---
title: The Downside to Web Applications
date: 2004-10-12T21:33:20Z
modified: 2004-10-12T21:33:20Z
permalink: "https://redmonk.com/sogrady/2004/10/12/the-downside-to-web-applications/"
type: post
status: publish
excerpt: ""
wpid: 124
categories:
  - Trends & Observations
timestamp: 2004-10-12T21:33:20Z
tags:
  - Trends & Observations
---

Just clicked to get my [del.icio.us](http://del.icio.us/sogrady) links, and was disappointed to find that it returned a HTTP 503 – Service Unavailable. I’m certainly not complaining – I pay nothing for del.icio.us and thus should have no expectation of continuous service – but it does highlight the risks of relying solely on web applications for content storage and retrieval. In the past few days, del.icio.us, [Flickr](http://www.flickr.com) and [Bloglines](http://www.bloglines.com) have all had some form of service interruption for me. And yet I still recommend them all highly. Why?

Well, for one they work the vast majority of the time, which is why the outages are so noticeable. But more importantly they exploit the power of the network.

What I’d like to see, however, is a continuation of the web application/client application hybridization we’ve seen most recently with Bloglines/FeedDemon and others. It mitigates the weaknesses of each, while augmenting their strengths.

Can’t wait for Blam/Bloglines or Flickr/[F-Spot](http://www.gnome.org/projects/f-spot/) (F-Spot does, I think, currently post to [Gallery](http://gallery.sourceforge.net)) combos.

And likewise, it’d be nice to be able to take some of my network with me when I hop on the train in 5. But one thing at a time, I suppose.