Paul: a proper analysis of the whole problem would have taken much longer than i had. I just wanted to vent because every time I see this issue discussed people make basic, fundamental errors that are painfully obvious to anyone who has read the book. A more full blown analysis would definitely be useful; I’m not sure it would lead to mobile but it would certainly suggest that there are specific economics and user experience features which must be present if anyone want to compete with the web.

Paul: You ask “while web apps, in particular office apps, may not take over initially ‘the enterprise’ what is their niche?” From my experience I think web apps are most useful when the final product is itself web-based: for example, the spreadsheet whose sole purpose is to generate a table or graphic for a blog post. Also, I think developers of FOSS client applications should most definitely focus on mobile devices instead of trying to chase the taillights of Microsoft Office et.al.

So with that in mind there are two avenues for thought: while web apps, in particular office apps, may not take over initially ‘the enterprise’ what is their niche? The casual consumer, the adhoc collaborators would seem to be obvious candidates but who knows for sure yet.

The second line of thought is that if you writing FOSS client applications, or a FOSS client platform (which still has the traits of being a disruptive innovation not necessarily in features but in development / business model) is to think what could be our niche – a candidate could be mobile devices which have different economics than fat client PCs / laptops and much less standardisation of UI and tolerance of new / different UX. Of course I have significant interest in this area so take with salt.