David Kellam

Alright, so everybody is into this ‘web app’ thing. How is it, really?
What need does it really solve?
(Open-ended questions)

Let’s look at a few applications:

1. CRM

Example: SugarCRM (courtesy of myDataHub)
URL: demo.mydatahub.com.au
Technology:

• Web 1.0 (LAMP)
• Dedicated Server connected via Tier 1 peers in Australia (WebCentral)

Need solved: manage the sales process
Problem: Clients complain that it’s too slow.
Solutions:

• AJAX-ify
• Run a traditional app (e.g. ACT! Database)

2. Email

Example: GMail
URL: gmail.com
Technology:

• Web 2.0 (AJAX)
• Truckloads of Google tech

Need solved: E-mail on the go.
Problems: (Debatable)
Solutions:

• Run a traditional app (e.g. ACT! Database)

OK taking SugarCRM vs Gmail, it’s clear GMail is a much more responsive, usable app. So AJAXifying things is generally a good move, cross-browser issues, difficulty of programming and dial-up connection lag aside. But is AJAX enough? Are we just at another local maximum of the thin-vs-rich client function? I think so.

That brings me to…

10 reasons I hate Web Apps (even 2.0 ones)

1. Ubiquity - I’m not always online. Don’t cut me off from my data when I’m not.
2. Compatability - I use at LEAST 3 different browsers and that’s mainstream. Don’t give me an app that doesn’t at least work in Safari (See this one here? Pre-installed on MILLIONS OF PCs), Firefox and IE
3. Speed - Let’s face it, you still wait for your data. You just do it less annoying places (e.g. forms with dynamic drop-down menus)
4. Installation - Installation on your own server is still complicated for the average person (I guess that’s largely a linux complaint though)
5. Installing RubyOnRails - this one gets its own special place in Hell. Only for those who seriously love linux.
6. JavaScript - there is a very warm place in Hell right next to Satan himself for this bastard of a language
7. Multiple Devices - you’re lucky to have a modern web app support the main 3 browsers (as defined by accessibility, not market share), let alone mobile ones. Give me IMAP sync with my phone any day.
8. Mobile Access - unless you’ve known Ziggy for years, chances are you’re still paying something like 2c/KB for your GPRS (slightly better than dial-up, maybe, sometimes, when it doesn’t drop out or crawl to a halt). 2.2c? Bah, that’s nothing, right? Wrong. If your home adsl cost that much, your 1GB of quota (assuming a basic AU$30-40/mth plan) would cost you in the order of TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. Cue: Austin Powers.
9. DotComs - stop giving any damn kid an excuse to pocket millions just by adding “social”, “web 2.0″ and “paradigm” to his business plan
10. Interoperability - On a good day, I might use & update dotProject, 3 different blogs, 2 CRM installations, 3 wiki’s and (locally) Excel, Word, MYOB, Adium (multi-protocol chat), OnTheJob (OS X), Mac Mail and Safari… just to keep track of tasks, links and projects. Note there is not a single social networking site on there. If there were, we’d be back in pre-Trillian days. Urgh. It looks like I, as a single individual, need enterprise-level software just to integrate the various functions of my life. And all this is supposed to make our lives easier. No wonder most of the above never get updated!!!

And to be fair…

3 Reasons I like web apps

1. It is easier to use an application from multiple locations
2. It is easier to set up (kinda flawed though - I could pay a consultant to set up software my own server and you’d have the same net ease of set-up from my perspective
3. There is no 3

And for completeness, a list of alternatives for the #1 feature of web apps - ubiquity:

• ssh
• X
• RDC (Remote Desktop)
• VNC
• VNC Java viewer
• Synchronisation (with your device of choice, e.g. PalmOne Treo 650)
• E-mail via telnet:
  telnet mail.waterfrontit.com.au 110
  user blah
  pass blah
  stat
  retr 1
• Pen & Paper

This entry was posted on Monday, July 10th, 2006 at 6:14 pm and is filed under Business, Personal, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.