iPhone, Firefox, Chromium, and the Future of the Web

In the world of software there are really only two paths a chunk of computer code can follow. The first is to live life as an application. The second is to compete in the big leagues as a platform. Applications live on top of other software platforms, typically an operating system of some sort. Applications are things like Microsoft Word for PC and iCal for Mac. Platforms handle all the behind the scenes stuff that makes computers work, so that applications can just do things for the user without having to worry about it. Examples are Microsoft Windows and Ubuntu Linux. However, these days it seems our choices are not so binary any more. In recent years folks have been shouting "The internet is the new platform." They seem to think that everything we do on a computer can be done through an internet connection, without having to install any software on our computers. There are a few problems with this. 1. Microsoft is a big and powerful corporation that makes all its money by being the "gatekeeper" with the most popular platform; Windows. If the internet becomes the new platform, Microsoft looses. Giants in an industry don't go down without a fight. 2. Despite all the claims that high speed internet connections will become ubiquitous, it just isn't going to happen. Private network infrastructures are not going to run cables to towns with only a dozen users, and I don't think most people want the government to subsidize high speed internet to everywhere. 3. The mobile device tsunami is going to overtake wired internet access anyway. Mobile devices are smaller, cheaper, simpler, more available, easier to use, and always on whenever you want to have another look at the map. From a Nokia to an iPhone, these are going to be the majority of clients on the future internet. However, mobile bandwidth is more expensive, and so must be used much more scrupulously. That makes web based applications unsuitable for mobile devices. I think there is something far more interesting going on, and it is not getting any airplay. What if there was a hybrid situation, where half of an application lived on the internet, and the other half lived right in the palm of your hand, in your lap, or on your desktop? Think it's crazy? Just look at the iPhone a little closer. I have a good friend who is building an iPhone app. All the data the app needs, pertaining to it's owner, can be stored on the phone. However, as the user drives down the road, the phone detects it's GPS coordinates, and sends a request to a server somewhere on the internet to get the latest information about highway speed traps in that area, and then warns the user about them. In fact most iPhone apps work this way. The app lives in the palm of your hand, but the database, its backend, lives somewhere in the clouds. Why is the hybrid app so much better? 1. Only raw data is being sent over the cell towers and the wires. This is different than a web app, which must send a full page from a server whenever the user requests a different view or more information. How slow and annoying is Facebook, a web app, compared to any of the iPhone apps, which are mostly hybrid applications. 2. You can use a hybrid app whenever you want, even if you have a slow internet connection, spotty cell signal, or no connection. 3. Having your information on your own device is reassuring. 4. Developers and designers can create more useful, rich, and user friendly software without the technological restrictions imposed by a web app. However, though the iPhone is great, Mozilla and Google have hybrid platforms for netbooks, laptops, and desktop computers. Firefox, Mozilla's popular browser, has a mature and and comprehensive extension system. Extensions to Firefox, or addons as they are often called, make the browser more like a hybrid application platfom than simply a web browser. For Google's part, they are making quick progress on the Chromium project yielding the Chrome web browser, which, as we would expect from Google, has included an extension system similar to, though not as comprehensive as, Firefox. While Apple runs away from the field of hybrid platforms on mobile devices with the iPhone, Chrome and Firefox are quietly establishing themselves as the future of the hybrid platform on laptops, desktops, and netbooks. In fact, Firefox, the far more mature of the two, already has two experimental extensions that are attempting to show off the potential of the hybrid app with Ubiquity and Jetpack. At the Fireworks Project, we want to be a part of hybrid application renaissance. In fact, more than that, we want to help define it. While it is unwise to duplicate the efforts of Google and Mozilla to build the hybrid platform, we can still define how the platform will evolve by creating the code that actually does what they are designing these platforms to do. Enable the user to work freely and quickly, connected or not, and with complete freedom from having their data tied up in some web app in the cloud. I'm currently working frantically on extensions to both Firefox and Chrome that will make building, packaging, and distributing hybrid applications a quick, painless, and profitable process. My goals are:

• Create a platform for code modules to be installed and imported on the client device.
• Create a platform for user facing application extensions ("toolpacks") to be installed and executed by the user.
• Design an environment that encourages the creation of many small tools that do one thing, and do it well. (the Unix philosophy)
• Allow for portability between Chrome and Firefox.
• Automatic dependency management for code modules and toolpacks.
• Use common web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

The running theme is "modular". If we can stay disciplined with the modular approach, we have a very good shot at realizing the full potential of the hybrid online/offline platforms. I'm really excited about what I've done so far on this project, and I can't wait to see it in action. I'll be sure to be posting updates as they come along. Note: People in the know will wonder why I did not include these: Adobe Air Microsoft Silverlight Microsoft Azure Drop a note in the comments, and I'll be happy to explain.