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?

Posted on January 31, 2008 by Chris Garrett 
Filed Under Web 2.0

Comments

4 Responses to “Do These Three Web Apps Signal the End of Desktop Applications?”

  1. Patrick Bay on February 1st, 2008 12:37 am

    I happen to think the exact opposite is happening to applications. While it’s true that there are more web-deployed web apps out there, the same technology is being brought into play to create desktop applications. One if the biggest updates for Flash-based applications to be available soon will be the Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR). Have a look at the Adobe Labs site (http://labs.adobe.com) to see what’s latest and greatest.
    With Adobe AIR, Flash/Flex/JavaScript developers can use existing development knowledge and write fully qualified desktop applications. This allows developers to interact with the desktop and file system (for example) which would otherwise not be allowed, and in fact be a massive security problem, for networked applications. Uploading a 15 Megabyte Photoshop file is still currently not a feasible way to edit images so the days of desktop-based applications are hardly gone. Besides, AIR is such a great mix of desktop and web-based technology that the line is blurred, especially from the perspective of the developer. Technical details and developer-specific articles are available at http://www.peabee.com/

  2. Chris Garrett on February 4th, 2008 4:31 pm

    AIR does look a great platform. It seems though browser based applications are growing in popularity both with developers and users. You have a good point about large file sizes and I can see this being just one reason desktop will always have a role to play, but I see those applications becoming more and more niche, after all if a document or file is created, copied and consumed all within the web (eg. presentation) we won’t care.

  3. watch on April 27th, 2008 7:41 pm

    Its good site! :)

  4. Shea Kauffman on September 11th, 2009 3:11 am

    I agree with the first post. The desktop isn’t going anywhere.

    http://www.polymathtoday.com/blog/2009/09/10/the-death-of-the-desktop-os-greatly-exagerated

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