4 ms·

The web is a great publishing medium for magazines and news outlets. Apps are for doing stuff beyond passive browsing.

tootie 11y ago
While apps have more capability, the web can do pretty much anything you need with content and data. The only time you really need an app is for CPU-intensive work or accessing hardware.
- zeveb 11y ago
  > The only time you really need an app is for CPU-intensive work or accessing hardware. Or when you want to own your own data, or work offline…
  - icebraining 11y ago
    Between Application Cache and various data storage solutions (local storage, the File API, etc), webapps can do that. https://unhosted.org/ https://unhosted.org/
  - owencm 11y ago
    Sites can definitely work offline using the new Service Worker system: http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/service-worker/introduction/ http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/service-worker/introd.... Try this example: https://voice-memos.appspot.com https://voice-memos.appspot.com.
- kllrnohj 11y ago
  If you want to do any sort of custom drawing or animation you basically can't do it with the web, the performance just isn't there. You must stay on the specific fast paths offered by the browser or you're screwed. So no, the web cannot do pretty much anything with content and data. The web can do very, very little with content & data, it is just often enough coverage for passive things like articles.
  - iridium127 11y ago
    There is a bunch of HTML5 drawing apps... what type of animation are you talking about? Also, The web is far from being only passive...
  - scraymer 11y ago
    I don't know what kind of custom drawing you are referring to.. the web can work with 2d and 3d drawing and animations just fine. For example, an entire first person 3d game built using WebGL - http://www.littleworkshop.fr/keepout.html http://www.littleworkshop.fr/keepout.html.
- idibidiart 11y ago
  <<the web can do pretty much anything you need with content and data>> Not on mobile. Due to serious, oft-encountered performance issues, the web remains crippled on mobile compared to native. By "native" I'm referring to apps where the UI is rendered natively as opposed to being rendered in a `WebView`. React Native is bending the rules here but it is important to note that it is divergent from the web platform and convergent with the native platforms.
  - jlarocco 11y ago
    I don't think anybody is disagreeing with you. The issue I have, and I think others have, is that 99% of "apps" don't need the extra capabilities and performance. Or if they do, it's only because of problems they've created themselves. "We're loading 45 tracking and advertising scripts, and now our site is slow. We need an app!" The article here demonstrates the problem perfectly. Mobile browsers are absolutely capable of displaying the text articles on the site. The browser on my flip phone from 1999 was capable of browsing a site like that.
iLoch 11y ago
This is the biggest takeaway for me. "Wow guys who would have thought the web was good enough for us to post our text content to." This article isn't about why you should drop mobile app development. News + magazines? Sure. Just look at Flipboard.
stephengillie 11y ago
Choosing the mobile website over the app is one way of keeping the relationship from going any further. A website can't ask you for your contact list like an app can.
- voltagex_ 11y ago
  http://www.w3.org/TR/contacts-api/ http://www.w3.org/TR/contacts-api/ - but I get your point.
  - owencm 11y ago
    That feature was designed but never built, so his point still stands. In my ideal world sites can do that stuff, they just have to ask, and users can always say no.
    - ianlevesque 11y ago
      So the way iOS apps already do this...
- marknutter 11y ago
  That's a feature, not a bug.
- marrs 11y ago
  eugh, I hate it when sites do that. I'd be really angry if I found out that a friend of mine had been sharing my contact details with strangers without my permission.
iridium127 11y ago
I used the web to post this comment.
collinmanderson 11y ago
Yes, this is the direction I've seen things going: - Companies that publish content that gets linked to and shows up in google search results should mainly be web based. - Companies that are about about getting stuff done (Gmail, Uber, banks, etc) are the ones who benefit the most from native apps.

While apps have more capability, the web can do pretty much anything you need with content and data. The only time you really need an app is for CPU-intensive work or accessing hardware.

zeveb 11y ago
> The only time you really need an app is for CPU-intensive work or accessing hardware. Or when you want to own your own data, or work offline…
- icebraining 11y ago
  Between Application Cache and various data storage solutions (local storage, the File API, etc), webapps can do that. https://unhosted.org/ https://unhosted.org/
- owencm 11y ago
  Sites can definitely work offline using the new Service Worker system: http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/service-worker/introduction/ http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/service-worker/introd.... Try this example: https://voice-memos.appspot.com https://voice-memos.appspot.com.
kllrnohj 11y ago
If you want to do any sort of custom drawing or animation you basically can't do it with the web, the performance just isn't there. You must stay on the specific fast paths offered by the browser or you're screwed. So no, the web cannot do pretty much anything with content and data. The web can do very, very little with content & data, it is just often enough coverage for passive things like articles.
- iridium127 11y ago
  There is a bunch of HTML5 drawing apps... what type of animation are you talking about? Also, The web is far from being only passive...
- scraymer 11y ago
  I don't know what kind of custom drawing you are referring to.. the web can work with 2d and 3d drawing and animations just fine. For example, an entire first person 3d game built using WebGL - http://www.littleworkshop.fr/keepout.html http://www.littleworkshop.fr/keepout.html.
idibidiart 11y ago
<<the web can do pretty much anything you need with content and data>> Not on mobile. Due to serious, oft-encountered performance issues, the web remains crippled on mobile compared to native. By "native" I'm referring to apps where the UI is rendered natively as opposed to being rendered in a `WebView`. React Native is bending the rules here but it is important to note that it is divergent from the web platform and convergent with the native platforms.
- jlarocco 11y ago
  I don't think anybody is disagreeing with you. The issue I have, and I think others have, is that 99% of "apps" don't need the extra capabilities and performance. Or if they do, it's only because of problems they've created themselves. "We're loading 45 tracking and advertising scripts, and now our site is slow. We need an app!" The article here demonstrates the problem perfectly. Mobile browsers are absolutely capable of displaying the text articles on the site. The browser on my flip phone from 1999 was capable of browsing a site like that.

iLoch 11y ago

This is the biggest takeaway for me. "Wow guys who would have thought the web was good enough for us to post our text content to." This article isn't about why you should drop mobile app development. News + magazines? Sure. Just look at Flipboard.

stephengillie 11y ago

Choosing the mobile website over the app is one way of keeping the relationship from going any further. A website can't ask you for your contact list like an app can.

voltagex_ 11y ago
http://www.w3.org/TR/contacts-api/ http://www.w3.org/TR/contacts-api/ - but I get your point.
- owencm 11y ago
  That feature was designed but never built, so his point still stands. In my ideal world sites can do that stuff, they just have to ask, and users can always say no.
  - ianlevesque 11y ago
    So the way iOS apps already do this...
marknutter 11y ago
That's a feature, not a bug.
marrs 11y ago
eugh, I hate it when sites do that. I'd be really angry if I found out that a friend of mine had been sharing my contact details with strangers without my permission.

iridium127 11y ago

I used the web to post this comment.

collinmanderson 11y ago

Yes, this is the direction I've seen things going: - Companies that publish content that gets linked to and shows up in google search results should mainly be web based. - Companies that are about about getting stuff done (Gmail, Uber, banks, etc) are the ones who benefit the most from native apps.