webdragon

With things like games, you can see that an app could be the only option. While HTML5 is almost there, it still doesn't offer the performance and capabilities of a native app, while Apple's stance on Flash means Flash-based games are a no-no.

That's the best approach for most companies. User feedback and usage stats will then determine the next step.

Are there any stats around how many applications have already upgraded? I can only assume that a low uptake is responsible for the delay. That low uptake could be explained by the large jump in programming skill required.

Despite the security enhancements, it seems a very big imposition on the development community around Twitter that made it big in the first place.

Could the postponement be the first step towards a back-down?

People should remember that before Facebook, MySpace was the unstoppable juggernaut. It's only when there's something to steal Facebook's thunder that it will go the way of MySpace and we'll all forget about it.

Microsoft obviously knows that the only way to kill IE6 is to say it is unsupported software and to stop releasing security updates for it. Until that happens, IT departments will continue to cling to it as part of the default install of Windows XP.

In the context of this post, the Java VM on Windows is a clunky piece of rubbish, with widgets that look like they come from 1996.

There are always reports of astronomical sales in the initial grab, but the hype always fades when people realise that there's no real value from the domains.

There is still no real foreseeable replacement for Microsoft Office (web apps just aren't full replacements yet, and won't be for the foreseeable future), so if that doesn't get rewritten in .Net (which also won't happen in the foreseeable future), we'll have Win32 code around for some time yet.

The Tim Hortons app in Canada is a great example - having such a large network of stores, partially in the US, makes it possible to share costs over a large number of customers. The same is true of any large company with access to a large number of consumers (in Australia or elsewhere).

The main reason is population size.

For bricks and mortar retail (or most industries), costs scale with population size: a larger country requires more stores.

For apps, there is one relatively fixed development cost, no matter how many customers you have access to. It costs roughly the same to build the app whether you've got potential customers numbering 1 million or 100 million, so you're likely to get a lot less bang for your buck in a smaller geographic market.

In small countries like Australia, unless you've got tens of thousands of customers, or very high-value customers, it can be difficult to see the value even from a $10k investment!

That's true! The article is more about iPhone apps for Australian companies (as clients) as domestic app users, rather than by Australian companies for anyone worldwide. There have been some good high-profile success stories of game developers in particular making great apps for the international market, but so far only corporate giants seem to be building apps specifically for their Australian customers.

There's certainly a lot of room for abuse, especially by designers who want to cram magazine formatting into web paradigms, but at least it's more accessible than techniques like Flash text replacement.