Do These Three Web Apps Signal the End of Desktop Applications?

A while ago I wrote a post wondering if we were seeing the end of the desktop application. With the new web development abilities being offered by Adobe and Microsoft, and applications such as these I feature here, I wonder if we are nearly there.

After all, what do we need in any application?

  1. Features/Utility
  2. Speed
  3. Stability
  4. Storage
  5. Access

You notice I do not mention price. To be honest I don’t think price is that big of an issue. While I can’t afford to buy Photoshop CS3 on my megre income, nor do I need the full power of that application either. Those businesses that do have a pressing need find the money to pay. While web applications tend to have the advantage of an ad-supported model, there is no reason why a desktop application couldn’t be ad-supported.

If you have a play with the applications I list below you will see they all approach each point in their own way but the results are compelling. The main worry that they need to overcome is the problem of #3. 

Splashup is an online image editing package.

 Splashup, formerly Fauxto, is a powerful editing tool and photo manager. With all the features professionals use and novices want, it’s easy to use, works in real-time and allows you to edit many images at once. Splashup runs in all browsers, integrates seamlessly with top photosharing sites, and even has its own file format so you can save your work in progress.

With an online Photoshop on the way and basic third party editing being placed into Flickr, the online photo editing space is hotting up.

Buzzword is an online word processor but far more funky than Googles offering.

Buzzword, the first real word processor for the web. Buzzword makes it easy for you to create a document from any computer on the Web, share it with colleagues, and review and revise it as a team.Buzzword works on any PC or Macintosh that is connected to the Internet and running Adobe’s Flash Player. Buzzword runs from Virtual Ubiquity’s secure servers, and your documents are stored there, so they are … well, ubiquitous: always available on the Web. And always securely private, except from the people you invite to share them.

SlideRocket promises to be an online version of Powerpoint. The twist is, rather than go for a subset of the desktop applications features, these guys think they can go beyond them …
Unfortunately we can’t get to play with it but the demo results look stunning.

All these applications have the big advantage that, at least in theory, they are there on demand as and when you need them with no installation or upgrade hassles necessary. That in itself could be sufficient draw.

While big corporates might shy away from bootstrapped startups offerings, those backed by Google and Adobe are sure to get the corporate vote. For home and casual users there will be no such worries. This could be an interesting time.

So, are we going to see the end of the desktop application and if so … how soon?

Tweetmeme Tracks the Twittersphere


With more and more people piling on to Twitter it is getting to the point where it would be impossible to personally track every interesting person to find the compelling links. Enter Tweetmeme, a Techmeme for Twitter.

Just like Techmeme, Tweetmeme looks for the hot topics and aggregates the conversations into a list so you can see at a glance what people are discussing. Popular topics that are being covered by Twitter power users bubble to the top, with items categorized to split out audio and video from text.


Right now the top story is Tweetmeme itself so how useful it will be remains to be seen. I can see it doing very well providing it really can track every conversation, something other services have struggled to do.

I have said a few times now that I am increasingly getting my news from Twitter. Services such as this one just might take that trend even further. Techmeme had the power to send a flood of traffic to listed blogs, I wonder if this service will create Twitter celebrities?

Last.fm Deploys Full and Free Music Tracks


I have long been a fan of the music recommendation, social networking community, and online radio site Last.fm. Now it just got even better. Where before they used to post short clips of most of the music, now all tracks are available in full.

Yes, free and in full. Your friend recommends an album? Go listen to it. If you like it then I am sure you will go buy it, but right now you can listen three times for nothing. More from the Last.fm blog …

As of today, you can play full-length tracks and entire albums for free on the Last.fm website. Something we’ve wanted for years—for people who visit Last.fm to be able to play any track for free—is now possible. With the support of the folks behind EMI, Sony BMG, Universal and Warner—and the artists they work with—plus thousands of independent artists and labels, we’ve made the biggest legal collection of music available to play online for free, the way we believe it should be. Full-length tracks are now available in the US, UK, and Germany, and we’re hard at work broadening our coverage into other countries.

Right now the artists and labels get a share of advertising revenue but they are working towards a subscription model.

Signing up is completely free. As I said above I was already a fan because it was the main way I discover new music ever since I left the world of office work surrounded by iPod owning colleagues. The ability to get recommendations and listen to the recommendation in full is just brilliant.


Along with those cool features, there are also iTunes and other media player plugins to allow you to record your listening habits and display the currently playing track in your IM client. Like most services now, you can create a profile, tag and make friends, all the trendy web2.0 stuff.

If you haven’t already tried Last.fm, now is the time to check it out!

Get a Life

I’m not a Second Life fan but I am getting sick of the bashing users get in the media. Most recent was this piece by British newsreader John Humphrys that was emailed to me by a friend.

Check out what he has to say:

Tens of millions of people in this country and around the world appear to have reverted to childhood. They spend extraordinary amounts of their time inhabiting an imaginary world

So the misfit with no friends becomes a hunky sex god, lusted after by beautiful women with unfeasibly perfect bodies

Puzzled because I could not understand how perfectly intelligent people with apparently busy lives could spend even ten minutes engaging in such childish pursuits.

I fear a world in which children grow up believing that what matters is how many “friends” they have on their internet site or in their fantasy world rather than in the real world.

I have a tiny number of friends compared to Facebook or MySpace users. But they are real friends in every sense of the word. I may not see them often, but I know they are there.

So what he is basically saying is using a virtual world is childish and that people should get “real friends” even if you don’t see them very often because that is more real. Give me a break.

He claims his friends are real, even though he doesn’t physically see them. Hello? How are my online friends any less “real”? I speak to them every day so surely I have more evidence of their reality than the learned newsreader?

To assert that a friendship mediated by a computer is less of a friendship than one conducted over the telephone is preposterous. I thought these guys were meant to be intelligent journalists.

It gets worse though, he pulls out the child porn trump card:

Nick Schader, a reporter with the investigative television programme Report Mainz and a member of Second Life, said he had been “shocked” by the virtual child pornography meetings to which he was invited for 500 Linden dollars – around £1.50.

Yes, these acts are sick and twisted but that doesn’t make every virtual world or user a sleaze. It seems media commentary around these worlds always has to fall into the hype or fear monger categories. When are journalists going to catch on that these environments are populated with people, and all that entails?

Photo by Cosmic Kitty

Why AppleTV Will Fail. Again.


When I first heard about Apple TV I thought it sounded pretty cool. Then I found out what it actually was, and thought “Ah well, pretty lousy but hey, it’s version one.”. We now get to know the news from Macworld and anticipation was high, along with the new video rental service. This could be what we were looking for! Sorry, no joy.

What would you expect from a TV device? Tivo-like functionality? Media Center capability? Storage? Apple TV has none of those things. Sad, but true.

Yes, it has a hard disk, but the device is like an over-sized iPod. It’s depends on your computers iTunes library. It can’t record, doesn’t have a digital or analog tuner. Heck, it doesn’t even play DVDs.

So it is just one more box and not a very smart one at that.

“But” Mr Jobs would say “We now have our video rental service!”. And they do. And it is lame.

iTunes Rentals Good News

Bad News

Summary

What should they have done?

In an ideal world you should be able to use it as a true media center. It should have tuner and DVR capability. You should be able to sync your iPod directly with it and copy files over the network. It should be a safari-based browsing device. Yes, have rentals, but they should be new films and you should have a full 30 days to view as many times as you like. This isn’t pie in the sky, they could do this with the existing hardware and maybe a tuner ad-on.

That, I would buy.

Macworld Fanboy Frenzy

I am a Mac fan, but I don’t really understand what the big excitement is about Macworld. As I write this the Jobsnote has not started so any big news is yet to leak out, but still I do not expect to be as thrilled as lots of people are expecting.

What is it about Apple that has this impact on the media and public? Is it just the fanboys and journalists getting their underwear in a knot or are ordinary Jo and Joe public as fascinated? I doubt it.

Put it this way, there is unlikely to be a massive game-changing launch today. It’s not anticipated that something of the scale of iPhone will be announced. Of course if there is, and I am happy to be wrong in this case, all the speculation and frenzied breath-holding would have been worth it.

Let’s take a look at what is expected to be announced:

Perhaps I am just losing my geekness. It had to happen one day.

Are you excited about Macworld? Why?

Domain Search Means Domain Registration at Network Solutions

“Domain Search Means Domain Registration at Network Solutions”

What do I mean by that headline? Suprisingly it means just that; if you do a search at Network Solutions to see if your chosen domain is available … they register it right away. That domain you were thinking about? It’s now theirs. All you can do is wait for it to expire or buy it from them. For your convenience. Much more expensively than your usual domain company.

Let me show you what I mean.

First we do a search …




… oh great, the domain is available!




Oh, but if you check … no it isn’t!




Try it in your browser …




Your idea, their domain. If you want it you can buy it back for up to three times the price of a normal domain registration.

My advice is to ask around your friends for recommendations of friendly and efficient domain registration companies and keep your domain ideas to yourself.

Why We Need an OpenID of Social Networks

I’m disappointed. Reading the Yahoo! Life news over at Techcrunch makes me believe that rather than innovating, the top companies are all trying to fight the last battle. We have seen this before, be a better Google, beat MySpace, try to beat Facebook or be the new Facebook.

This is the Hollywood technique. When they lack ideas or do not want to take risks they remake the last blockbuster and stick to the winning formula. While Microsoft can have a home-run creating their equivalent of sequels with new versions of Windows and Office still driving profitability, other companies such as Google and Yahoo! seem to be taking the bandwagon formula.

Why do these companies all think they need their own Social Network solution? Perhaps I am strange but I really do not want to join another service. I have spent the last couple of months trimming down my online activity. It’s going to take something really compelling to get me to sign up to and participate on a new one. It also seems that Yahoo! Mail is central to this new plan. I have no intention of using a further email service when I have perfectly serviceable email already thankyouverymuch.

It’s clear what the attraction is. Not only do they want the traffic and eyeballs (how 1999), but they see an opportunity to centralize all that lovely personal data. Facebook dropped the ball, perhaps they can run with it? Sorry, but I think the backlash goes further than just Facebook. It seems from my circle of contacts (um, social “graph”) that those of us concerned with productivity are asking “What has social media done for me lately?”.

Look at what happens when you join a social network. You go adding friends, and get a buzz from other people adding you. Then you go looking for things to do. They are solutions waiting for a problem! Just like Second Life, I think the reason I do not find Facebook compelling is they are a venue without a purpose. World of Warcraft is a virtual world with an aim. Dating sites are social networks with motivation. Facebook connects you with people you do not want to connect with so you can throw a sheep at them. Great. Now Yahoo! wants in on the act. Forgive me for not jumping up and down in excitement.

It seems to me there is a need for social connections but rather than new services these connections could be built upon what we already do unless there is real added value. Twitter works for me because of the conversations, Flickr because of the photography hosting and browsing.

OpenId is a way forward for user authentication and identification. What I think we need is an OpenId for buddy lists. A distributed service that works as a layer on top of any web service that implements it, making any tool potentially social.

Let’s not create more logins, profiles, user accounts, and please put privacy concerns and how we want data to be shared to the top of the priority list?

What do you think? Am I on to something? Is this being built already? Or did I fall from the top branch of the idiot tree? Please let me know in the comments …

Free Screencast Creation and Hosting Online Service

Screencast-O-MaticIt sometimes amazes me what clever people can make web services do. I thought Sketchcast was clever, now that has been blown away by a similar idea but much smarter. Forget just being able to sketch, Screencast-o-Matic allows you to create and host Screencasts!

When I was looking for Mac software to do screencasts it took me a while to discover iShowU which is not bad but is way under featured compared to Camtasia on the PC. This website does pretty much what iShowU can do, for free and without installing any software.

It should not be underestimated how tricky the performance part of screencasting can be. Believe me, even though I have spent most of my career demonstrating and teaching techy stuff, I have tried it and found it extremely difficult. This service will allow you to practice the art without spending any money, great stuff.

The only requirement seems to be Java 1.5, and if you want the mouse cursor to appear you need a PC or Intel Mac.

There are various screen sizes, frame rates and export options. Once your creation is complete you can then share and embed in your website. It’s like a YouTube for screencasts. Bloggers will love it.

Check it out and let us know what you find or create with it.

2008 Technology Hopes and Fears

2007 was a pretty eventful year for technology. We saw much to provide us with a warm glow of optimism, not least some incredible tech stock valuations and VC plays. On the downside we also saw some gremlins in the mix, most notably the Facebook Beacon fiasco. What will 2008 have in store?

I’m not going to say I have any hard predictions. There will be many fine folks prognosticating already and to be honest I have been taken by surprise so many times this last year I wouldn’t risk it. In fact if 2007 taught me anything it is when it comes to predictions I can guarantee if there are choices between one outcome and another in many cases the actual result will be the unexpected “none of the above”. That said, I do have some hopes and fears for 2008:

Censorship

It seems filtering the internet at country level is now no longer the domain of politically strict countries such as China. The Australian Government has plans to control “on behalf” of the Australian people what they can and can not view or download. Of course they are doing it for the populaces own good as they are not grown up enough to decide what is appropriate for themselves. Very reasonably they will only filter “pornography and inappropriate material”. Who decides what is “inappropriate” or how is not satisfactorily explained.

Fear: Clients of mine have on several occasions been caught by corporate and home web filters entirely inaccurately. Many schools complained after they found that brilliant and informative sex education content was blocked at ISP level for example. Many people have to use workarounds to view innocent blogs such as BoingBoing, probably because they criticize the filtering companies. These systems are not as intelligent and even-handed as the suppliers like to make out.

Now, call me a tinfoil hat-wearing freak, but in my opinion politicians are the very last people who I would want deciding what I am allowed to do on the internet. We have all seen the influence lobbyists, big business, special interests and the corrupt have on politics. If they won’t balk at getting effective medicines removed from pharmacy shelves to further business interests then there is no reason to stop them controlling what we see on the intarwebs for their own evil ends. Once it takes off as a success in Australia, what is to stop other countries following suit?Want to view that Ron Paul website? Sorry, “inappropriate” but you can file a request through official channels and be put on a register?

Hope: The Australian case will hopefully bring the whole subject into the spotlight. The Aussies I know are tough and outspoken people. Ideally the whole filtering thing will light a fire under them so strong that they give their government a sound thrashing over it so bad no other would dare try.

DRM, DMCA, D’oh

Content creators are mostly in favor of some sort of copyright controls. The problem is, big business are fighting for consumer-abusive laws that dictate what customers can and can’t do in a completely unfair and lopsided way. Weasely and greedy politicians then write up the laws that suit those interests rather than the people they were elected to serve. Check out this funny seasonal video about the Canadian situation.

2007 saw the BBC, funded as it is by an enforced “TV tax”, only allow content to be viewed on Windows until forced to make Mac and Linux plans by public outcry. Apple, otherwise the darling of the tech crowd, have led the charge in forcing unreasonable controls on digital music lovers. Video services shut leaving bought and paid for content useless. Record companies became so obsessed with treating music fans as thieves Sony installed malware root-kits on their hard drives. Hello Sony? Mr Burns wants his moral barometer back!

Fear: Citizens seem to be sleep-walking into an ever-deteriorating set of rights while happily being told that reasonable practices such as letting your mum listen to your Neil Diamond MP3 makes you both criminals.

Hope: It seems some in the media industry are realizing that it is not piracy killing their business model but their own practices and anti-consumer stance. More record companies are releasing music untainted by DRM on services competing with iTunes.

Privacy? What Privacy?

2007 wasn’t a great year for privacy. In fact, for many people, it has already been kissed goodbye. I live in the UK where we have pretty much gotten used to 24-7 video surveillance and it’s almost a given that there will be some sort of national ID card at some point. On top of that we have Social Networking services playing fast and loose with our data also.

Fear: While there are many people standing up for their privacy rights, there are many more people who do not care, do not understand or are plain ignorant about privacy concerns. How many times do you hear sentiments along the lines of “If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear”.

Hope: The Facebook u-turn gives me some hope that when users are made aware they will rebel against these sorts of invasions and exploitations of private data.

So, those are my hopes and fears for 2008, what do you think? Have you more to add? Disagree? Let me know in the comments …