This new paradigma goes like that: software as a service vs. software as a product.
This article is spotting new trends that may take years to become at their fully. It is completely out of the Linux vs Windows dilemma.
Imagine you run a web session to use mail/calendar, word-processor or whatever app, and you don't need to care about the underlying browser (IE, Opera, Firefox...) or OS (Win flavors, unix flavors). You as a user will care less about backup, O.S. misbehaviours, HW issues... cause the code and data remain on the Network. In case of problems you'd just swap your commodity HW and move forward.
To me, this is the realization of the vision that Sun broadcasted 10+ years ago, where the "network will provide the applications on demmand". Instead of being Java, it has been made possible by chaps like Perl, Python, PHP,... data translation protocols like XML, asynchronous http, name it AJAX, running in server farms mostly powered by a Free Unix versions. At the end, I believe Google's living on such kind of infrastructure,
Not surprisingly MS has become aware of the threat, and it's starting to change its course, though inertias work both in favour (with their two cows still milking out at good levels) and agains, cause those culture changes in long-lived organizations take long time.
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my advocacy
Free Software model encourages co-opetition, leverages the playing field, discourages from inventing the wheel back every few weeks. New companies and individuals sprout offering new solutions to old problems. Those who strive to make the software use a less painful experience and fulfill uncovered needs/desires will succeed (not necesarily meaning to become rich, but to make a good life out of it).
I would like to see this mix of cultural and technological changes making us move from the corporate capitalism mindset to a participative model.
At some point, it will be possible for everybody to become producer and/or consumer of digital goods, to invent, to express,... who knows ?
Slashdot Mirror
This new paradigma goes like that: software as a service vs. software as a product.
This article is spotting new trends that may take years to become at their fully. It is completely out of the Linux vs Windows dilemma.
Imagine you run a web session to use mail/calendar, word-processor or whatever app, and you don't need to care about the underlying browser (IE, Opera, Firefox...) or OS (Win flavors, unix flavors). You as a user will care less about backup, O.S. misbehaviours, HW issues... cause the code and data remain on the Network. In case of problems you'd just swap your commodity HW and move forward.
To me, this is the realization of the vision that Sun broadcasted 10+ years ago, where the "network will provide the applications on demmand". Instead of being Java, it has been made possible by chaps like Perl, Python, PHP,... data translation protocols like XML, asynchronous http, name it AJAX, running in server farms mostly powered by a Free Unix versions. At the end, I believe Google's living on such kind of infrastructure,
Not surprisingly MS has become aware of the threat, and it's starting to change its course, though inertias work both in favour (with their two cows still milking out at good levels) and agains, cause those culture changes in long-lived organizations take long time.
----------------- my advocacy
Free Software model encourages co-opetition, leverages the playing field, discourages from inventing the wheel back every few weeks. New companies and individuals sprout offering new solutions to old problems. Those who strive to make the software use a less painful experience and fulfill uncovered needs/desires will succeed (not necesarily meaning to become rich, but to make a good life out of it).
I would like to see this mix of cultural and technological changes making us move from the corporate capitalism mindset to a participative model.
At some point, it will be possible for everybody to become producer and/or consumer of digital goods, to invent, to express,... who knows ?