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Isn't the app-craze just a sign that websites are too complicated, slow, in many cases also somewhat shady and full of annoying ads? Most of them are nearly imp

Isn't the app-craze just a sign that websites are too complicated, slow, in many cases also somewhat shady and full of annoying ads? Most of them are nearly impossible to navigate using a mobile browser and extremely annoying. App stores give us a tiny bit more security (through moderation) and UIs that will work for our device. Making websites that work well both on desktop and mobile browsers is a PITA. We already have too many browser versions (and deficiencies) to take care of (yes, we really do not want 2-3% fewer users = customers = revenue), mobile browsers add a whole bunch of new issues to take care of (hover, selections etc. all work differently). As long as we don't have a framework or set of widgets that works properly everywhere and is fast/small enough for mobile devices, Apps will have a Raison d'être. Now go write one or stop complaining!

untog 13y ago
Isn't the app-craze just a sign that websites are too complicated, slow, in many cases also somewhat shady and full of annoying ads? 1. Complicated? No, I don't think so. If anything the problem is that web sites aren't capable of being as complex as they ideally would be. 2. Slow - yes. But browsers keep getting better (iOS excepted, sadly - Apple appears to have lost a lot of interest) 3. Somewhat shady and full of ads - apps are worse in this regard, IMO. They also ask for access to your location, and all sort of other data access web sites don't have. Making websites that work well both on desktop and mobile browsers is a PITA. Yep. Making websites that work across all desktop browsers was a PITA a few years ago. Cross-platform web development has never really be that easy.
- lazyjones 13y ago
  > Somewhat shady and full of ads - apps are worse in this regard, IMO. They also ask for access to your location, and all sort of other data access web sites don't have. I disagree with that - App stores will reject many apps but search engines will happily index most shady websites as long as they don't serve obvious malware or try "black hat SEO". Websites can also ask for your location, store a multitude of tracking info (cookies, Flash cookies, local storage...) and while they cannot access contacts, SMS and similar information, they can get very sensitive information though phishing and possibly from browser history. > Cross-platform web development has never really be that easy. We could stick to the lowest common denominator (which is still simple HTML apparently), but people would complain about the obsolete UI.
aestra 13y ago
Um, no. I won't install the facebook app for example because I don't want facebook to access my SMS, location, decide to pop up annoying notifications on my phone that may or may not be able to be disabled, perhaps poll in the background, etc. I don't want to INSTALL every website I visit onto my device. I want to consume the content in a sandbox and just be able to leave. I could understand say if there was an actual need, like I have one to automatically upload photos to flickr, but WebMD? McDonalds? A site I visited once two years ago?

untog 13y ago

Isn't the app-craze just a sign that websites are too complicated, slow, in many cases also somewhat shady and full of annoying ads? 1. Complicated? No, I don't think so. If anything the problem is that web sites aren't capable of being as complex as they ideally would be. 2. Slow - yes. But browsers keep getting better (iOS excepted, sadly - Apple appears to have lost a lot of interest) 3. Somewhat shady and full of ads - apps are worse in this regard, IMO. They also ask for access to your location, and all sort of other data access web sites don't have. Making websites that work well both on desktop and mobile browsers is a PITA. Yep. Making websites that work across all desktop browsers was a PITA a few years ago. Cross-platform web development has never really be that easy.

lazyjones 13y ago
> Somewhat shady and full of ads - apps are worse in this regard, IMO. They also ask for access to your location, and all sort of other data access web sites don't have. I disagree with that - App stores will reject many apps but search engines will happily index most shady websites as long as they don't serve obvious malware or try "black hat SEO". Websites can also ask for your location, store a multitude of tracking info (cookies, Flash cookies, local storage...) and while they cannot access contacts, SMS and similar information, they can get very sensitive information though phishing and possibly from browser history. > Cross-platform web development has never really be that easy. We could stick to the lowest common denominator (which is still simple HTML apparently), but people would complain about the obsolete UI.

aestra 13y ago

Um, no. I won't install the facebook app for example because I don't want facebook to access my SMS, location, decide to pop up annoying notifications on my phone that may or may not be able to be disabled, perhaps poll in the background, etc. I don't want to INSTALL every website I visit onto my device. I want to consume the content in a sandbox and just be able to leave. I could understand say if there was an actual need, like I have one to automatically upload photos to flickr, but WebMD? McDonalds? A site I visited once two years ago?