An excellent point from Jonathan: both native apps and web apps require an internet connection …and both native apps and web apps can be made to work without an internet connection.
This might sound obvious, but the myth that “only native apps can work without an internet connection” is surprisingly widespread.
A real-world anecdote from Jonathan illustrates some of the misconceptions around using HTML instead of going native. A lot of people don’t realise that web apps can store data offline.
James attempts to tackle the thorny question of what makes something a web “app” (rather than a web “site”). It reminds of the infamous definition of obscenity:
I know it when I see it.
In short, the answer to the question “what is a web app?” is “fuck knows.”
A quick overview and explanation of web intents.
A beautifully readable subset of the HTML spec, with an emphasis on writing web apps (and with information intended for browser makers has been removed). Very handy indeed!
Here's a little piece of web history: the proposal that was presented and rejected at the 2004 W3C workshop that led to the formation of the WHATWG.
The latest creation from Simon and Nat. It's surprisingly addictive and useful — play around with it for a bit and you'll see what I mean. Lovely stuff.
A very nice take on the to-do list app.
The sign up process is using the Huffduffer model. Good to see more human forms in the wild.
Shaun's new RSS reader looks sweet (and smart).
An in-browser code editor from Mozilla Labs.
Garrett has launched his bug-tracking web app. Looks lovely.
A great narrative by Peter Nixey detailing the ups and downs of launching a web app (Clickpass in this case).
Garrett's bug tracking software is one step closer to completion.
A nice simple little app for saving URLs to read later. This kind of simplicity is remarkably hard to achieve.
Looks like Apple are trying to redefine the term "web app" to mean sites created for the iPhone. The revisionism is completely barefaced.
Aaron weighs in with his thoughts on JavaScript, web apps, the iPhone, dashboard, the papernet and more. Oh, and he's built a machine-tag mashup.
A browser-based IM client from AOL. You heard it here first folks.
I used to think that Mike Arrington was a dick. Now I know he is.
The Future of Web Apps gets a write-up on the BBC site.
It's here... Patrick and Dan have unveiled their event management system and pretty sweet it is too.
Danah Boyd's talk at ETech 2006.
The W3C proves that it can move with the times: "The mission of the W3C Web API Working Group is to develop specifications that enable improved client-side application development on the Web." This is very good news indeed.
A web app for reading RSS feeds. Pretty nice, but I'll stick with Adactio Elsewhere for now.
CNET's News.com explains why web services are so cool.
This is the plain vanilla look.
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