Google makes Web 2.0 people dream

I’€™m a dedicated Gmail and Google Calendar user, so while I enjoy Google’€™s products ‘€“ and would love to swap my Windows XP for something leaner and meaner ‘€“ I can’€™t really see a Google OS (that’€™s short for operating system, folks) coming anytime soon.

Some people can, actually a lot of people, but this actual post on Read/WriteWeb was a nice little read. They’€™re tackling the possibility of a Google OS from these three scenarios:

A web based desktop (i.e. operating system)

A full featured Linux distribution

A lightweight Linux distro and/or BIOS

Now, Web 2.0 lovers out there are preaching about online applications ‘€“ we already have them in Gmail, Spreadsheets and also from other companies than Google, Microsoft will join the fray soon for instance, a telling sign if any. With that in mind, and the possibilities that the next generation of web browsers (post IE7/FF2) might offer, well, then it could become a reality to actually run all your stuff online.

But I don’€™t think so, not anytime soon. Still, it’€™s nice to dream every now and then, isn’€™t it?

Thord Daniel Hedengren

Thord Daniel Hedengren is a designer, writer, and blogger, and also the former editor of The Blog Herald. He used to be a hotshot in the gaming industry in Sweden, but sold everything and went International. Most recently he wrote a book called Smashing WordPress: Beyond the Blog, and does loads of kickass design.

View Comment (1)

Steve Litchfield says:

November 22, 2006 at 3:53 pm

Add me to the list of people who envisage doing (nearly) everything online. As a journalist, I research stories online, create text in content management systems online and handle the usual email/PIM stuff. If it weren’t for having to handle a number of hardware accessories that need Windows, I’d be ‘there’ already 8-)

And I LOVE the idea of not having to back much stuff up because the files are on other people’s servers under proper management. Hopefully, anyway!

Steve