No this isn’t another post on how Apple denied us a real SDK, ringtones and the treasure of an Aztec empire. This is more of an overview of the current status on Web Apps and what their fate might be.

Web Apps are weird things. They’ve allowed us to dodge paying for Software and are being considered by businesses. Their interoperability with other users and Web services make them ideal over their Desktop brethren. But they were built upon one fatal flaw which I believe will lead to their demise should they ever be abandoned: that a Web Browser could replace an OS.

If I wanted to right now I could replace all of my Applications, every single one I use daily with Web based versions. I’d get a lot of benefits such as being able to access my data on my iPhone or from any other Web connected device. I wouldn’t have to pay for my Software licenses and I could manipulate my data how I see fit.

This sounds great but last I checked Browsers crash and they fail a lot more than your Operating System. Have too many tabs open on a slower system holding all your Web Apps and what happens? The browser was meant to browse text and images, not be the environment to run heavy and bloated Applications.

Even then Web Apps were designed to run on mobile devices but in reality the restriction is heavy and the use limited due to the type of code that can be used and what Browsers are capable of.

Web Apps are still popular despite this and not everyone experiences this problem. What needs to happen is either Web Apps and Browsers adapt to each either or face extinction.