Web Browsers as Application Hubs (A Primer)

The world is changing quickly and along with this change comes an exponential increase in the "I Can't Wait For It" factor. Companies lose out on the wow-factor when they release applications too late and miss the deadline while their competitors swoop in and steal he initial user-base. I recently read an article on Cloud Computing and it got me thinking about how the hardware and software industry is going to change if and when this becomes the defacto for computing world-wide. If you haven't done any reading on Cloud Computing, I suggest going to the following link. The underlying concept of Software as a Service (SaaS) raises some very good points about software deployment, its use and its longevity.

Imagine an OS where you only had a browser and it provided you all the collaborative servicing you needed to get your work done. Additionally, imagine a service on the browser that provided you with the ability to do everything your operating system did without having to waste precious hard drive space to do so. The trend of making larger pieces of software is slowly wearing down the generic user and is more-so wasting space on a users hard drive as they never use the entire functionality of most software packages. The answer to this is to simply install the function or component when its needed but the underlying problem of having it sit there is still the root problem of unnecessary use of space.

Things that are already available through cloud-computing services worldwide.

• Documents and collaborative services (Google)
• Widgets (God these have been around forever)
• Java applets that are server sided (too many to name)
• Media players that are applets on the system (can be server sided too)

The benefits are wondrous and would even negate the necessity for someone to go out and shell cart-loads of money on a system that is over-powered for their needs. The only thing that needs to improve is the speed of connectivity with the ISP and the base system used for this. The service providers will also need to setup a server capable of handling the large-scale requests that users will require when working with the software but that is just a formality as there are large data centers worldwide that already do these kinds of things.

To conlcude, I can't even beging to explain the benefits of never installing software on your hard-drive and only calling the software functions you need when you need them. It gives the end-user the flexibility they require, it reduces the cost of using an application and you only pay for what you need when you need it, the customizing component of the applications truly allows for a universal deployment anywhere and the hardware used will not matter anymore. Alas, I can see companies fighting against this because no one wants to see a Linux OS outdoing a MS OS or an Apple OS and at the end of the day we are private beings with an over-developed sense of possession. If all this wasn't true, the 'future' would be now.

Music listened to while writing this blog - Need Somebody - Kings of Leon
Mood while writing this blog - Optimistic