R.I.P. Web Apps?

Tara Hunt in R.I.P. Browsers may be interpreted as suggesting that the computing environment of tomorrow is the desktop of today. She presents her assertions in the context of technical issues she regularly experiences. Pains caused by poor experiences in browsers and web applications. Real problems. Pains that Richard MacManus, myself, and all other webheads also regularly experience.

Tara’s assertions are not visionary, but already much discussed, researched, designed (one approach) and being developed. It is the next stage of the hosted vs desktop computing equation — though Tara presents it with the usual Citizen Agency dramatic flare. The web browser will die likely before the desktop computer, but they both will die when your computer is only a connection to “the Web”. Or maybe that means that your computer will become only a browser…

But this is not quite here, now. Even with the mess of dealing with the various browsers, the browser is the best cross platform environment. Web sites and applications work well on browsers on Linux, Mac, and Windows.

I care mostly about collaborating with other people? The conversation does not happen on my computer, it happens on the Web. And the conversation is already huge and getting larger. What can my computer do with this? It can’t store it. I want all of the computers of the world to be working on me hearing the conversation, collaborating.

Flock will be a solution for today, changing things a little by working on connecting some of the web applications — bringing them closer to your desktop computer and each other. And soon maybe desktop applications…

But lets go back to looking into the near future. I also want my tools to work well regardless of whether or not I am “online”, as suggested by Chris, and being worked on by Mozilla for Firefox 3 (I can’t find a link, you have one?).

Lastly, surely, Chris has shared his pain of computer and hard drive failures with you, Tara?

technorati tags: R.I.P. Browsers, flock, web, applications, computing, desktop, computer, storage, collaborate, communication, collaboration, socializing, web, social web, p2p, peer-to-peer, experience, ux, ui, citizen agency, tara hunt, chris messina, factoryjoe, miss_rogue, not visionary, dramatic flare, browser, web browser, web app, firefox, mozilla

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