I am currently searching for ways of managing and syncing my contacts, email, calendars, bookmarks, documents and so forth on different devices (Vista, Mac, iPhone, web) . Having decided to move everything to web based software I wondered how to use that software when no or only slow internet connection is available. One solution to the problem could be so called site-specific browsers (SSBs).
Techrunch has an insightful overview by Mathew Gertner of Mozilla. He compares different software solutions to bridge desktop and web applications:
Bridging Desktop And Web Applications – A Look At Mozilla Prism
Bridging Desktop And Web Applications, Part 2
The overview includes:
Prism: A firefox extension that hosts web applications without the normal web browser user interface
Adobe integrated Runtime (AIR)
Fluid: A site-specific browser for Mac.
Google Gears: Lets developers take apps offline.
Bubbles An application platform based on browser technologies
Note that Gertner wrote his article before the announcement of Google Chrome that is also becoming a good solution for the problem.
