Andre’s Blog

I guess we know we’ve hit the peak of hype when products mislead users by including a popular tech buzz work in their name when in fact it has nothing to do with it.  I read an article covering a so called Ajax Spreadsheet application, called “AjaxXLS“, notice how Ajax is in the name of the product.  But then the article goes on to say:

AjaxXLS is a XUL-based Web application

And XUL isn’t Ajax, for the same reasons java Applets, Flash or XAML aren’t.  End of discussion.  Dion knows this and explains why:

Even though “Ajax” is in the name, note that ajaxXLS technically uses XUL, the XML User Interface Language, for creating the user interface. This is a source of some controversy since XUL is not technically considered Ajax and requires a plug-in in Internet Explorer (though XUL support is built into Firefox). ajaxXLS did not run in Internet Explorer in my tests. This could be considered antithetical to the promise of Ajax to run in virtually any modern browser and has made the product the topic of discussion by Ajax purists.

This is no minor issue to debate, it’s a show stopper.  At best FireFox has 10% market share.  IE had just about 99% market share a few years ago when all the technologies for Ajax were first added to it, but it wasn’t until FireFox implemented the XHR that Ajax was cross platform and acceptable for mass consumer applications like Gmail or Google Maps.  The fact that you need a plug-in to run XUL, which Microsoft would view as a competitor to their XAML/WPE/WPF initiative, means XUL has a very steep uphill battle to compete for widespread adoption.  If I was going to build a web app that didn’t run natively in a browser, I wouldn’t choose XUL, choose Flash at least then you’re starting at 98% penetration which is still a challenge for rapid adoption compared to Ajax which runs everywhere.  Calling AjaxXLS an Ajax application is misleading and will ultimately create a lot of FUD.  Apparently even the Wall Street Journal is confused about this.  (I also have no idea why AjaxLaunch is using phpBB as a blog…but that’s another story). I feel this is as bad as marketing diesel (Firefox) cars as having engines that can run on gasoline (IE)…you can try but don’t be surprised when your mechanic (IT support person) laughs at you when it doesn’t work.   There are Ajax spreadsheets out there, but this isn’t one of them folks.  Don’t believe the hype.

The strange thing, IMO, is that it’s still a useful application.  Lots of FireFox users could benefit from it, it’s just the way they’re marketing it.

Back to editing Enterprise Ajax…

*Bold emphasis in quotes is mine.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 5th, 2006 at 1:53 am and is filed under AJAX. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.