Ready for a Web OS?
December 6, 2009
The ACM recently published my article on the elusive Web OS, looking at emerging trends shaping the trajectory of Web browsers and desktop operating systems.
A Web OS offers enormous promise. Potentially, it could take the best of the Web--the rapid deployment and updating of new applications, device independence, and the ease and convenience with which large communities can collaborate and share information--and combine it with the advantages of desktop applications--operating at machine speed, rich and interactive interfaces, and access to local hardware--and sidestep many of the security and compatibility issues currently plaguing desktop OSs. Before the Web OS becomes a practical reality, however, browser developers must overcome several major obstacles to security and device integration that continue to tilt the balance of power in favor of the desktop OS.
> Read the whole thing here
Previously: The Battle of the Books
GLUT:
Mastering Information Through the Ages
New Paperback Edition
“A penetrating and highly entertaining meditation on the information age and its historical roots.”
—Los Angeles Times
