RE: GUI development language

I still don't agree with this. Sure, you may have to test nine times, but

typically that doesn't involve changing a line of code. Whereas writing the
code for three different operating system effectively triples your work.

It *could*, but I would guess you have done a similar amount of work
implementing thick/fat/rich clients on multiple desktops/OSes (am I guessing
right?). So then we are both theorizing on that point.

The reason you can't do type-ahead in a browser is that there is no way to

capture keystrokes during page refreshes. With Ajax you don't leave the
page so you should theoretically be able to capture keystrokes during an
asynchronous Ajax refresh and then insert them into the next page. It
wouldn't be simple, but it should be doable.

Thanks for the clarification.

Sorry, you lost me here. I click on a link, another window pops up with my

application running inside of it. Not sure why this is a hack.

Because you couldn't tell the current browser window to become chromeless.
Instead you had to open up another window. If what I said doesn't ring true
with you I can drop this one, though I still believe I am right ;-)

I think all you have to do to convince me (or anyone) is to provide a

situation where a rich client will make a user demonstrably more productive,
then show us the cost of writing that rich client code.

I hope to do exactly that in the first quarter of next year. I have some
ideas :-) Stay tuned.

You seem to be trying to sell the idea that "rich client is better" and I

keep trying to tell you that no IT decisions are made in a vacuum, they have
to be made in the context of the whole business. Maybe it's just me, but I
have found that whenever technology is chosen for technology's sake, just
because it is "better", then you almost always end up with a solution
looking for a problem.

I agree, but I am not necessarily taking the whole IT decision making
process into account here. Like I said before I am trying to debate user
interface and user experience. Once we get past those we can factor in
deployment issues.

Aaron Bartell
http://mowyourlawn.com