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February 11, 2008

Rich. Internet. Applications.

Rich. Internet. Applications. Rafe Needleman was impressed by many of the recent applications people have unveiled: "Flash apps are taking over. Phoenix is the latest proof. As I reported from Demo 2008, new Flash- and Flex-based Web apps are putting traditional desktop apps to shame. The database Blist, the widget maker Sprout, and the photo manager Joggle are all Web-based apps that give up almost nothing to run inside a browser." All of these are fullsized applications, computer programs which let you get things done. They're stored on a server and delivered in a browser, and can invoke resources across the internet. And they're rich -- interfaces have a uniform slickness that's difficult to provide when you have to work atop a half-dozen different JavaScript engines. The term "RIA" is by now a buzzword, six years after its release, but the "Rich" and "Internet" and "Applications" parts of it still describe something new, which people react to strongly once they experience it. (Three quibbles: The prevalence of Adobe Flash Lite runtimes is more limited by the abilities of feature phones than by licensing costs; there are certainly particular processing functions which might be done more quickly in another desktop runtime such as a known Java SE installation; and I don't agree that local desktop apps are going away, because it's not a zero-sum game.) I like how Rafe closes out: "And I'll tell you this: I'm not seeing nearly the same creativity today in traditional software that I am seeing on Flash and in browser-based apps. Flash-based apps are finally beginning to compete head-on with standard software. Many new Flash apps aren't just different. They're better."

Posted by JohnDowdell at February 11, 2008 01:30 PM

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Posted by: Chris Charlton at February 11, 2008 02:16 PM