Apps are everywhere. E-books are shifting from e-readers to apps as the platform of choice. Google’s Android Market has surpassed 100,000 apps despite a problematic payment structure. And Apple, with its upcoming release of Mac OS X Lion, is moving apps from the device to the desktop.
Here in the lab, we’ve talked app development, but with little traction. Why no squealing tires, no fire? Why does spending even a little of our resources on app development feel so wrong? I don’t know. But, it takes only a mention of HTML5 to uncover bubbling excitement at the possibilities and to discover we’ve already begun expending resources.
Apps are not here. I wonder what we’re missing? Are apps a dead-end? of limited utility to academia? Is HTML the better technology for delivery to devices?
Notes:
Android Market tops 100,000 applications, CNET, October 25, 2010.
App Makers Take Interest in Android, NY Times, October 24, 2010.
Apple Gives Sneak Peek of Mac OS X Lion, Apple.com, October 20, 2010.
Blurring the Line Between Apps and Books, NY Times, October 24, 2010.