The internet is the operating system

Some while back I posted on the rumours of Google buying Salesforce.com, and the potential for a combined company to form a true rival for Microsoft across a much wider front than just search marketing and CRM software. With the inherent complexity (and many delays in release) of Vista leading some commentators to question whether Microsoft will ever release another 'Big Bang' operating system upgrade, the growth in web-hosted applications is raising questions of whether they should even bother.

It was a dream of former Sun CEO Scott McNealy, but the days of the network truly being 'the computer' seem much closer than ever. Network computing was supposed to do away with the Microsoft/Intel hegemony, but came too early for either the infrastructure of the applications to support the vision.

Hence I was interested to see this article from ZDNet on Salesforce.com's founder and CEO Marc Benioff's presentation at the Fortune iMeme conference, talking about the rise of the internet as the new operating system, with the new killer apps being the communities of interaction that internet-based applications are giving birth to.

I've been using Vista for about a week now, as a result of having to borrow a notebook after the optical drive in my Sony Viao spat the dummy. My Vaio is a year old, and although I've been assured that it will run Vista, I've not been game to chance it. Now, after using Vista for a week, I'm pretty much convinced there's not reason to. Most of my applications work pretty much the same (those that haven't been broken by the operating system, at least). But most of the new functionality that I am incorporating into my working life is coming to me through web applications - with nothing to do with a new operating system, really.

So why upgrade then, when most of the new value that I am getting out of computing is being delivered to me online?

Comments

[Marc Lehmann]

great post, inspired me to write on this topic also on our Netaccounts blog. i related heavily to your experience. my feeling when this happened to me was how much i respect the good old browser as my "portal" to the universe. so i'm thinking the browser as the OS is another theme worth looking at.