Feb
27
Going NoWare: Abandoning traditional software for Web 2.0
by Crystal Clayton, filed under Going NoWare, Work the Web
No, this is not another blogpost on the wonders of Web 2.0. Actually, this is a blogpost that is wondering about Web 2.0.
By definition Web 2.0 is “the generation of web-based communities and hosted services such as social-networking sites, wikis, and blogs…which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration, and sharing among users”.
So primarily, Web 2.0 is about connections…about giving us access to friends and strangers anywhere on the planet; storing and sharing our photo albums and diaries and links; logging our briefest thoughts, cataloging our possessions, and enabling virtual and actual exchange.
So I’m wondering: if I can (and do) use the Web to access anyone, anywhere, anytime…if I can (and do) store and share my documents, photos, and thoughts online…if the Web can be (and is) my primary method for exchanging books, products, ideas, and money…then what do I need software for?
Because compared to web applications (Web 2.0 and otherwise), software is a hassle from beginning to end. There’s an—often large—upfront financial commitment, then downloads and maintenance for fixes and updates. Software requires lots of hard drive space, is bound by license to one computer, and accessing new and improved features requires spending more money on upgrades.
Web-based applications lack all that software drama. There’s almost always a free service plan, or advertiser support so it’s free to all. If there is a cost, it’s a tiny monthly subscription payment with no long-term commitment. There are no downloads or installations or maintenance. Web apps can be accessed with any Internet-connected computer with a web browser—whether Mac or PC or Linux—and improvements are integrated at no extra cost.
So here I am, liberated from my desk by a wireless Internet connection, but still tied to this specific laptop by its software. Which is totally okay…until the motherboard croaks, or the hard drive fails, or it burns up in a house fire, or I lose it, or someone steals it. Then my business is in a coma until I can get myself a new computer and reinstall all the software and recover all my files.
But if I was Web 2.0 Wondergirl, I imagine I’d find/borrow/buy another computer and get back to work within the hour. And actually, must it be a catastrophic scenario? Maybe I just want to travel light rather than lug my laptop to Mom’s, or into the city, or on a plane to…wherever. Maybe I like to be on the move and could work quite well at whatever Web-ready computer I found at the cafe, hotel, library, etc.
So I’m wondering: With the appearance of Web 2.0 collaboration tools and other sundry web applications, can we live without software?
I’ll try it and let you know.
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6 Responses to “Going NoWare: Abandoning traditional software for Web 2.0”
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Whew! Taking a short break from blogging, folks. More posts coming soon. Thanks for your patience!
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I love this article, and it’s something I’ve considered trying out myself more than once. There was a great post about this on LifeHack a few months back: http://tinyurl.com/2ay2pd
I think we’re going to see a trend in this direction as broadband becomes more prevalent. Companies will start to catch on and realize that it’s easier just to update an online system rather than track versions and patches and auto-updates (all the things Microsoft has made us come to love so much…).
I wouldn’t be too surprised if Google released something along these lines, or purchased one of the startups like eyeOS (www.eyeos.org) in the near future. They’ve already got gMail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs. There’s even a flavor of Linux that’s built around these tools (gOS - http://www.thinkgos.com/). Why pay $200+ for Windows and then at least that much again for Microsoft Office when you can get all that for free?
Security is still a concern though… Imagine the kind of sensitive data you’d end up storing online if all your software was web-based. What if the server gets hacked or knocked out by a Denial of Service attack? Then you can’t access your own desktop. Plus, I hear there are a few places in the world where it’s not always possible to get online.
If I ever give this a try myself, I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.
Keep up the good work.
Hi Kyle,
I apologize for the delayed reply, but when you show me great websites that I haven’t seen, it’s going to take me days to get back
I’ve been rooting around on http://lifehack.org for ages!
The article you mentioned was indeed fab, and so were their many (many!) others on the web app topic. Can’t wait to dig into more of those, then add some useful content to the convo.
As for companies catching on, I believe smaller and newer companies will, and those run by bleeding edge webtechs. But even with easy-access broadband many folks aren’t going to get over those security issues. Heck, I might find I can’t get beyond it either, but I’m going to give it a shot anyway.
Aside from security and access, the big challenge I see in all of this is conversion/compatibility between Web applications and the industry standard desktop apps. MS Office is used by a gabillion people, and it’s important to be able to share documents with those folks.
As ever, new solutions breed new problems, and I truly can’t wait to see what happens next. Will Google beat Microsoft to it? Will someone new trounce them both? I await the results with no patience whatsoever!
Enjoyed the heck out of your “Many Hats” post, by the way. Never thought of doing an entire org chart just for lil ol’ me, but I see now that it’s as critical as my business plan. More thoughts on that in your blog comments
Many thanks for the chat and encouragement,
Crystal
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