As you know, I think the move to stateless data, apps, and devices is one of the biggest trends shaping our technology future. HTML5 is one of the keys, a language that enables apps to be written as pure web applications, needing no local installation or updates--the app, its security, and its updates all run in the cloud. Your phone, tablet, laptop: they all deliver you that app via some sort of browser.
Two important points to remember in this article:
- Performance matters, as demonstrated by the challenges Facebook has faced in preferentially offering web apps. When devices are not optimized for web delivery, web apps face an uneven playing field. There is still a lot of evolution to come in this aspect of stateless app delivery.
- Never forget that the best tech idea can be deliberately hindered when it challenges another business model. Apple's deliberate crippling of web technologies in order to protect its own app store is a classic case, and ironic when viewed next to Apple's own efforts to discourage the use of Flash in favor of HTML5-like web content delivery.
The future still favors web delivery of applications and content; this article is a reminder that the future does not come in a steady stream, but in fits and "quantum change" bursts.
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