Frame from Brendan Eich: JavaScript, Firefox, Mozilla, and Brave | Lex Fridman Podcast #160 Plays with YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed

Brendan Eich: JavaScript, Firefox, Mozilla, and Brave | Lex Fridman Podcast #160

Lex Fridman Podcasts
Open on YouTube First HN thread

5 HN users recommended this podcast episode in 4 different months between 2021 and 2023.

2007–2026
1 strong recommendation 4 recommendations 6 citations HackerTube score 4.5

Linked as a source for first-hand JavaScript and Netscape history, with commenters pointing to specific segments like the Java versus JavaScript decision.

A roughly three-hour Lex Fridman podcast conversation with Brendan Eich, creator of JavaScript and co-founder of Mozilla and Brave. It covers JavaScript's rushed creation at Netscape, the browser wars, Firefox and Mozilla, and Brave's privacy approach.

Pull quote: “a real gem of an interview, in my opinion” (HN, 2021)

Also tagged: javascript history, brendan eich, netscape, brave, mozilla, browser wars

What Hacker News said

11 labeled comments from the HN archive; up to 20 are kept per video, favoring different commenters. Each one links back to the original thread.

Strongly recommends michaelsbradley June 2021 under Brave Search beta
Timecoded segment on browser wars, privacy protections, ads and search
Lex Fridman interviewed Brendan Eich earlier this year (a real gem of an interview, in my opinion). I found all of it interesting, but here's a timecode link where they begin to discuss the current era of "browser wars", technical aspects and history of privacy protections, ads, search, and how that's all related. [this video]
View on Hacker News
Recommends jcims February 2021 under Faster JavaScript Calls
Eich conversation full of tidbits about JavaScript history
Lex Fridman just did a great podcast episode with Brendan Eich, credited with creating JavaScript. Lots of great little tidbits of history in the conversation - [this video]
View on Hacker News
Recommends onetom February 2021 under Choose Boring Technology (2015)
Listed among recommended viewing about JavaScript and its creator
Recommended "literature": 1. 10 Things I Regret About Node.js - Ryan Dahl - JSConf EU ( [link] ) 2. Brendan Eich: JavaScript, Firefox, Mozilla, and Brave | Lex Fridman Podcast #160 ( [this video] )
View on Hacker News
Recommends hnrodey July 2023 under Netscape and Sun announce JavaScript (1995)
Podcast with the creator of JavaScript and co-founder of Mozilla and Brave
If this is exciting for you then you'll love this podcast with Brendan Eich. Brendan Eich is the creator of JavaScript and co-founder of Mozilla and Brave. [this video]
View on Hacker News

Citations, criticism and jokes

Cites it BrendanEich February 2021 under Brendan Eich on the Lex Fridman Podcast [video]
Eich recounts a Hyatt anecdote about JavaScript's origins
Hyatt anecdote at [this video] . The point is not about Silicon Valley, commercialization of the Web (although as Dorothy Denning observed, the pre-Web Academic Internet was a more secure world only because not many attackers yet), or academic pressure. WiB applies to biology. I have friends at a synth-bio startup, one tweeted humorously the other month about how bad a hack evolution is!
View on Hacker News
Cites it jasode March 2021 under The End of Applets
Eich explains why Netscape deliberately had two languages, JavaScript and Java
Read the full comment
>If only the conversations between Sun and Netscape had gone a little differently back in the day, and we'd had a single language/system in the browser Brendan Eich said there were discussions with Sun (e.g. Bill Joy) and Marc Andreessen and all agreed[1] there should deliberately be 2 languages instead of 1 in the Netscape browser: (1) an "easier/simpler" scripting type of language LiveScript aka Javascript (2) a "professional" compiled type of language like Java for more complex applications So, it wasn't an accident, or case of NIH Not Invented Here, or corporate bickering. What they didn't foresee in 1994 is that the non-professional Javascript would end up adding more (pro) features that it enabled it to eliminate the need for Java Applets. [1] deep link to B.E. explanation: [this video]
View on Hacker News
Cites it BrendanEich July 2021 under How JavaScript Works: deep dive into call, apply, and bind
Detailed history of how JavaScript was created
Ten day Mocha had strict ==, so better in that regard. History is detailed at [this video] . Rather than assuming a too-simple version, check out the details for how things went down. Do-overs not possible, by better new forms over time helped. Honest q: Do you actually use modern JS at all?
View on Hacker News
Cites it EMRZ January 2022 under “I am literally losing sleep” over Java (1996)
Eich discusses the Sun-Netscape era and the battle for the web
It was the battle for "the web" and the sun+netscape partnership was an actual menace to microsoft's activex and vbscript things. There is an espisode the Lex Fridman podcast with Brendan Eich where he talks a little about that specific time.[1] The "panic" was right imo (only in that specific area) i mean, there is almost 0 microsoft on the web today. [1]: [this video]
View on Hacker News
Cites it BrendanEich November 2022 under The influence of Self
Eich's account of JS's ten-day creation and Self's influence
Scope in early JS was handled through a parent slot. Self was a big influence but I had no time to honor it properly. JS had ten days till a demo to prove to factions in Netscape and to most of Sun (Bill Joy was ally) that it had a role to play. See [this video] (earlier if you have time).
View on Hacker News

Keyboard shortcuts

/
Search
j k
Next / previous video in a list
Enter
Open the focused video
l
Like (on a video page)
w
Watch later (on a video page)
?
This help
Esc
Close