I like web apps because they're always on.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Network problems aside, I like web apps, as opposed to desktop apps, because they're always on. Whenever I have to open a Word doc, a PDF and so on, I'm reminded why I like web apps so much. They're always there, always available; There's no startup and shutdown procedure; they're just a single click away.

I like the irony of the fact that I feel closer to my information in a remotely hosted web app, than in a proprietary file format, sitting on a local disk, that I need a desktop app to open.

I'm not sold on web apps that aim to be the same as desktop apps. Sure, the interfaces are easier to learn because they're more familiar, but I certainly don't want them to be exactly like desktop apps. The web has advantages that need to be preserved and enhanced.

Here are my web app ideals:

There's no startup or shutdown time.
Web apps have low device memory usage.
Web apps are always "on" without using any local resources.
Each document has a unique URL; opening the document and opening the app is the same thing.
I can share documents by simply sharing a URI.
Opening a document is harmless, and doesn't leave it unavailable while open, or vulnerable to corruption.
Editing a document doesn't mean I have to open and save the whole thing; I can edit small chunks of it.
Information doesn't even need to exist in "document" form.
When I return to the app it opens in exactly the same way as I left it.
The back and forward buttons are harmless. In fact they usefully allow me to move back and forward between different app states.

Being able to drag and drop is great, but sometimes it seems like app makers are willing to sacrifice all of these advantages just to feel more like desktop apps. And that's just silly.