You all know by now how I feel about software and how certain companies (namely Microsoft) have attempted to hijack your computer and make you do the things they want. As a friend of some powerful folks at MSFT I have had the distinct pleasure of testing the new Vista operating system over the past few months. I hate to say it, this is really a good piece of software and I'm pleased to say it's probably the last traditional OS we will see.
Quietly over these past few months a ton of new young companies have begun to place features of a desktop operating system online. Whether it be Google's new word processing and spreadsheets or my friend Mark Cuban's new filesanywhere.com, the power of the desktop is rapidly relocating on massive server banks. For just a moment stop and think what your operating system (i.e. Windows) does for you... ok, so most of you said "email" and/or word processing. Clearly these functions are now better online than in Microsofts famously bloated Office product. You have all your documents and mail wherever you are, can share files effortlessly and never have to worry about a backup or virus. You see, the real magic here (as in iMagicLab) is that the hard work is done by computer professionals and risk and complexity of running the machine is removed. Much like 50 years ago, the terminals are dumb and the IT department keeps the network up. What we need now more than ever is just a simple machine to get us online and let the millions of brains connect and innovate.
It was a good time to retire Mr. Gates, the cookie's about to crumble: Here's some Windows-killers to check out:
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