Reality check on hosted apps

I admit it. I got excited about Microsoft's announcements that it was putting all kinds of software on the Web, some of it maybe even for free, with ads.

Now an online survey from Small Business Pipeline brings it back down to earth--to the plane on which real business operates. Simply put: businesspeople have doubts about Microsoft's ability to deliver. At best, they think it's too early to expect much. While one-fourth said putting software on the Web--"hosted apps" for short--was a great idea, they were worried Microsoft would have an inhibiting effect on competitiveness and innovation. And one-third said that hosted apps weren't "ready for prime time." Some 17 percent say "hosted apps don't work, period." The survey doesn't say how many people took it, and it's not scientific.