We’ve been here before / “we can already do all that”
Industrial Revolution - steam engine was a 1st century Greek toy, but was only used “in anger” in 18th C. UK.
Use existing tech in new & interesting ways
Renewed energy on the web - it’s fun to be a web developer right now
Warning Alert Achtung!!
Mistakes of 2000 being made again
Standards, usabilty, accessibility being thrown out for whizzy UIs
Solutions looking for a problem
Business models!
Just another bubble? Andy thinks not; time will tell. People are prepared to pay for good-quality services
“Forget the hype and build cool stuff”
The Web: from document delivery system to application platform
Subs vs one-off payment
What next?
Ajax
Widgets (Dashboard, Konfabulator)
Flex
OpenLazlo
XUL apps
Smart clients / Avalon - goal of MS is to liberate web apps from the browser
Audience questions
Where do Microformats fit in? They’re hacking XHTML to fulfil a need, because XHTML development has stalled somewhat
How do I convince the client/boss? Just do it - build the best app you can. Show people the cool stuff - show, not tell
Your data is stored on someone else’s servers - how do you feel about that? It’s a trust issue. Instill trust by show contact details; don’t put critical data into a company that’s only been around a couple of months.
Should Ajax apps degrade gracefully? Absolutely - build a working app without scripting, then layer it on top. Same with CSS - should be an addition, not a requirement.
From a manager’s perspective: the extra cost involved in (say) Ajax aren’t as easy to sell to clients as valid XHTML/CSS etc. It’s a bit unquantifiable, but the benefits to user experience are there.