The Web App Revolution
Reading an article by Om Malik in this month’s Business 2.0 magazine earlier today, I began thinking of the successful web application and the future of the web. As broadband connectivity becomes cheaper and faster, there will be an undeniable movement towards the flurry of web-based applications that are sprouting up everywhere. The computer might evolve into nothing more than a terminal to your online applications/operating system.
This all became more personal for me this week as I wrote a school paper on Google Docs. And you know what, I actually enjoyed it. It all makes sense too - I always have my web browser open, so why not write my paper in it instead of toggling back and forth between a word processor. I was able to “publish” the document and send the link to people in my group for them to read my document as I wrote it. If my group had decided on a meeting in the library, it would have been as simple as saving the gDoc and resuming on any computer in the library. Once I was ready to upload the paper to the class website, I was able to export to PDF with one click. However, I seem to think that Google Docs has a problem with recognizing double-spacing when exporting to PDF.
The push for online office suites is quickly creating tangible products. I no longer have random *.txt files floating around my desktop for good songs I heard on the radio or notes from class. I have begun archiving them with services like Google Docs & Spreadsheets.
I find myself relying less and less on real applications to get the job done. The only problem is that I have all of these accounts to remember - one for Google Docs, one for ZohoShow (for the few times I need to do stuff with ppt files), etcetera. However, I don’t think web applications will be able to replace every real application. For example, iTunes won’t have any online competition until everyone gets a fiber connection to their house and creating a web application capable of what Photoshop can do would be nothing short of impossible.
For the longest time, I was supremely skeptical of online office suites and web apps vying to replace real applications. I think my opinion has started to change, especially as these web applications are now backed by large firms pushing for their success. How do you feel about these types of web apps? Do you check them out once, say “oh, that’s neat” and never return… or do you really use them?
Speaking of web applications, I hope to develop a site or at least some helpful articles here, aimed at helping the beginner create their own web applications. With some basic PHP and MySQL knowledge I was quickly able to create a small web application for an Information Design class project and thought it would be easy to show others how they can do the same.
I am still not sure whether online office suites can replace my KOffice or OpenOffice. The additional dependency of web is still not practical and economical for as common tasks as editing documents. I want to be able to work with documents wherever I am and without spending additional money on Net connection which I can do with my laptop today. However, I think they are perfect for collaborative editing. In my opinion, online office suites are perfect companions of the desktop office suites rather than competitors.
I agree.. the ideal solution would be integrating the two. Maybe having a “publish to Google Docs” feature in Office/OpenOffice, etc..
Things like this I just look at and say “yeah, cool” and move on, it doesn’t even cross my mind that it may suit my needs perfectly, I don’t consider them at all as a replacement for anything I currently do or use. Maybe that’s just me being a skeptic of everything.
I definitely agree with you in realizing that alot of the apps I use are turning into online apps. I wrote about this exact subject a few weeks ago, and granted, I don’t think anything will replace the iTunes/Photoshop, but other than those, just about all of the other apps I use are online.
I think it is really cool though, because it makes the information that is important to you accessible from anywhere with an internet connection, and even a cell phone. That’s comforting to me.
I usually feel the same way as Jim. Until I’m pressed for time and have to race to the lab to get something done for work or school, that is. In those rare moments of panic is where I usually find the most use for apps like these.
You know, three weeks ago InfoWorld reviewed many different browser office applications. Oliver Rist suggested some applications to use: the majority of the Zoho Suite and others. You can read more here: http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/10/02/40FEbrowseapp_1.html
Thanks for using Zoho Show, Paul!
>> The only problem is that I have all of these accounts to remember - one for Google Docs, one for ZohoShow (for the few times I need to do stuff with ppt files), etcetera.
Marc Orchant too expressed the same concern in a recent blog post. Hopefully, Web 2.0 will have a solution for this as well.
The pioneer in this area (s/w as a service) was online HR company Employease in Atlanta back in the late 90s. They were a bit before their time. Now SalesForce.com is the leader here, and you can find/build all sorts of custom apps on top of the SalesForce platform (really just a database) at AppExchange.com. If you’re interested in The Big Picture for the infrastructure supporting web apps, check out George Gilder’s article in the new Wired:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.10/cloudware.html
I’m interested in helping GT hackers build web services businesses. In the new world, being over 25 yrs old is actually a DISadvantage in some respects. Lemme know if you want to change the world - maybe I can help ($$, contacts, business stuff).
Wayt
Keep it crunk, Paul.
Arvind:
>> Hopefully, Web 2.0 will have a solution for this as well.
They already do. There are several different projects out there, but the one that shows the most promise (IMHO) is http://www.sxip.com/ — it’s a really interesting open source SSO solution built on top of other open standards (like OpenID). It’d be easy to add it to Zoho — maybe not as easy to convince Google to though. I don’t know the politics of Google pushing their own SSO (they’ve been pretty good on standards in the past), but from a technical standpoint, it would be trivial.