Comments on: Article: Are web apps driving obsolescence? http://www.paradoxica.net/2008/01/27/article-are-web-apps-driving-obsolescence/ new media developer / urban nomad Fri, 16 May 2008 07:42:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3 By: Woody Covert http://www.paradoxica.net/2008/01/27/article-are-web-apps-driving-obsolescence/#comment-10647 Woody Covert Tue, 29 Jan 2008 08:05:52 +0000 http://www.paradoxica.net/2008/01/27/article-are-web-apps-driving-obsolescence/#comment-10647 You know, I haven't experienced these problems. At least for now. As for web-apps, I use Gmail, Google Docs and Wrike [http://www.wrike.com] for project management and my system is not the newest one. Everything works perfect. Especialy Gmail integrated with Wrike despite the fact that our projects include some very heavy files. You know, I haven’t experienced these problems. At least for now. As for web-apps, I use Gmail, Google Docs and Wrike [http://www.wrike.com] for project management and my system is not the newest one. Everything works perfect. Especialy Gmail integrated with Wrike despite the fact that our projects include some very heavy files.

]]> By: Scott Andreas http://www.paradoxica.net/2008/01/27/article-are-web-apps-driving-obsolescence/#comment-10600 Scott Andreas Sun, 27 Jan 2008 18:50:19 +0000 http://www.paradoxica.net/2008/01/27/article-are-web-apps-driving-obsolescence/#comment-10600 Thanks, Sridhar. For the record, I'm very impressed by Zoho and appreciate the work that your team has put into it. It's a good product and I like your company. The server-side processing is nice – that's smart. Even then, there's still quite a bit of overhead on the client (enough to seize Firefox or Safari during complex tasks, at least). But I can't deny that web apps are breathing new life into older PCs, and even creating a new market for slow but networked ones. The Asus Eee is proof enough of that. I suppose I fall outside of the majority of people who use desktop apps for simple tasks that are well-suited to web-based office suites. For tools that are critical to my productivity, I prefer apps that run locally, are independent of a network connection, and not subject to the reliability of someone else's servers. But though web-based office suites are well-suited to average users, the fact that <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/18/majority-of-americans-on-google-docs-what-you-talkin-bout-willis/" rel="nofollow">only 5%</a> of Americans have tried one suggests that the target market is either unaware or uninterested. Don't get me wrong - I've got a lot of hope (and a lot invested) in the future of the web. I develop for AIR, design/build widgets, and some simple "pseudo-apps." I'm just not convinced that re-creating every desktop app under the sun in Javascript or Flash is the way forward. Here's the trajectory I see there: <strong>Native desktop apps (> Y2K) --> web apps (2000-2005) --> offline versions of web apps (2006-date)</strong> The fact that the current trend is to turn JS/Flash versions of complex web applications that replace their native counterparts <em>back into desktop apps</em> (via AIR, Flex, Flash, and WebKit, for example) makes little sense to me. It sounds CPU-intensive, not innovative. I do love features like remote auto-saving, web-based backups of documents, online collaboration tools, and an access-anywhere paradigm. Those are fantastic and unavailable on the desktop for sure. You're free to disagree of course, and I'm sure you probably will. Who knows - I'll probably feel differently once I get my hands on a new computer anyway ;-). Good luck to you and to Zoho - you guys are off to a very impressive start! Cheers, Scott Andreas scott@phoreo.com Thanks, Sridhar.

For the record, I’m very impressed by Zoho and appreciate the work that your team has put into it. It’s a good product and I like your company.

The server-side processing is nice – that’s smart. Even then, there’s still quite a bit of overhead on the client (enough to seize Firefox or Safari during complex tasks, at least). But I can’t deny that web apps are breathing new life into older PCs, and even creating a new market for slow but networked ones. The Asus Eee is proof enough of that.

I suppose I fall outside of the majority of people who use desktop apps for simple tasks that are well-suited to web-based office suites. For tools that are critical to my productivity, I prefer apps that run locally, are independent of a network connection, and not subject to the reliability of someone else’s servers. But though web-based office suites are well-suited to average users, the fact that only 5% of Americans have tried one suggests that the target market is either unaware or uninterested.

Don’t get me wrong - I’ve got a lot of hope (and a lot invested) in the future of the web. I develop for AIR, design/build widgets, and some simple “pseudo-apps.” I’m just not convinced that re-creating every desktop app under the sun in Javascript or Flash is the way forward. Here’s the trajectory I see there:

Native desktop apps (> Y2K) –> web apps (2000-2005) –> offline versions of web apps (2006-date)

The fact that the current trend is to turn JS/Flash versions of complex web applications that replace their native counterparts back into desktop apps (via AIR, Flex, Flash, and WebKit, for example) makes little sense to me. It sounds CPU-intensive, not innovative.

I do love features like remote auto-saving, web-based backups of documents, online collaboration tools, and an access-anywhere paradigm. Those are fantastic and unavailable on the desktop for sure.

You’re free to disagree of course, and I’m sure you probably will. Who knows - I’ll probably feel differently once I get my hands on a new computer anyway ;-). Good luck to you and to Zoho - you guys are off to a very impressive start!

Cheers,

Scott Andreas
scott@phoreo.com

]]> By: Sridhar Vembu http://www.paradoxica.net/2008/01/27/article-are-web-apps-driving-obsolescence/#comment-10597 Sridhar Vembu Sun, 27 Jan 2008 17:56:51 +0000 http://www.paradoxica.net/2008/01/27/article-are-web-apps-driving-obsolescence/#comment-10597 Scott, While Javascript & Flash can be slower than native code, there is another dimension to web applications that can more than make up the difference: the ability to partition the application, so that CPU/memory intensive parts run on the server. This can have a huge impact on perceptual performance for the user. For example, in the Zoho suite, complex functionality like pagination in the word processor is done at the server. In Zoho DB, indexing and querying are done at the server. So an intelligently architected web app can breathe new life into old machines. I use Zoho on many old PCs (many will not run any kind of recent desktop suite) - with Firefox, they work fine. Sridhar Vembu Zoho Scott,
While Javascript & Flash can be slower than native code, there is another dimension to web applications that can more than make up the difference: the ability to partition the application, so that CPU/memory intensive parts run on the server.

This can have a huge impact on perceptual performance for the user. For example, in the Zoho suite, complex functionality like pagination in the word processor is done at the server. In Zoho DB, indexing and querying are done at the server.

So an intelligently architected web app can breathe new life into old machines. I use Zoho on many old PCs (many will not run any kind of recent desktop suite) - with Firefox, they work fine.

Sridhar Vembu
Zoho

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