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Is the OS heading into the Clouds?

Here's a picture of what's coming:

1. You're new computer is going to come with some software system to get the processor, battery, ram and hard drive to all talk to one another and power up together to become your "computer".
2. You are going to launch a "browser" or "os" depending on who you are listening to.
3. Within that App/Browser/System you will access all of your documents, your email system and the applications you need to use to deal with the various document types.
4. Most file types (.DOC, .XLS, .TXT, .PPT) will be handled without any brand named applications. You won't need WORD if the .DOC files is readable and editable in your "browser."
5. Your task-based systems (EMAIL, TWITTER, CONFERENCE CALLS, MEETING MGMT) will all be handled by the "browser."

What is left?

High-end apps like Photoshop or iMovie will sill require some direct access to your system, outside the browser. And high-end editing and financial functions will be handled within the Branded apps of WORD, EXCEL and CUSTOM LABELED APPS like Quickbooks or Great Plains.

But for the masses, and this is who we are really talking about when we talk about the "consumer," will not care what OS they have, nor will it make any difference for 90% of what they are doing: which is browsing the web, watching YouTube, doing Facebook and sending emails and IM/Tweets. Seriously, for that, you could use a 2-3 year-old pc running anything plus a modern browser.

So as Google lines up it's ducks (Browser, OS, eMail, Apps and Social Media management system {WAVE}) the folks in Redmond are trying to cook up an OS that anybody believes in (WIN7), a search engine that can even come to the same party as Google (Bing) and new versions of their vaunted Office applications that will be living closer and closer to the cloud.

It's going to be an amazing year to watch. Let's just hope the economy picks back up so these great innovations have the financial fuel to move forward with gusto.

I'm happy on my Mac OS (no Chrome browser available yet) and FireFox. And I have to use Office Suite to communicate with my peers. And I love Adobe's CS4. But I can tell you, I will not buy a Windows-enabled PC at anytime if the near future, unless you count Virtualized versions that run on a Mac.

@jmacofearth
permalink: http://bit.ly/google-clouds

Some cloud-related posts:

• Cisco Draws a 4 Tier Map of the Clouds and the Future of Cloud Computing
• Technorati Fail – The Monster is Out – Another Cloud in Transition
• Cloud Fail – Is The Fail Whale Coming to a Cloud Computing Platform Near You?
• More About the Azure Cloud – Privatization of the Internet – This Time It’s Personal!
• A Tale of Three Clouds – Microsoft’s Cloud Computing Reveals Some Concerns

Tags: adobe cs4, bing, browser wars, cloud computing, Excel, google apps, google chrome, google chrome os, google cloud, google clouds, google search, microsoft, office, office apps, office suite, powerpoint, Quickbooks, the app, the browser, the view, twave, twitter, WAVE, win7, windows xp, windows-enabled, word