Web apps have been "oncoming" for over a decade now. The buzz was the same in 2000, but instead of HTML5, it was DHTML or Java applets or ActiveX that was going

Web apps have been "oncoming" for over a decade now. The buzz was the same in 2000, but instead of HTML5, it was DHTML or Java applets or ActiveX that was going to completely replace traditional shrink-wrapped software. The web is a phenomenal success. It has created a massive new ecosystem and changed the social order of the world. It also catalyzed the collapse of the Windows empire, something that had been looking for a way to happen for a while. But that doesn't mean the web will replace Windows as the One True Platform. Windows has some particular flaws that ultimately brought it down, the most significant being, in my opinion, its model of app distribution and installation. All of the new platforms adequately address this issue. But the new native platforms also have a fundamental advantage over the web. They are designed from the ground up to support applications that can take full advantage of the latest hardware capabilities and present ideal user experiences. The web was not designed for applications at all and only by hiding the mountain of legacy cruft under layers of hacks has it even approached what native apps can do. The web has its strengths -- it makes it super easy to publish gobs of content that is accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime. It's very good at universal, generic interaction. But it always has and always will lag behind in rich, client-specific functionality. As fast as new capabilities can be finagled into browsers, new features, uses, and form factors will come to devices. You may be able to imagine some future in which widely deployed browsers can do any given thing, but you have to account for change across the whole technology spectrum. It's not just about possibilities, it's about pace. There is no need to force a dichotomy. We have native apps, we have the web, both have their place and neither are going away any time soon. If you're a developer, learn them both and choose the technologies that are right for each individual project.