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We will never have Web 3.0, because the Web’s dead. Yawn. The person writing this is clearly clueless. The web is not going die. Anyone who says things like

We will never have Web 3.0, because the Web’s dead. Yawn. The person writing this is clearly clueless. The web is not going die. Anyone who says things like this is clearly an iPhone junkie and not really paying attention to the larger picture, and the fact that web apps are quickly catching up to iPhone app experiences, and are quickly going to overtake them. Native mobile apps are a short term fad. They're toast in the long run, because they go against the natural order of things -- network-based software is the future regardless of how cool a silly game you just downloaded is. Data is moving to the cloud, therefore software will move the cloud (not your mobile device), and nothing can change this trend... not even Apple.

rimantas 14y ago
> web apps are quickly catching up to iPhone app > experiences They are not. > and are quickly going to overtake them. They are not. > Native mobile apps are a short term fad. They are not. > network-based software is the future True. Have you noticed, how many native apps get their data from network. > Data is moving to the cloud, True. > therefore software will > move the cloud (not your mobile device), and nothing can > change this trend... not even Apple. Have you heard of iCloud? Apple is already there. You are just confusing networked apps, data in the cloud and web apps. Native apps can have all that and still offer superior user experience. They will always have that advantage—no matter how fast the browsers get they will still be a middle man.
- wavephorm 14y ago
  It's all about software delivery. Native apps, whether they be desktop or mobile based, will always pale in comparison to the simple act of clicking on a link, and immediately running the software - no downloads, no install, no headaches. Mobile natives apps can never provide this level of pain-free software experience. This is especially true if every app that can exist in the future needs to be moderated by a central authority (Apple). Mobile apps are not the future, it is the past, in new clothing. Mobile apps are essentially a re-invention of the CD-ROM software era, in a new slick iPhone interface. Millions of people constantly re-downloading and upgrading the same software millions of times again and again. It's basically Windows freeware/shareware all over again. Some of these apps might have connection to a website, but it's just tacked onto an ancient software paradigm. Whereas when you starting building a web-based app, you already developing for that new hyper-networked paradigm. In "the future", your web browser becomes the desktop, or the mobile UI, and the internet is the software. I promise you, in the long term, it does not matter how successful Apple, and previously Microsoft, are at deceiving you of this future. It will happen. And it is happening. Everywhere right now, there are millions and millions of developers building HTML5 apps, and every improvement to today's browsers is building our future software paradigm -- and it will not be controlled by Apple or Google.
  - rbn 14y ago
    I fully agree with you. However. Apple and Google wouldn't want to lose their cash cow app stores so they might hold back their browsers. I would LOVE to see a day when Chrome OS becomes a success. No more gatekeepers. %100 web.
  - webjprgm 14y ago
    For a web app to provide the same functionality as a native mobile app the same content must be downloaded. A mobile app downloads compiled executable and all assets in a bundle upfront, then it's permanently stored. A web app downloads UI structure (HTML,CSS) and minimal code (JS) first, appears to instantly be working, then downloads the rest (media assets like images and movies, the rest of the code, etc) in the background. In the end, the same amount of stuff has been downloaded. But web apps have the instant usability feel to them. Web apps are improving such that they will be able to match the same experience and speed of native apps. JS engines run faster, WebGL allows 3D games, caching of files allows faster starting times. Maybe they'll get close to native speed, unlikely to match it due to middle man (browser, plus overhead of compiling JS vs pre-compiled Obj-C). But you still have re-downloading when the cache clears something out (or else you copy more mobile app features by letting the user declare what stays in the cache permanently). Mobile apps are re-downloaded once per update. Web apps will be re-downloaded more often than that even with good caching (maybe, I guess you could cache infinitely until you run out of space, so with sufficient space it's equivalent). So while web apps are playing catchup quite well, mobile apps still have advantages. Payment models are different generally, but the models would work fine regardless of the web app vs. mobile difference. Web apps tend to be subscription based, mobile apps tend to be buy once with infinite free upgrades, or using some newer experimental model like "freemium". But you could make a buy-once web app or a subscription mobile app, and IIRC people already have. So, the technologies are converging, and at the end of the day you still have to get the software from the developer to the user. JS+WebGL+CSS+HTML+localstorage+... vs. Obj-C+Cocoa, that's just format war. Open web+browsers vs. curated Apple App Store + iOS vs. un-curated Google App Store + Android, that's platform war. Someone will win. But people will be using software on their mobile devices, regardless of how and where they get it or what's under the hood. Mobile is next, and the interconnectivity of the web will be working with it, and social will be working with it, and whatever else comes in the future will also add and change things of course.

rimantas 14y ago

> web apps are quickly catching up to iPhone app > experiences They are not. > and are quickly going to overtake them. They are not. > Native mobile apps are a short term fad. They are not. > network-based software is the future True. Have you noticed, how many native apps get their data from network. > Data is moving to the cloud, True. > therefore software will > move the cloud (not your mobile device), and nothing can > change this trend... not even Apple. Have you heard of iCloud? Apple is already there. You are just confusing networked apps, data in the cloud and web apps. Native apps can have all that and still offer superior user experience. They will always have that advantage—no matter how fast the browsers get they will still be a middle man.

wavephorm 14y ago
It's all about software delivery. Native apps, whether they be desktop or mobile based, will always pale in comparison to the simple act of clicking on a link, and immediately running the software - no downloads, no install, no headaches. Mobile natives apps can never provide this level of pain-free software experience. This is especially true if every app that can exist in the future needs to be moderated by a central authority (Apple). Mobile apps are not the future, it is the past, in new clothing. Mobile apps are essentially a re-invention of the CD-ROM software era, in a new slick iPhone interface. Millions of people constantly re-downloading and upgrading the same software millions of times again and again. It's basically Windows freeware/shareware all over again. Some of these apps might have connection to a website, but it's just tacked onto an ancient software paradigm. Whereas when you starting building a web-based app, you already developing for that new hyper-networked paradigm. In "the future", your web browser becomes the desktop, or the mobile UI, and the internet is the software. I promise you, in the long term, it does not matter how successful Apple, and previously Microsoft, are at deceiving you of this future. It will happen. And it is happening. Everywhere right now, there are millions and millions of developers building HTML5 apps, and every improvement to today's browsers is building our future software paradigm -- and it will not be controlled by Apple or Google.
- rbn 14y ago
  I fully agree with you. However. Apple and Google wouldn't want to lose their cash cow app stores so they might hold back their browsers. I would LOVE to see a day when Chrome OS becomes a success. No more gatekeepers. %100 web.
- webjprgm 14y ago
  For a web app to provide the same functionality as a native mobile app the same content must be downloaded. A mobile app downloads compiled executable and all assets in a bundle upfront, then it's permanently stored. A web app downloads UI structure (HTML,CSS) and minimal code (JS) first, appears to instantly be working, then downloads the rest (media assets like images and movies, the rest of the code, etc) in the background. In the end, the same amount of stuff has been downloaded. But web apps have the instant usability feel to them. Web apps are improving such that they will be able to match the same experience and speed of native apps. JS engines run faster, WebGL allows 3D games, caching of files allows faster starting times. Maybe they'll get close to native speed, unlikely to match it due to middle man (browser, plus overhead of compiling JS vs pre-compiled Obj-C). But you still have re-downloading when the cache clears something out (or else you copy more mobile app features by letting the user declare what stays in the cache permanently). Mobile apps are re-downloaded once per update. Web apps will be re-downloaded more often than that even with good caching (maybe, I guess you could cache infinitely until you run out of space, so with sufficient space it's equivalent). So while web apps are playing catchup quite well, mobile apps still have advantages. Payment models are different generally, but the models would work fine regardless of the web app vs. mobile difference. Web apps tend to be subscription based, mobile apps tend to be buy once with infinite free upgrades, or using some newer experimental model like "freemium". But you could make a buy-once web app or a subscription mobile app, and IIRC people already have. So, the technologies are converging, and at the end of the day you still have to get the software from the developer to the user. JS+WebGL+CSS+HTML+localstorage+... vs. Obj-C+Cocoa, that's just format war. Open web+browsers vs. curated Apple App Store + iOS vs. un-curated Google App Store + Android, that's platform war. Someone will win. But people will be using software on their mobile devices, regardless of how and where they get it or what's under the hood. Mobile is next, and the interconnectivity of the web will be working with it, and social will be working with it, and whatever else comes in the future will also add and change things of course.