In a blog post yesterday, Google announced another operating system targeted for netbooks. From the post: "We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. " The announcement seems to indicate a strong push toward cloud computing, although, interestingly, Google doesn't actually use that term in the post. Google cites viruses, malware, and the tendency for computers to become slower over time, as reasons to move toward a simpler operating system. My experience with the Google services have been superior in nearly every respect, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what these new "netbooks" are capable of. I've also been waiting, as have many of my readers, for the fabled G-Drive, and this could be the ideal time to roll it out. In the meantime, I've been getting along very well with Dropbox, which is installed on all of my computers and iPhone.Apple has had Mobile Me since the iPhone's release, and according to a ZDNet blog post, Microsoft has been working behind closed doors on an online-only operating system since Windows XP. ZDNet writes, "The XP stood for 'experience' and was part of Microsoft’s .NET Web services strategy at the time. The master plan was to get users and businesses to pay a yearly subscription fee for the Windows experience — XP would essentially be the on-going product name but would include all software upgrades and updates, as long as you paid for your subscription."
So, my question is twofold: Is this a win for computer users? If so, how will Microsoft compete?
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