The idea of an open web app ecosystem is that apps "work both on computers and mobile phones, have many of the characteristics that users find compelling about native apps and provide developers with open and flexible distribution options." The apps are built of HTML, CSS and Javascript. This to me is pretty important and would have much wider ranging implications. See also this post from WebMonkey. [Comment] [Direct Link] [Tags: none]

OK, this is sort of a good idea and in part a really bad idea. What's good about Ubiquity is the idea to enable on-demand, user-generated mashups with existing open Web APIs. Letting browser users see what gets sent, and see what's returned, and to mess around with that, would be a great thing. But the part about a text-based command language for the web? Or the hackneyed 'organize a trip for me' scenario? No, this mostly isn't what people need. But don't let me be a wet blanket - some interesting stuff could evolve out of Ubiquity, and this - here, now - is where it's starting. More, from Mark Oehlert, Metafilter, The Blog Herald, Wired News.

What do I think we want? I think we want a way to take any part of any page, cut it out, and move it - underlying application logic and all - into another page. Combining them, so that if we move a bit from one page on top of a bit from another page, the one acts as input for the other. Being able to transform types - from application logic, say, to video of the process, or from visual representation, say, to a series of instructions. Being able to send them wherever we want. Doing this all visually - but able to toggle to the script, and to the messages, in case we want to tweak what we've dragged and dropped. [Comment] [Direct Link] [Tags: Video, Visualization]