

Analyst claims power business users disappointed with AJAX apps - ilamont
http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/03/24/forrester-ajax-powered-web-apps-disappoint-power-users

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jksmith
Here's the issue with these kinds of studies: They take examples of building
apps using build 0 of a toolkit or technology, then by the time the study
comes out, that same toolkit or technology is on build 100.

The usability of web apps (specifically speed) is improving faster than we can
develop our non-trivial apps for this platform. In short: time your version
1.0 with the assumed capability of the host platform at the time of release,
plus two years. If you commit to spend a year on AIR development, because ajax
or js execution or whatever is not where it should be right now, you're making
a mistake.

That's what's bad about pre-obsolescent technologies like AIR - they distract
from the future in favor of right now.

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edw519
Here's another issue with these kinds of studies:

The researchers are either incompetent or on someone else's payroll. Either
way, they're useless.

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far33d
There's a quality to super-heavy ajax webapps - they reach the uncanny valley
of similarity to desktop apps.

Just like an animated human starts to look really creepy as it approaches
realism, there's something strange about web-apps that approach the style and
complexity of desktop apps but don't quite reach it.

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jfalk
I'm personally using flex for my current app. I don't recommend it for every
app, but for what I am doing it makes perfect sense. It makes doing a lot of
things that would be difficult in AJAX extremely easy. But like I said, not
for everyone.

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run4yourlives
Actually, I think the research shows power users are still dissatisfied with
enterprise software, regardless of how much "web 2.0" it contains.

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SwellJoe
It goes on to recommend AIR and Silverlight. I hope my competitors are big
believers in Forrester's research.

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tx
Nicely said. Sorry for accidental downmod, stupid CT syndrome... :)

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dhimes
Do you think it's possible for Java applets to make a comeback, or has that
ship sailed for good?

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erickhill
Java applets? Yeesh! I hope not.

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dhimes
Why is that? Load time? Clunky? Crash a lot?

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bprater
Remember hackers: You can still have you cake and eat it. Rails + Flex makes a
sexy combo. (There is a book by the name too, "Flex on Rails". Great stuff.)

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tx
Flex is not a technology. It's a marketng BS. In the end your "platform" is a
lousy browser plug-in which is already having a hard time catching up to the
variety of web-platforms (no iPhone yet, Linux implementation is buggy as
hell, etc) while a new wave of Internet enabled portable hardware is just
around the corner.

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edw519
90% of AJAX apps are just like 90% of Windows apps which are just like 90% of
mainframe apps: they suck. A greater percentage of AJAX apps suck because the
technology is newer, that's all.

I've seen plenty of great AJAX apps, especially for the enterprise. The
problem is NOT with the technology, it's with the programming.

Forrester obviously doesn't understand that. They don't find any good AJAX
apps (one wonders where they're looking), so something MUST be wrong with
AJAX. Their recommendation: explore other technologies, including Microsoft's.

Run, don't walk, the other way from "research" like this. Look on the bright
side - you're not the poor sucker who had to pay for it.

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tx
_Especially_ for the enterprise? No wonder. Enterprise software represents the
absolute lowest form of life among all softwares: the requirements are
relaxed, bandwith is fat and users are paid money to use such software, not
the other way around. Makes me smile every time I hear "enterprise class"
attached to something.

Just a little funny fact: in nearly all enterprise software UIs I've seen,
even tab order wan't assigned on dialog panels.

 _That_ is not a test for technology, even junk like Oracle survives there.

