Application or the Cloud? (jaapwillem)

Application or the Cloud?

It's a question many people are making nowadays and the Cloud do definitely have strong backers at the moment. 

Of course Google, Microsoft and even Adobe is more and more pushing our data to the cloud. 

But lately I've been wondering, more and more people are getting used to it, I'm quite happy with it as well, but I see myself every time using the Sync service of these services. It does means that while I'm a back fan of them, I use one computer where I have applications synchronizing to the cloud, while I use the application. For example on my private computer, a Macbook, I use not the web version of Gmail but the Mail client. Where I have as well conversations but as well colour codes and etc. Google Calendar is changed to iCal and even Google Reader just got a competitor with NetNewsWire. This is apart from Feedly what I use.

One web service I basically never use online is Twitter, I use Tweetdeck and Tweetie for that. But on the other way, Friendfeed I use exclusively in the browser. 

That's why I'm wondering, more and more people are using now the Cloud, and more and more blogs are written by Tech experts are expecting the end of Applications. 

I do think that stand alone applications will have a hard time, but a exchange application with a direct connection with the Internet. 

The next question what comes up then, Do I believe in the Browser as OS? 

The short answer: No.

The long answer, I don't think that a browser will be able to support the memory independent and speed tasks you are doing in an Application. Maybe we can do it in a little while, but then it will take a long time. For example, to edit a simple Photoshop file it is possible but it takes longer then in Photoshop. Then when we're talking about larger files, more then 200 MB, I do think that the browser and the Internet will actually break. 

The next time I'll write something more and will take a few applications which will be very interesting to see online. 

Cheers

Jaap Willem
Online Presence Consultant at http://www.jaapwillem.com
Contact me at jaapwillem at jaapwillem.com
Friendfeed: http://www.friendfeed.com/jaapwillem

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