Manual Trackback: "...maybe the Web has some deficiencies as a platform for 2003-era Internet applications. But the Web still has one thing going for it which beats everything - it's FREE. Yes the World Wide Web is FREE, as in both speech and beer. That's gotta count for something, right?"
It certainly does! The Model T was the first affordable car, too. But, can we move beyond that?
Sure but can't we build on the platform we already have - the Web - rather than create new ones? No one company - not Microsoft, not Google - owns the Web. The Web is decentralized and it operates on a few basic open standards - URI's, HTTP and HTML. The Web is more like a road than a car. Not that I want to resurrect the "Information Superhighway" metaphor from the 90's! But my point is the Web is the de-facto platform, built on a few universal protocols. Let's build on what is already free and usable.
Right, I'll get off my soapbox now...
Richard, problem is, how do we build on the web? Design by committee is not gonna take us there.
The web isn't the car, it is the highway ("information superhighway," get it?). Microsoft's upcoming monorail, light-rail or flying car may be miles better, faster, more efficient, economical, etc., but since the stops are entirely determined by the company, it isn't replacing anything. Like the road system, the web isn't really design by committee. Sure, there are committees that come up with "standards," just like there are Departments of Transportation to come up with roadsign guidelines. However, the bulk of the road system is built on a semi-ad-hoc basis. Do a country drive in Texas and you'll find yourself on county roads that wind straight through cow pastures. That isn't what committees design, it is what people put together to suit themselves.
There are a lot of examples of monorails. iTunes Music Store is one. It is just a method for the population to which it speaks to do what they want more efficiently. That's great for them, and it is a great addition to the web. Is it going to replace it? No.
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