Wondering about LC and HTML5

[Chipp Walters]

I should have said Google just end-of-life support for IE 7 in Google Apps,
include Gmail.

On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 9:10 PM, Chipp Walters <chipp at chipp.com> wrote:

> Perhaps it's wise to consider an oft-quoted famous statement by
> Wayne Gretzky, "I don't skate to where the puck is. I skate to where it's
> going to be."
>
> Let's count the number of OS'es now in need of support from multi plaftform
> IDEs:
>
>    1. MacOS Tiger, Lion and who knows what previous versions
>    2. Windows 7 and soon 8, not to mention 2000, XP and Vista still in use
>    3. iOS (iPad and iPhone)
>    4. Android and the many different flavors and versions it has for both
>    phone and tablet.
>    5. HP's new WebOS
>    6. Doesn't Blackberry have a tablet OS?
>    7. ChromeOS and Chromebook
>    8. Linux and it's many different flavors
>    9. I'm sure I'm missing some
>
> Now the number of mainstream browsers:
>
>    1. Internet Explorer (I see where Google just end of lifed support of
>    it in Gmail and Google Apps)
>    2. Chrome
>    3. Safari
>    4. Firefox
>
> It appears to me, the browsers are consolidating much quicker than any of
> the OS'es. In fact, the OS'es are all competing with each other by
> highlighting the differences, something the browsers have to be much more
> careful about.
>
> Assuming HTML5 becomes decently stable and robust AND capable, doesn't it
> make more sense to target it as a delivery platform rather than having to
> contingency plan for the constantly moving target which the various OS'es
> represent? And, that's the real problem with most OS'es today-- they are all
> basically the same. Sure, some are prettier, others more safe, but they all
> provide the basic same functions.
>
> In fact, what is more interesting to me is seeing how Apple had to actually
> reset OS expectations with the iPad. Let's be honest, the OS on iPad is way
> behind in terms of functionality. No true multi-tasking. The interface has
> been dumbed down considerably yet see how EASY they are to use. And Jobs
> knows that EASE OF USE translates into sales. The first Mac 128 cold booted
> in under 30 seconds. My Mac and Windows machines take many minutes. Don't
> get me started about how feature creep has ruined countless applications--
> MS Word primary among them. I can get 99% of what I need done word
> processing-wise using the MacWrite like GDocs. Adding features on top of
> features on top of features is just confusing everyone.
>
> One thing about Chromebook-- EVERYONE knows instantly how to use it. Turn
> it on and it's just a browser. I don't care whether it's Linux, Debian,
> MacOS, Windows or your mothers cupcake under the hood-- it just works.
>
> So, if we focus on where the puck WILL be-- is it fair to say it's headed
> in the direction of HTML5 web apps? I dunno, but it is interesting to
> consider....
>



-- 
Chipp Walters
CEO, Shafer Walters Group, Inc.