--- title: "Discussion: Webified Desktop Apps" date: 2006-09-07 author: "Richard MacManus" categories: - name: "ReadWriteWeb" url: "/category/readwriteweb.md" tags: - name: "2006" url: "/tag/2006.md" --- # Discussion: Webified Desktop Apps Already there’s some great discussion happening regarding Ebrahim Ezzy’s post on Read/WriteWeb entitled [Webified Desktop Apps vs Browser-based Apps](https://web.archive.org/web/20101231045311/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/webified_desktop_apps_vs_browser_apps.php). As I noted in the intro to that post, in some ways Ebrahim’s views contradict my own. I’m a big fan of the concept of the browser as a ‘lowest common denominator’ platform for the Web. And there is a lot of innovation happening in the browser space right now – Flock, Opera, Firefox and even IE7 is doing its bit to keep up (although we’re still waiting for some truly original knock-yer-socks-off features from IE7). So I like to think there is plenty more innovation to come in the browser – and imho the WebOS players are one of the more interesting set of startups using the browser as a platform. I also like the technology being delivered by Personalized Start Pages and associated widgets (Pageflakes, Netvibes, et al) and Web Office contenders (Zoho, Zimbra, ThinkFree, et al). Having said that, I do recognize that the browser has its limitations and that Ajax isn’t the be all and end all of interactive technology. [My profile](https://web.archive.org/web/20101231045311/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/times_reader_screenshots.php) of the upcoming NY Times Reader showed some of the possibilities of a web-enabled desktop app (or a webified desktop app, to use Ebrahim’s term). Times Reader has rich functionality, courtesy of Microsoft’s Windows Presentation Foundation technology – but it also relies on the Web to get the NY Times content and to communicate with other people (email a story, for example). Other discussion on Ebrahim’s post: - [Ryan Stewart](https://web.archive.org/web/20101231045311/http://blogs.zdnet.com/Stewart/?p=104): “The best RIAs provide a layer of abstraction over both the web and the desktop. The Webified desktop application, as Ebrahim uses the term, implies installation, which is an old, antiquated model for software delivery.” - [Tim Bart](https://web.archive.org/web/20101231045311/http://www.fewagainstmany.com/web/web-based-or-not/): “I personally prefer Desktop application over web-based applications, but I appreciate being able to access to my data from anywhere, and get it synchronised over multiple applications.” - [Alex Iskold calls it](https://web.archive.org/web/20101231045311/http://www.web2journal.com/read/224934.htm) the “webification” of the desktop and mentions desktop widgets as an example. He notes: “There is no reason why our desktop applications can not be web-aware. An improvement in this area would drive up our productivity, because switching back and forth between the application and the browser is very inefficient.” - [ BuzzSort](https://web.archive.org/web/20101231045311/http://buzzsort.wordpress.com/2006/09/07/on-desktop-webification-and-web-desktopification/) is firmly in favor of webified desktop apps and dislikes webtops: “It is a great technological trick taking this platform we have within the web browser, one that is restricted in such a tight way, and make it attempt to mirror your computer desktop. It is however a step backwards to a thin client way of working.” - [Emre Sokullu](https://web.archive.org/web/20101231045311/http://www.emresokullu.com/) is [ in favor](https://web.archive.org/web/20101231045311/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/webified_desktop_apps_vs_browser_apps.php#comment-4723) of browser-based apps, “except web based operating systems”. He says something that I always point out too: “Connectivitity should not be seen as a drawback because the world is getting more and more connected everyday.” - [Eric](https://web.archive.org/web/20101231045311/http://thegreateric.wordpress.com/) also [ prefers](https://web.archive.org/web/20101231045311/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/webified_desktop_apps_vs_browser_apps.php#comment-4729) web apps: “Web applications have a number of advantages not easily duplicated by desktop applications; sharing, collaboration, platform agnosticism, stability, low risk of data loss, accessibility.” - John Milan [does the numbers](https://web.archive.org/web/20101231045311/http://intelligantt.blogspot.com/2006/08/web-applications-or-desktop.html) on desktop vs browser apps for email. There are [other great comments to Ebrahim’s post](https://web.archive.org/web/20101231045311/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/webified_desktop_apps_vs_browser_apps.php) and I encourage you to leave your comment there too. Perhaps the biggest point to make is that it’s not either/or, despite the headline I wrote for the previous post! There is a place for both webified desktop apps and browser-based apps. Indeed the browser is basically just a desktop app at its most generic. The biggest advantage the browser still has though is its ubiquity on computers – and we’ll continue to need common Web platforms, that utilize web standards, for quite some time yet. **UPDATE:** We’ve [published a poll](https://web.archive.org/web/20101231045311/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/poll_desktop_browser_apps.php), for you to tell us which type of app you prefer – desktop or browser-based. *Originally published on ReadWriteWeb ([archived copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20020204040018/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/discussion_webified_apps.php))*