I love this post by Brent Simmons about the rise of hybrid desktop/web applications. Too many Web 2.0 geeks pretend there’s a battle between web apps and desktops apps, but what’s really happening is that web apps and desktop apps are converging.
Web apps are mimicking desktop-like UIs and finding ways to store data offline; desktop apps are embedding browser-like UIs and finding ways to seamlessly synchronize data between different locations. We’re entering a hybrid world where the line between the desktop and the web is blurring.