Network Applications Need A Network Connection

Overhype

from the well-duh dept

There’s been a lot of talk lately about a resurgence in applications that live in the network, particularly consumer applications, fomented mainly by the speculation swirling around the Google-Sun announcement that turned out to be nothing a few weeks back. Now, some people are realizing that yes, you need a network connection to use network applications, and that because net connectivity isn’t 100% reliable (for various reasons), net-based applications are a bad idea. Of course, this hasn’t stunted the growth of hosted applications in the enterprise market, but it could be a concern for a lot of users, particularly those with flaky connections. But to argue that network applications should be totally discarded is a bit extreme — the ideal solution probably lies somewhere in combining both local applications with network features like automatic backup or access to additional features and functions. The whole “the network is the computer” idea hasn’t panned out exactly like the marketing people that came up with the tagline thought it would, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t offer some benefits.