Web Client, Desktop Client, Flash Client, or What?

In this new world (called by some Web 2.0), when does it make sense to do rich clients anymore? Does it ever? How when should Flash be used, if it all?

This session will discuss each of these technologies and provide a discussion on when it makes sense to use them.

It used to be so simple. Choose a web application to reach the largest possible audience, but don't expect the user interface to win any awards. Choose a rich/desktop/fat client when a high-quality interface matters, but deal with the deployment issues.

With the emergence of Ajax, and for that matter, tighter Flash-Java integration through Laszlo and Flex, things have changed. Web clients are now capable of presenting the user with a rich interface, and dozens and dozens of frameworks are emerging to make creating that interface easy.

Come learn how to choose between all of these options based on a clear understanding of their capabilities.

About Ben Galbraith

Ben Galbraith is a frequent technical speaker, occasional consultant, and author of several Java-related books. He is a co-founder of Ajaxian.com, an experienced CTO and Java Architect, and is presently a consultant specializing in Java Swing and Ajax development. Ben wrote his first computer program when he was six years old, started his first business at ten, and entered the IT workforce just after turning twelve. For the past few years, he’s been professionally coding in Java. Ben has delivered hundreds of technical presentations world-wide at venues including JavaOne, The Ajax Experience, JavaPolis, and the No Fluff Just Stuff Java Symposium series; he was the top-rated speaker at JavaOne 2006.

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