As Internet connection speeds have increased, wifi has become ubiquitous, and web technology has blossomed, we have seen a large jump in the prevalence of web apps. No longer are mail and chat clients staying open on the desktops of the masses. More and more people are writing, chatting, working, and slacking completely from within the web browser.
I’m a nerd. I am used to having dedicated clients for everything. In fact, I still do. Mail.app, iChat, and X-Chat Aqua are all open on my desktop as I write this. However, that isn’t what the Kids These Days™ are doing. My little sister doesn’t even know that there is a program designed specifically for checking e-mail.
Services like Meebo and Google Talk are taking the place of the Adiums and iChats for less technical people. Opening bookmarks and clicking links are easier for them to handle than downloading, installing, configuring, and running dedicated applications. Heck, don’t even get me start about Facebook chat. That is a whole article in and of itself.
I am seeing this truly proliferate. Communication, work, music, videos, and even games are all being done strictly in the confines of the web browser. It actually makes me feel warm and fuzzy that the web has really matured. When I think about the fact that I am living in an era where movies will stream to my screen wirelessly with the press of a button, my mind is completely blown. It is a good time to be into technology.
So, I want to hear from you. Are you moving to web apps? Is there a place in the future for dedicated local applications? Comment on this post or hit me up on Twitter.
Photo Credit: skatoolaki
