The WideOpen Web - Confessions of a Rich-Client Bigot

OK - I am not really a Rich-Client bigot and these are not really confessions.

However, until recently, my default choice for an applications UI was a rich-client (i.e. WinForms) interface.  Of course, we had many cases where a client's requirements quickly changed my mind so that the right choice was a browser-based application.  However, as Microsoft, as well as its partners and competitors, keep coming coming out with better tools and technologies for browser apps, the choice becomes "less obvious" than ever before. 

AJAX toolkits and controls allow developers to easily develop web pages that are both "pretty" and responsive.  While Silverlight 1.0 was cool and promising, it was still "less than easy" to develop with.  Silverlight 2.0, however, with the power and simplicity of the .NET framework combined with the richness of WPF all inside the browser - is absolutely compelling !   I've now found myself often thinking about browser-based apps as my default choice, until proven otherwise by client requirements.

Of course, the Rich Client is not dead (it is just working offline) - but that is a topic for another post...