For those interested, the arrival of the long-awaited 3G iPhone is supposedly imminent. Also, there are supposed to be new, or at least updated, iPod touches and nanos out in September. I certainly hope that happens, because then I can make it three straight years where I start the fall with an article about the newest iPods. And of course, current iPhone and iPod touch owners are anxiously awaiting firmware version 2.0 that will bring their gadgets new functionality, mostly the ability to install additional programs.
But enough with the rumor-mongering; I will not waste your time with non-news.
Instead, I would like to bring to your attention a growing trend in software. Web Apps are web sites that are coded to behave more like traditional desktop applications. These sites, like Gmail, Google Reader and Yahoo Mail, update actively without having to reload the entire page. For a while now, Web Apps have been slowly gaining ground in both popularity and user-friendliness.
Some new technologies seek to move these Web Apps offline. Microsoft, Adobe, Google and Mozilla all have their own takes on how this can and should be done. All except Mozilla use proprietary frameworks under which a Web App can be used as a desktop application, in some cases even offline.
Microsoft Silverlight possesses the capability to run customized applications that sit on your desktop but require the Internet. MLB.tv is its biggest showcase and will get hard core baseball fans to install Silverlight on their computers. In its current state, Silverlight offers Adobe Flash Player some competition, which highlights perhaps the biggest problem about all these new platforms: They require the installation of yet another redundant program. This trend is the Web 2.0 equivalent of RealPlayer.
Adobe's AIR is a combination of existing Adobe web technologies that produce an end product not unlike Silverlight. AIR has some commercial firepower on its side by delivering some customized applications for AOL and eBay. Adobe has also promised to create an AIR-powered version of Photoshop Express, which would provide a desktop application for basic photo edits without paying for all of the (very expensive) Photoshop software.
Google also seeks to move its web features offline with a program called Gears. Once Gears is installed, you can access various Web Apps like Google Reader, Google Docs and even non-Google web sites like Remember the Milk. Even when you are not connected to the Internet, you will still be able to access and edit the data stored on these web sites. When you are back online, those changes will be synced with the Web Apps.
Mozilla's Prism is really nothing more than a specialized web browser, but what would you expect from the people who brought you Firefox? Prism is the most universal of all these technologies, but also the most limited. It allows any web site to be turned into a desktop application, but you must be connected to the Internet. For instance, you can turn Gmail into an icon on your desktop that will open its own window.
As these technologies develop and become more compatible, hopefully one platform will emerge as a standard to spare me from installing four additional programs on my computer. However, the future looks bright for those looking to get more done -- or waste more time -- online.
Luofei is a staff writer for The Mirror, but when he writes that third iPod article we will promptly fire him.
