I really think Google, with all of its flaws and the inevitably that it will be corrupted by power (if it hasn’t happened already), is right on the money in their thinking that basic software needs to be web-based. I’m making increasing use of docs.google.com for word processing.
I now use two home computers, an office computer, and a laptop. The more I can work on the same projects on all the computers, the better for me. In fact, I have couple of software applications which are only installed on a single computer, and it’s a source of irritation for me.
Walden, your avatar is triggering a flare-up of my old fiddle tendonitis. That sidelined me for months! A moderately-set metronome or chemically-based correction of your choice is recommended.
As to the topic, yeah and yeah. The power of internet-based software is astounding, as is the potential for abuse and corruption. The next generation has lots of work to do sorting out how to handle the technology they’re inheriting. I’m sort of like, “Nyuk, nyuk. You wanna live up Geek Creek? Here kiddies, Freak!”
Naw, I disagree with the premise. I want to own the software. Or let my employer buy and upgrade it. I work in graphics. The farther you get from your own harddrive, the harder it is for the display and the output to reference. And Lord knows, I don’t need pop-ups when I am in Photoshop.
I believe it was Larry Ellison or another visionary that anticipated the small cheap desktop computer using online software years ago, though.
Not a new idea by any means. His rationale was what I hinted at earlier; the expense and waste of buying all those cardboard boxes and disks and manuals. With the advent of downloadable everything and print-to-order pdfs, it has diminished that phenom some.
I don’t think that is a problem. Even if it’s stored on a server somewhere,
the data and code will still be cached and run on your machine. What scares
me is whether Google (or whoever) will try to own your data in some way.
I read an article today about online backups. This is a good idea for those with family photo files and the like. Financial data, I would be a bit hesitant about putting out there online, no matter what the hosts say about not looking.
Xdrive is AOL’s free (free for everyone with registration) version, with 5GB free. That is quite a bit for just photos for the casual person. Not so much for a serious photographer.
This way if there is a major disaster such as a fire, or a flood, a person can still have their data somewhere. Most of the hosts have duplicate servers in different parts of the country in case of dire emergencies.
One downside is the significant time investment involved. Even with high speed Internet the transfer time for gigabytes may often be measured in days.
I would also be a bit wæry of the security of software/data storage online.
Whereas software and OS’s (such as the new Windows Vista) seem to get more and more bulky and requiring enormous amounts of processing power, I think there is great use for lightweight applications.
The thought of running an OS (like some Linux ditro’s) and all it’s software from a microdrive is just incredibly appealing to me. You can carry your entire ‘computer’ around with you - plugging it in anywhere and just using the processing power of the machine available. Brilliant
