Remember those days when Netscape Navigator was king of the hill, the Web was poised to take over Microsoft Windows as the platform of choice, and we will soon be running word processors, spreadsheets and photo editors on our web browsers? Well, it didn't happen. We are mostly still using the traditional operating systems and running the traditional software on them, though applications are getting more and more net-saavy that you will be hard-pressed to find one these days that does not hook up to the Internet one way or another.
But a curious thing happened along the way. As traditional software becomes more net-saavy, web-based software are finding their own special niches and encroaching into the territories of traditional software. For every person that still uses Outlook Express or Eudora, you could just as easily find another that uses Gmail or Yahoo Mail. How many people still use CDROM- based dictionaries or encyclopedias? It is probably more convenient to reach for the web browser and type in your queries.
Folks like OddPost and Google have also been pushing the boundaries of browser-based technologies really hard, with the result that we have seen some really amazing web applications in recent years, such as Google Suggest and Google Maps. There is no doubt the feet of progress will continue to march on, and we should see even more fantastic web applications in the coming years.
This site is dedicated to the growing volume of web applications out there. As I come across new web applications, I will keep adding them to the site. Meanwhile, do share with us your favorite web applications if you have any!