Evan Summers's Blog

Dumbed Down WWW

The "Google Operating System" blog entry "Google Docs & Spreadsheets vs Microsoft Office" quotes a Writely post as follows.

"One of the reasons the web is so nice is that the page UI is simple... a few things at a time, a very easy metaphor, etc. It passes the 'mom' test - I can usually just tell my mom to go to a site, and she usually can figure it out. I can't remember the last time I could do that with a desktop app. So, even though the windows desktop is 'richer', it's not necessarily better."

My translation of that is, "Let's dumb down this whole computer software thing because people don't know how to use computers."

My mom is 60 year old granny who has been working on a Linux desktop, using OpenOffice, Thunderbird and Firefox every day for years. Prior to that she used a Win95 computer for email and browsing BBC's Food website, when she was housekeeper and cook in the UK, for Richard Branson's parents, actually :)

OK, she didn't setup her Linux desktop herself - my brother did it for her. Well, I don't service my car myself, does that mean i shouldn't be driving a car?! Well in that case, if i was limited to riding a donkey, I'd name it Ajax ;)

So that blog tries to imply that the browser is the web, as in collaboration, contextual search and what-not. Shame, maybe they haven't heard of Webservices, which can be consumed by Java RIAs, which can be launched from the browser using WebStart?

It's time to start thinking beyond the "browser is the web" paradigm, because the web can be so much more than the browser! In future, our favourite opensource desktop apps like OpenOffice, Firefox and Thunderbird, might get web-enabled and transformed into caching, stateless web clients, eg. using Amazon S3 for storage, and mashing up a bunch of other webservices.

But some people believe the web should be so much less than the desktop, dumbed down to the lowest common denominator. When their vested interest is around web ads, can we expect otherwise?

By the time they figure out that ultimately people want more than that, and are better at using computers than they than give them credit for, maybe they'll be classic victims of the Innovator's Dilemma.

Comments

• 
  The worst thing about browser-based apps is the complete dependence on the quality and type of the user's browser.

  Even if you just stick to IE6, there are a myriad of variations (hot-fixes, toolbars installed, underlying OS version and service pack, etc.).

  As a developer, it's very hard to produce a solid, consistent product across more than two browser types.

  If you use an RIA, you (the developer) have much better control of the end-user experience, and can support the user better.

  iTunes [Store] is a good example of this.

  I don't think WebStart is there yet though. Seems to flakey to me. Even on a computer that has Java SE pre-installed (a Mac) it's still a somewhat random experience.
  

  Posted by: goron on February 25, 2007 at 01:54 AM

• Your vision is very clear Evan, it is just slightly ahead of its time.Ultimately, people care about productivity, not technology. Something needs to incent them, to move away from their browser.The browser created the web.RIAs will create the next generation of the internet.Now people just need to write them.Fortunately everything needed is all here.That sound you are hearing, is opportunity knocking. ;-)John

  Posted by: cajo on February 25, 2007 at 09:18 AM

• My mom is 60 year old granny who has been working on a Linux desktop

  Dilbert, is that you?

  Posted by: felipeal on February 25, 2007 at 06:14 PM

• 
  that picture is actually my mom working on her linux desktop :) The office has 4x HP thin-clients with a linux server running LTSP, that my brother setup, and took some photos, including this one. Before that they had linux PCs, but thin-client setup is much neater :)

  Incidently, the spaniel on the screen is in rememberance of her dog Roland that was in the UK with her, but has now passed on.

  Posted by: evanx on February 25, 2007 at 10:52 PM

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