I frequent ZenHabits.net often and model my life on a lot of the concepts that Leo Babuata writes about; minimilism, how to be happier with less mess, and how to view technology as a tool rather than your life. ZenHabits is very practical, as it teaches how to use technology, our bodies, and physical materials to make our lives easier and happier.
Leo, recently did a blog post about what he feels Googe's Chrome OS will mean to a company rival, like Microsoft, as well as what it can do for computing of the future. I thoroughly enjoyed his perspective and it made me rethink the way I see a desktop computer.
The Old Model
For years, the OS has used the desktop analogy, with folders and files, all stored in a big file cabinet (your hard drive). And applications such as Word have run from the hard drive.
What this has meant is that, in order to insure against computer crashes (which are eventually inevitable), you’ve had to back up your files to a remote disk (another drive, a CD-ROM, etc.). It also has meant a headache when it comes to accessing your files and programs from multiple computers — you have to save and sync files all the time, and buy and install multiple copies of applications.
It’s also meant a lot of headaches when it comes to filing and finding your files, and sharing them with other people (this had to be done using floppy disks/CDs, or more recently, email attachments).
Finally, operating systems, trying to do everything, have become bloated and slow, taking up a lot of your computer’s processing power, memory and storage.
The New Model
Google’s model is based on connectivity to the Internet, a model that was unthinkable a decade ago and has only been really viable in the last few years as almost everyone has high-speed connections and wi-fi or mobile access.
Google has moved applications, and increasingly, our files, to the web (or cloud). It started with Gmail’s success — a fast, powerful online email app that beats desktop email apps hands down. It expanded with a suite of simple web apps: Google Calendar, Docs & Spreadsheets, Google Reader, Picasa for photos, eventually YouTube for video, Blogger for writing for the web, and more.
These apps are lightweight but powerful. They aren’t as feature rich as desktop apps, but here’s what many critics don’t understand: in today’s (and tomorrow’s) computing world, they don’t have to be.
-Leo Babuata
I believe that cloud computing IS the NEXT big step, as what we enjoy in the internet becomes fully immersed into our everyday offline lives; being always connecting with one another, rather than having to "log on", so to speak, to get to the information, or entertainment we want and need.
The question is, what can we expect from our operating systems? More hardware and more hard drive space? Or are we looking forward to a much more streamlined experience, with less digital doodad's, and more centralized information? And will Google be the new standard for the common internet user, with more work oriented computing: information production, programming, and video/picture editing be more for Windows/Apple owners?
Also, be sure to read the comments as well. A lot of interesting questions were thrown around: such as how many people have the access necessary to fully enjoy information on the cloud? And what about the effects of privacy and country restrictions put on sites like Youtube, Blogspot, and Twitter being partially, or fully, blocked?
[Via ZenHabits]
Okay Geek Farm
Brandon Davenport
