Apple’s iPhone web application development tips are yet the latest example of blurring the lines between the power of the web and the desktop. The example that drives this point home the most is Google Maps:
Google maps links open a built-in Google client rather than making a connection through the public website.
On the desktop, we’re seeing Dojo Offline and Google Gears, as well as more proprietary offerings such as Adobe’s AIR and Microsoft’s Silverlight. One interesting thing coming from Apple that has not received much mention is WebKit and Cocoa bindings, including JavaScript bindings. Soon we’ll be able to use open web standards to create native Mac apps!
The proliferation of JavaScript, HTML, and CSS is rapidly spreading to every area of software development, because open web standards are powerful and relatively easy to comprehend.