Anything having to do with computers is apt to be wrapped in strange terms and even stranger acronyms. "Rich Internet Applications" and its acronym RIA provide two good examples. What do they mean?
In Web 1.0, what we have been using since day one, a page of information was sent from a server (a computer that manages files rather than computing) to a browser on your PC. Sometimes you entered some information and then your computer sent the page back to the server where it was processed and a third page was sent back to you. Simple and straight forward.
In Web 2.0, and its enterprise application Enterprise 2.0, there are opportunities to request or open an initial page and then just exchange portions of a page or even process information on your browser. Examples: real time updating of sport scores or market prices. For these applications where data changes periodically think of Web 1.0 as a newspaper where you get later data with a later edition and 2.0 as television where the data is always current. Another example is a mortgage calculator where the tool to do the calculations is sent to your computer but your data stays in your computer; it doesn't have to be sent anywhere to be processed. Usually faster, in some cases more secure, but no longer as simple and straight forward.
Better? That depends on what you want to do and what you expect. How often does you Website change? How often does your competitor's Website change? Does a faster rate of change give your customers a real or apparently better or more interesting experience? Some examples of a variety of rich internet applications are here.
