Comments on: Are Web Interfaces “Good Enough”?

By: Jester

Jester — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 11:39:49 +0000

might wanna be carefull you dont get a lawsuit for showing you download a film and some TV episodes with torrent !!!!

/Jester

(perhaps the torrent using a linux dist wouldve been less controversial)

By: Manu Goel

Manu Goel — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 08:06:47 +0000

very true, thats the point…. the user always has the option to decide what to use and what not to use….. and that is a personal preference….. while I may not like using online versions of spreadsheets and editors, someone else may like them….. but no one is stopping me from using desktop based spreadsheet applications if I need more power….. and it would be wrong on my part to expect the exact same functionality, responsiveness and feature set from the online version…… it simply has a different purpose

By: ajaxus

ajaxus — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 06:36:39 +0000

We cant compare them of course but nowadays their functions overlap more and more, for example having a piece of software on your PC as well as online.

The user is left to decide which one is more conveninet to use.

By: Manu Goel

Manu Goel — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 06:26:18 +0000

It is not fair to compare web apps to desktop apps in any way. There are many reasons (and the list is not complete):

1. Huge differences among browsers almost force the developers to sideline some great ideas and features or at least find a not-so-good cross browser solution, more so when IE is no longer the most dominant browser and you have to give due respect to other browsers.
2. Different levels of standards compliance by browser manufacturers make the path of a web developer all the more difficult, again forcing him to incorporate hacks and bloating the code with browser detection and stuff.
3. Network and Internet latencies will always be there, no matter how small, to hinder the ultimate experience.
4. Moreover, web development languages work at a very high level thus making them slow and less powerful. Unless we find a better alternative to how we parse scripting languages, the performance will always be slow.

It is like comparing a salaried employee who struggles for resources just to survive to a businessman who is more concerned about effective and efficient utilization of abundant resources.

I guess we should see web as an extension of desktop and not as a replacement. We should start understanding that they both have different advantages and lets assign tasks to them keeping this in mind.

By: Rob Scherer

Rob Scherer — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 00:14:09 +0000

Great post Dion. I’m really interested in the migration of apps from the desktop to the web. I agree that the future is likely in the direction of JavaScript/borwser based apps rather than Flash because that is where the majority of the development community is. The innovators are more likely to be script kiddies than flash designers.

By: Dougal Matthews

Dougal Matthews — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 23:50:35 +0000

highly impressive.

I didn’t try it because I assumed it wouldn’t be that good. I think that’s something that should also be considered… what people expect from web applications is different.

By: Al

Al — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 22:18:11 +0000

here here, more is less and it’s the collaboration stupid comes to mind

By: Twist

Twist — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 22:00:05 +0000

Web interfaces have come a long way but they still have a ways to go IMHO. Only Windows users would think that they have come close enough to desktop interfaces.

By: Andy

Andy — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 21:33:07 +0000

In my opinion, he needs to make distinction of lack of features within a specific web interface rather than pulling all web interfaces under the same comb. But in the sake of ÂµTorrent, I’m sure they put in the features needed to remotely administrate the application. After all, it isn’t meant to be a substitute of the windows GUI but rather to enable you to manage your downloads when you’re not at home. Now, if the developers of ÂµTorrent would want it to be an exact replica, they would’ve made it so.

By: JosÃ© Jeria

JosÃ© Jeria — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 20:44:10 +0000

We develop XP-looking web-based intranet applications at work. Benefit with that is the user feels “safe” when using the interface. He will recognize familiar widgets and know how to interact with them.

I wouldn’t use this approach for a web page though. It all depends who the tool will be for.

By: Adam Sanderson

Adam Sanderson — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 20:35:18 +0000

As long as web interfaces attempt to mimic desktop interfaces I think they will come up short. However, a web page can offer a very compelling interface. I think it is really all about how you approach the problem.

By: xxdesmus

xxdesmus — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 19:49:45 +0000

@jeka911 I was thinkin the same thing :P

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 19:00:09 +0000

Poor guy…he’s using IE7.

By: jeka911

jeka911 — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 17:56:18 +0000

I thought my google homepage was broken… Same titles in two feeds.. lol

By: Justin Gehtland

Justin Gehtland — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 17:44:41 +0000

Heck, not only is it similar, from my perspective, its *preferable*. Cleaner, clearer, more modern.