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What's Web 2.0? Simply stated, it's the combination of community, mashups and rich-media interfaces that characterizes the latest wave of web sites. Applications that once only operated on standalone PCs are now ripe for adoption to the Internet, thanks to faster connections and better browsers.

The Web 2.0 Expo conference track had impressive depth, with an unmistakable O'Reilly influence. On the show floor, the involvement of CMP, with its enterprise/channel expertise, really paid off in terms of getting major business-technology companies involved in what otherwise could have been an echo chamber of futurists talking to futurists.

Speaking of the future direction of the Web, it'll come not from the predictions of pundits, the bluster of bloggers, or the mechanizations of marketers, but rather the aggregate choices of millions of developers. The battle for Web 2.0 will be fought in the IDE. Where should an independent developer invest his or her energies? Which platforms will support the most successful applications, and the most profitable businesses?

The Sexy Stuff: Presentation Layers

Adobe Apollo - Adobe hopes to build a development platform bridging online and desktop applications, and they're off to a good start. Their presentation during the Web 2.0 Expo keynote highlighted several examples of Apollo in action: Buzzword, an Apollo-based word processor to be released this summer; an eBay application; Finetune, a music player; a time-tracking and calendaring application code-named gTimer; and Adobe Media Player. I have also been impressed by the Adobe presence at the majority of the events I've attended this year (see my events page).

Microsoft Silverlight – Last week, Microsoft anointed its own rich-media application development platform, previously named WPF/E. I predict that Adobe will have the cooler applications out of the gate, but Microsoft will ink enough deals with someone you do business with (e.g. your bank), or somehow tie it into the Vista experience. There'll be a compelling reason for you to download the Silverlight plug-in at some point, and the historical record backs me up. Thus, most of us will probably end up with both the Apollo and Silverlight plug-ins running side-by-side, with developers having to choose where to invest their time and energy.

It Ain't Over Yet: Operating Systems

Linux is the wild-card in the Apollo v. Silverlight showdown. Adobe plans to launch an Apollo version eventually, and I wouldn't expect Microsoft to follow down that path. While Linux comprises only a sliver of the PC market now, if and when the big vendors such as Dell and HP start to ship Linux boxes, that will certainly change. The Mac is now a PC; Linux is the new Mac.

From Enterprise to SMB: Partner Ecosystems

By partnering with a technology company that's already gained traction in enterprise and small-business settings, you can use a known name and partner network to get customers. For example, if you have an idea for sales-centered companies, you can build applications on top of Salesforce.com by learning the Apex platform and programming language. Or, if you envision applications built around web conferencing and online meetings, join the WebEx Connect developer program. Or, you can follow SAP's lead into the small market by learning their Business One platform. Are you more aligned with the online auction market? Join the eBay Developers Program. Or, use Amazon Web Services to create a business or service from customizable components. Even the venerable AOL has reinvented itself as a development platform with dev.aol.com, offering APIs for authentication, photos, videos, maps and more. It all depends on what you want to build, I suppose, and for whom.

Stop Programming: Zero-Code Development

Intalio has an intriguing open-source business-process management system (BPMS) that promises "zero code" development. Similarly, Coghead has easily-customizable templates for project management, HR and inventory applications, and the flexibility to develop whatever else makes sense for your application.

Or, if you want to build a simple database, Dabble DB lets you build databases on the Web, with relational capabilities accessed through a simple yet powerful interface. Swivel wants to be (and apologies for the formulaic construction, but it works in this case) the "YouTube for data sets", and makes customizable graphs available for inclusion in blogs, collaborative commenting and more.

Design and Development Resources

RobotReplay - Add a script to your web pages to record every mouse motion and click that users take on your website. It's like what Steve Krug says, to design a better experience, just watch your users in action. All RobotReplay needs is a way to surreptitiously turn on the user's webcam and microphone for the complete picture.

LuckyOliver - Inexpensive stock photos.

oDesk - Inexpensive development resources. And just to make sure that you're getting your money's worth, they'll take a screenshot of your contractor's screen at random intervals.

Labels: Adobe, Microsoft, Web 2.0, web design, web2expo