The author underestimates the value of APIs to provide cloud services, and over-estimate the value of client-server architecture for driving user interface.
If anything, the iPhone demonstrates the value of native software, safely run within a jail, delivered and billed immediately, connecting to broader network-based services to provide extensive functionality.
It's short-sighted to approach the future of web applications with such hubris. The web is currently a horrendous application platform, and there's clearly value in client-side state as well as rapid, safe deployment and 'cloud' state.
The future is very likely a merger of web, desktop, and api, but not necessarily using the JavaScript+HTML+CSS or Flash that web developers have come to expect. Perhaps we'll see application architectures like 280 North's Cappuccino take hold, or perhaps not.
Either way, I seriously doubt that today's web application architecture is the final evolution of the client-server model -- we've been engaged in this client/server evolutionary dance for nearly 50 years.
Agreed. The iPhone is a good demonstration of combining a powerful development environment with always on connectivity (one of the more powerful reasons for being on the web in the first place).
It's also a shining example of many of the things that are wrong with downloadable software, though some of that is this particular incarnation (the app store) more than the whole idea.
There's no argument to be made that all computation should be done on the server and just rendered on the client. That model is on the way out for web applications (not to be confused with web sites). I happen to think Cappuccino is going in a great direction ;-)
If anything, the iPhone demonstrates the value of native software, safely run within a jail, delivered and billed immediately, connecting to broader network-based services to provide extensive functionality.
It's short-sighted to approach the future of web applications with such hubris. The web is currently a horrendous application platform, and there's clearly value in client-side state as well as rapid, safe deployment and 'cloud' state.
The future is very likely a merger of web, desktop, and api, but not necessarily using the JavaScript+HTML+CSS or Flash that web developers have come to expect. Perhaps we'll see application architectures like 280 North's Cappuccino take hold, or perhaps not.
Either way, I seriously doubt that today's web application architecture is the final evolution of the client-server model -- we've been engaged in this client/server evolutionary dance for nearly 50 years.