The Disappearing Desktop - It's Real This Time

[Richard Gaskin]

Dan Shafer wrote:
> My original point with  respect to this issue was that a "zero-pound
> computer" was a  desirable objective. This means that my data and
> my applications live  on a server somewhere and I can access them
> from anywhere, whether I  have "my" computer with me at the time
> or not. I can go to a kiosk,  FedEx Kinko's, wireless hot spot...

Adobe Photoshop weighs in at 152MBs.

The everything-on-the-server thang may do wonders for our national 
literacy rate:

Downloading that user interface everytime a user wants to update their 
40MB files with it will give them plenty of time to read.

:)


To summarize this thread thus far:

- Many cool new things are coming on the 'Net
- Many cool things already exist on the desktop
- Much change will happen in this industry, as it always has
- Desktop apps won't disappear by next Thursday
- Adobe/Macromedia haven't tossed out their business plans
- Operating systems continue to exist, and sometimes people like them
- Apple and Microsoft haven't tossed their business plans either

It took twenty years to get from the invention of the Internet to its 
privatization, and another decade from its privatization to begin to ask 
the question of whether it means the end of operating systems and all 
applications except browsers.

I suspect us ol' dinosaurs making desktop apps still have at least few 
more years left before that question gets answered....

--
  Richard Gaskin
  Managing Editor, revJournal
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