10 things I can’t do in the browser
Yesterday at CloudCamp Antwerp someone claimed that all you need is a browser these days. I started thinking about it and while I believe that we will be able to do a lot more in the browser moving forward, the reality is that today browser based offerings are almost always inferior when there is a rich client alternative.
- Work with many files open and switch quickly between them.
- Create great office documents. There are a lot of features I find in Office that aren’t matched by browser based offerings today. Maybe someday, but not today.
- Anything offline.
- Create good quality video and edit it.
- Advanced photo editing
- My whole music collection is offline. I use media center, you might use iTunes or media player to play your songs
- Be productive with managing email.
- Use handwriting. I have a Tablet PC and use it like one.
- Write code like a pro. Some would claim I can’t write like a pro no matter what.
- Play a good game
Of course browser capabilities are evolving and technologies like Silverlight OOB and Google Gears will push the boundaries of the browser apps.