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Thanks for reiterating conventional wisdom, but the person missing something here is you.

Sure Google can computer more for less, but I already have a PC; why buy two (one for Google and one for me)? SETI@Home leverages... (wait for it)... the desktop!

Second, the point here is not about utility computing. It's about developing applications. Let's face it, web apps are struggling to the the things that most desktop apps do easily. (Ajax is a joke.) Certainly they both have their pros and cons. And there are certainly some situations where a web app makes more sense. Don't get me wrong. But when creating rich applications, the web sucks. And all your arguing here won't change that.

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No, you can computer more for less because of utility computing examples like Google. And I didn't say that having something that provides computing power in the home will go away, just that the value of you sitting down with your IBM PC-AT and running Lotus 123 will go away. When you claim that the desktop is better than the web, you had SETI@Home in mind?

And it is all about efficiently using computing power -- this will change your view on developing applications for the better. The sooner you accept that the web is a better path, the sooner you'll figure out to make web apps better, and we'll all appreciate your work.

For now, there are any number of advantages to desktop apps. Ten years from now, everything is going to be in the cloud.

I need a downmod. I need 10 downmods for you sir. But alas ycnews in it's infinite wisdom has denied me a down arrow.