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Where is the Real Ajax/Flex Revolution Happening?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the more-about-web-2.0 dept.

andzik writes "Even with all of the buzz around Rich Internet Applications these days, using toolsets like Ajax and Flex, most sites that utilize these technologies seem to be incremental improvements, not revolutionary interface changes. Where does the Slashdot community feel the best opportunities are to substantially create different/better user experiences using RIA tools? What will be the killer app? Are we just not seeing them because the best improvements are being made to web based applications and not in the public space?" On a related note, Vertigo asks: "Not so long ago everybody believed that it was a good thing to have the freedom to modify your software to suit your needs or to mangle your data in any way. But now that users are flocking to non-modifiable, one-size-fits-all web 2.0 apps like Gmail or Flickr, are we moving away from our open source ideals? Those services do provide many important benefits, but in the process of their enthusiastic adoption did we not loose sight of the most important issues?"

10 of 89 comments (clear)

  1. untapped market by larry+bagina · · Score: 3, Insightful

    instead of complaining about the lack of killer apps, maybe you should be out building one.

    --
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    These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.

  2. And the problem is? by LDoggg_ · · Score: 4, Insightful

    most sites that utilize these technologies seem to be incremental improvements, not revolutionary interface changes.

    I like the idea of AJAX being used to enhance applications, not completely rebuild them.
    If I wanted to do something like change the menus/site navigation I could already hose up the browser's controls with a flash based site.

    If i want to do a quick validation in a form against a remote database, I'll use AJAX

    If I want to add a quick way to change a record(ex. disable a user) in a table, I'll add a link that makes an AJAX call.

    If I want a text box to do a spellcheck without posting a complete form, I'll use AJAX

    --

    "If they have both, tell them we use Linux. And if they have that, tell them the computers are down." -Dave Chapelle
    1. Re:And the problem is? by MikeFM · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I typically make an effort to make apps work in pure HTML first. I then tie in Javascript, CSS, etc as possible to enhance that experience. There is no reason an app shouldn't be usable in a text browser and still offer full AJAX style interfaces when possible.

      --
      At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
    2. Re:And the problem is? by ameoba · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If you're running a real application inside a web browser and not just a web site, what sense does the back button really make?

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      my sig's at the bottom of the page.
  3. Hate to sound like a luddite but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
    I've been viewing the web for 10 years, all I want from a website is information and I want it fast. Web documents have no place being applications and javascript and flash have no place in documents. Why do people not understand this?

    BTW: Flex is a popular lexer based on Yacc and not some web2 buzzword.

    1. Re:Hate to sound like a luddite but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Web documents have no place being applications

      So says the guy that just used a form to post to slashdot.

    2. Re:Hate to sound like a luddite but... by OzRoy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I find it very difficult to believe that you only use it for straight static data, the internet hasn't been about straight data reading for a long long time. Almost every website out there now is dynamically generated with data customised and tailored to each visitor. You are reading one right now, if you had a user you could manipulate the comments to only display the ones you want, or even the stories. You can submit and share your ideas. It's so much more than just reading a document. Slashdot itself is a web application.

      I don't think I ever experience the internet before all this was possible. The internet very quickly became a way of manipulating data as well as just reading it. It was just done in a very crude way using CGI programs. AJAX is just the next step allowing us to make the process of updating and manipulating data much more transparent to the user. It allows us to converge things that used to be done by external applications into a single application, the web browser. This is a good thing. You no longer have to download Yet Another Application just to remotely manage Yet Another Data Set. Gmail and Google Talk are perfect examples of this. I can chat to my friends without having to install yet another IM application. It's all done through the web browser.

      Granted that at the moment AJAX is currently undergoing it's overhyped bubble effect, but once it bursts and settles down to a more reasonable level I can guarantee you that you will probably be using it without even realising it. Just as you are currently using current web applications without even realising it.

    3. Re:Hate to sound like a luddite but... by mad.frog · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Web documents have no place being applications

      Well, yeah, by definition. But that's like saying "computers are good for calculating projectile motion, they have no business being communication devices"... it's a robust technology with multiple uses.

      Flex is a popular lexer based on Yacc and not some web2 buzzword

      I presume you're being deliberately obtuse here, but just in case, let me help you out: Adobe Flex 2.0

  4. I don't think you sound like a luddite. by AnonymousPrick · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Web documents have no place being applications and javascript and flash have no place in documents.

    I see some really nice web designs out there, but when it takes a minute (or more!) to load a page with a DSL line, then I get a little testy. And many times, I absolutely agree with you. I just want the information, the graphics/Flash/whatever do not add anything. And many times, it makes site navigation difficult because the page becomes so cluttered, it's hard to make out what you're looking for.

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  5. Don't use javascript-only validation by psyclone · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Heh, you better not rely on javascript to validate your forms. What happens when the malicious user disables/modifies the javascript? You still need to send that data to a server-side process for validation.

    Using asynchronous javascript to send the data to the server and get the response is a way of saving time by drawing less of the page. But you still need to server-validate.