadit/its kitten  5d ago
@foone i read this as MIDI and wondered why you needed multiple scroll panels in the same song
Show threadbhtooefr5d ago

@foone Opera (real Opera, not Chromium wearing an Opera trenchcoat) was MDI, except on Mac OS

when they added “tabbed browsing”, it was basically implemented as a taskbar

Show threadTim 🛥️🌈5d ago
@foone
Ask RiscOS users. @rjek might know some?
Show threadRob Kendrick5d ago

@spodlife @foone RISC OS basically never had MDI, and only introduced "nested windows" as a concept late in its life to ease constructing windows from multiple panes.

I do however have strong memories of Opera (maybe version 4 or 5?) having an MDI interface.

Show threadHåkan Lindqvist5d ago
@foone Opera did that before tabs was the norm for web browsers (and while Opera was still Opera). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Opera_web_browser
History of the Opera web browser - Wikipedia

Show threadJernej Simončič �5d ago
@foone Classic Opera was like that, up to (including) version 12.
Show threadSaphire Lattice5d ago
@foone longing for a browser that implemented vscode style viewport tiling grid
Show threadjmelesky5d ago
@foone My brain is very confident that it experienced this in an early version of the Mozilla suite, but my brain is also convinced this is a figment of its imagination.
Show thread#?.info 5d ago
@foone I think that was Opera's original model, and the fact the minimized windows appeared in a line at the bottom is what ultimately became tabs. I know when tabs became a thing people pointed to Opera and said "They already do it, except it's better because..." and described a classic MDI interface.
Show threadJessica🏳️‍🌈5d ago
@foone oh absolutely I used one briefly, it was an IE/Trident wrapper but the MDI was kinda neat… I cannot recall the name sadly