http://ryanfrazier.disqus.com/enSun, 23 May 2010 23:50:52 -0000http://ryanfrazier.name/2010/05/mobile-everything/#comment-51663873<p>That "vortex of discussion" is a pretty important aspect of all of this techno-world we are entering. Just where will it lead? What will be the impact on social interaction, will there be an increasing divide between techno-haves and have-nots, will there an increasingly larger inability to defer wants and needs for the instant gratification of our inquiries, what will it means in terms of the education of our children, etc.? I think the ignorance of these things will create a litany of un-intended consequences for society. Perhaps social questions should come before technological advances? Whadda' you think Mr. Frazier?</p>D.R.FrazierSun, 23 May 2010 23:50:52 -0000http://ryanfrazier.name/2010/05/do-web-applications-suck/#comment-49410568<p>In my mind a "hybrid" model can look like a few different things (so let me know if this isn't what you were thinking):<br>- "Embedding" web content within a native application (though this tends to be more of a hack than a strategy)<br>-Creating both a full-featured native application and a "light" web-based application (probably the most common)<br>- Using a "platform-independent" application model, like Adobe Air or Java<br>- Creating applications which are "functionally identical" but have both native and web-based versions (can't think of too many good examples in this category)</p><p>What I said with the general case still applies here: you need to pick the best solution depending upon what you are trying to achieve with the application and how you want to position it within the marketplace. And for companies doing development, it is a really important consideration, because, as you said, the more you try to do, the more resources you have to spend, and the more risk you run of either fragmenting the product (different functionality on different platforms) or impeding development (keeping products in parity, but being limited by one of your platform choices). Note that this choice also plays out if you choose to build native apps, because there are platform choices there: iPhone/iPod Touch, iPad, Android, PC, Mac, Linux...and so on.</p><p>For consumer apps it probably makes the most since to focus more narrowly, at least in the beginning. For Enterprise applications, I think it is much more common to have a hybrid model: full function native application for "power users" and web-based applications for casual users. This reflects some of the distinctions I laid out in the post, with the difference being that you have two very different user groups, both of whose needs must be satisfied. While most of the modern ERP systems embraced a full web-based model for both groups, a large amount of technical complexity was introduced to create all of the necessary functionality for power users in a web-based application. I've not really thought about whether that is a good and sustainable strategy or not, but that's an interesting question. I haven't followed that market recently to see what the developments and trends have been.</p><p>The other part I didn't even get into was HTML5, which adds a lot of application functionality and is creating the dust-up between Adobe and Apple. I think it is an important development, but because of my universal access concerns, I hope browsers can keep up to standards instead of trying to fragment into "best of breed" solutions competing with native application platforms.</p>ryanfrazierMon, 10 May 2010 18:04:04 -0000http://ryanfrazier.name/2010/05/do-web-applications-suck/#comment-49400753<p>Interesting. I'd like to hear your thoughts on the hybrid model as that is an option that needs to be considered. It seems as if companies, especially small ones, are only willing to invest in one strategy or the other, most likely due to resource constraints or the business problem at hand.</p>David LedgerwoodMon, 10 May 2010 16:55:32 -0000