I’m reading a lot lately about offline browsers, the hybrid Web, etc. This ‘next big thing’ is going to make my life better, as apps will be portable and run the same whether connected or not, whether in a browser or not.
So pardon me for questioning this exciting new world order. But why do I, as a user, want this?
Ten years ago those of us who developed software had to be able to address what we called at the time ‘the occasionally connected user’. Users saw any lack of functionality while off-line as a big obstacle when considering Web-based apps over conventional desktop-based apps. But times have changed. Connectivity is almost everywhere you want it to be. A few weeks ago we drove from Portland to Seattle. We have a Verizon Air Card in a laptop and were able to browse and do Web mail the entire way. I’ve boated off-shore and checked the Web for weather updates. Trains, buses and airplanes are starting to offer wireless access. Old news.
I occasionally get asked ‘Why can’t I use iterasi on my laptop at times when I don’t have connectivity, as in plane flights?’ So two answers come to mind.
The first answer: this is a problem all developers face. Grant me that the number of places that one can get connectivity has grown and continues to grow. So the CEO in me says ‘OK, availability is getting higher and if I re-engineer my product I will have a version out in a quarter or two to meet this (shrinking) need, and think of all the other features I will have passed on to do this’. An old boss of mine, Jim Flach, now at Accel Partners, used to ask me, “Are we aiming for the head of the duck or the tail?” I don’t hunt, but I got it.
Second is ‘Why do you want this capability?’ Anything you do on a non-connected PC has a couple of real limitations; any work done is potentially lost (ever lose a laptop or one stolen?). Also – and believe me I never thought I’d be saying this – there really is not a lot of good work that can be accomplished when you are not connected.
Oh my gosh how can I say this? Well in the course of writing this little posting I will have gone to the Web a half dozen times to read on this topic, see if my assertions were plausible, etc. So this leads me to a grand assertion…
Even the most traditional of desktop applications – word processing – is severely limited in practical use when the Web is not available.
The connected Web browser is the platform now and into the foreseeable future. This is because it does an adequate job for 100’s of millions of people a day. (Note clever insertion of huge number to sway argument). Any developer will tell you the browser has some real limitations. The truth is this: deal with it.
But what really bakes me in this whole discussion is this: If I am not developing code to a Web browser, what am I developing to? Whether it’s AIR from Adobe, or Windows from Microsoft, or OS360 from IBM (sorry…couldn’t pass on this), it’s a proprietary solution. The browser, whether it is called Opera or FireFox or IE or Safari, has a lot of eyes watching it. There is little chance for proprietary extensions to gain mass acceptance. And, therefore, a pretty good chance that the Web will run everywhere. Which is really what people want after all.
