Changes

The idea of pinned apps is to turn the apps model on its head by making apps something you discover simply by searching and browsing the web. Web apps do not have to be installed in order to be useful, “pinning” is an optional step where the user can choose to split an app off from the rest of the web to persist it on their device and use it separately from the browser.

''If you think of the current app store experience as consumers going to a grocery store to buy packaged goods off a shelf, the web is more like a hunter-gatherer exploring a forest and discovering new tools and supplies along their journey.''

A [http://w3c.github.io/manifest/ Web App Manifest] linked from a web page says “I am part of a web app you can use separately from the browser”. Users can discover web apps simply by searching or browsing the web, and use them instantly without needing to install them first.

''App discovery could be less like shopping, and more like discovering a new piece of inventory while exploring a new level in a computer game.''

If the user finds a web app useful they can choose to split it off from the rest of the web to persist it on their device and use it separately from the browser. Pinned apps can provide a more app-like experience for that part of the web with no browser chrome and get their own icon on the homescreen.

''For the user pinning apps becomes like collecting pin badges for all their favourite apps, rather than cluttering their device with apps from an app store that they tried once but turned out not to be useful.''

Once a pinned app is registered as managing its own part of the web (defined by URL scope), any time the user navigates to a URL within that scope, it will open in the app. This allows deep linking to a particular page inside an app and seamlessly linking from one app to another.

''The browser is like a catch-all app for pages which don’t belong to a particular pinned app.''

Pinning an app could download its contents to the device to make it work offline, by registering a [http://www.w3.org/TR/service-workers/ Service Worker] for the app's URL scope.

''Pinned apps take pinned tabs to the next level by actually persisting an app on the device. An app pin is like an anchor point to tether a collection of web pages to a device.''

A web app is a collection of web pages dedicated to a particular task. You should be able to have multiple pages of the app open at the same time. Each app could be represented in the task manager as a collection of sheets, pinned together by the app.

''Exploding apps out into multiple sheets could really differentiate the Firefox OS user experience from all other mobile app platforms which are limited to one window per app.''

Even in a world without app stores there would still be a need for a curated collection of content. The Marketplace could become less of a grocery store, and more of a crowdsourced travel guide for the web.

''If a user discovers an app which isn't yet included in the guide, they could be given the opportunity to submit it. The guide could be curated by the community with descriptions, ratings and tags.''

== 3 Questions ==

=== What value (the importance, worth or usefulness of something) does your idea deliver? ===