re: The [intranet] web client is dead!

cap — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 21:53:15 GMT

Indeed, this is a very interesting (and true) point of view. But there's one more argument that you are not discussing in this post: OS independence. Web applications usually run in systems which use a popular browser, regardless of whether the operating system is Windows, Linux, or anything else.

Of course, this is not true in all cases, since some Web apps are configured and optimized for a specific browser (IE, for example) which is found primarily on Windows :) But the argument itself is a strong marketing tool for those who sell or create Web applications.

On the other hand, in Intranet / Extranet scenarios, OS independence makes sense in a limited number of cases. So, I would agree that the Smart Client approach is an alternative that could prove more usable, cost-effective, and user-friendly. Its main advantage, though, IMHO, is that it can provide a familiar user interface and not a custom one as is the case with most web applications out there.

re: The [intranet] web client is dead!

Dimitris Papadimitriou — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 03:54:07 GMT

I'm not sure if Intranet web client is dead yet, but let's hope and do our best to kill it as soon as possible! :)

My thoughts exactly!

Currently I'm working on a client/server system that is ClickOnce deployed and it seems to be going great both in technical viewpoint and user acceptance. And since after deployment client communicates with server using web services the system works smoothly both in intranet and internet environment.