Universal Desktop Daily, Monday, September 11, 2006

It is amazing how ingrained a date can become in your mind. It is hard for me to believe that it was five long years ago that the world as we know it changed forever. Since that time, unfortunately, the country that once seemed so united has polarized. This is not a political blog, and I don't want to turn it into one, but I simply couldn't type September 11 without marking the somber anniversary. It is a day that will mark my generation forever, and one that continues to leave a profound effect. I hope the world is a more peaceful place another five years from now.

• The big news over the weekend on the Windows Presentation Foundation side was the release of an upgraded Microsoft MAX. I covered it here on Saturday, and there has since been a slew of coverage.
• On Friday, Richard MacManus ran a poll asking his users to chose between "webified destkop apps" and "browser-based apps". I wrote earlier that Rich Internet Applications are both but the responses are interesting: 62% prefer browser based apps and 38% prefer webified desktop apps. The results show a very high regard for the ease and ubiquity of the web. RIAs can take advantage of that ubiquity and still provide a rich, desktop like experience.
• Another WPF item. Rob Relyea is planning to post summaries of interesting WPF links he finds. I think this could be a very valuable resource. It's one worth bookmarking.
• Also on Friday, Business 2.0 ran an article about Windows Vista adoption rates. While the .NET 3.0 Framework will be available for Windows XP, it is going to be a significant download. With Vista, WPF will just work, so postulating on the Vista adoption rates is a good thought exercise. The game of reach and penetration percentages is very much on.
• Finally, Ajit over at OpenGardens posted on wireless statistics for the world. Mark my words, this is going to be an astronomical market for Rich Internet Applications. For many people, the cell phone is how they connect to the world. Good, lightweight application design that puts content in users control is going to make a big splash - mobile RIAs will be huge.

 
Everyone have a good Monday. For those of you on the other side of the world - I'm jealous that you're halfway through your day just when I'm having my first cup of tea.