ARC reborned

Hi developers,

For past 2 years I haven't been very productive developing the app. There was a lot of things going on in my life (work, study) and eventually I haven't got time to develop the app. Well, this is about to change.

For a last two months I moved the project forward. Source code is now available on GitHub and all issues has been moved there as well. I started working on app's improvements and there is a lot to do. So probably you'll be happy to hear that I'm developing the app full time now!



There’s more good news. Recently I discovered that the Chrome Web Store will drop support for legacy apps very soon (the current app is built on a legacy architecture). This means that if I don't take any action the app will be removed from the store. But it’s also an opportunity to deliver some more benefits right away, since I have to rewrite most of the app and upgrade it to new application model. It means that there will be some changes in the app itself, as follows:

1. Most noticeable difference for you is that the app will now open in a separate window rather than get lost in a sea of tabs. In fact the app will not even need Chrome running to work, and it will be visible in your app switcher like any other app! 
2. Chrome apps have higher level of security. It's so called Content Security Policy. It means - among others - that some JavaScript functions are disabled. This brings me to another change - the framework. I have to drop support for GWT as not CSP–compliant. Therefore there will be some UI changes related to new framework's components. But it will mean an even more secure app for you. 
3. There will also be a change in the permissions list. Some Chrome APIs the app is using are not available for Chrome Apps and there are set of new, very powerful APIs. So generally the update will disable the app and will ask you to re-enable it accepting new permission. When the update will be ready I'll notify you about change in permissions on this blog. Again, the result will be an improved security, performance and overall user experience. 

In about couple of weeks the update will be ready and you'll receive new version of ARC. I hope you'll enjoy it.
Anyway, key facts are:

• ARC live again and is in active development 
• I'm very excited about implementing my new ideas to the app 
• I'll be working full time on app's development 
• Next release will bring the power of new Chrome applications to ARC 

Thanks for using the app and as always... happy RESTing!