Web apps are enormous news. If you haven't heard of Google's vast suite of applications: docs, stats, rss reader or used SalesForce, Basecamp... then you've probably been under a rock for a couple of years, and frankly it might well be the best place for you

It's not often, however, that you come across one which genuinely makes you think you're working on the desktop. That, I reckon, is when a web application has truly come of age: when it is so slick, so polished, so fast that you forget all about the browser running behind it. 

To date only a couple of applications have done this for me: first off (blowing an Eduserv trumpet, but it's true..) - Sitecore - the CMS with a GUI which not only looks but also works like Windows. Google Analytics is of course another.

One more which I've been aware of for some time (I think I was on the beta test) is MindMeister, an online MindMap tool. I was impressed when I first saw it, but I've just come back to it and it has got even better. They've done incredible things with the interface: it's a lovely, lovely example of well-used AJAX and an extraordinary awareness of user interaction. The synchronous nature of the way the application updates in the background is so slick it's untrue. The functionality is awesome, even without any kind of collaboration. Chuck in the fact that you can share mindmaps with colleagues and you've truly got the hallmarks of a killer app. They've gone even further: integration with Google Gears means you can get at your mindmaps when you're offline, too. How cool is that?

It's so refreshing to see functionality and usability at this level. More importantly, and worryingly, is that when you see it you realise how rare it is. We've all got a lot to learn about building applications of this standard. I know only too well how easy it is to get carried away with the stuff behind the scenes and forget about the most important bit in the equation: the user.