Comments on: Living Without the Desktop http://www.livingwithoutmicrosoft.org/2005/12/15/living-without-the-desktop/ XPloring the alternatives Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:23:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.9 by: Paul McElroy http://www.livingwithoutmicrosoft.org/2005/12/15/living-without-the-desktop/#comment-728 Fri, 14 Jul 2006 13:54:53 +0000 http://www.livingwithoutmicrosoft.org/2005/12/15/living-without-the-desktop/#comment-728 Spreadsheets Google spreadsheets looks good (still in labs) Spreadsheets

Google spreadsheets looks good (still in labs)

]]> by: Web AddiCT http://www.livingwithoutmicrosoft.org/2005/12/15/living-without-the-desktop/#comment-40 Thu, 19 Jan 2006 13:23:14 +0000 http://www.livingwithoutmicrosoft.org/2005/12/15/living-without-the-desktop/#comment-40 I've even started living without the newspaer too. All news local (Cape Town, South Africa) and the likes of CNN & BBC are available via RSS. Whenever I read the paper in the evening I found that it all the sounded so familiar becuase I've read the real-time news as it happens plugged into Personalised Google, even Su Doku & crosswords are available :) I’ve even started living without the newspaer too. All news local (Cape Town, South Africa) and the likes of CNN & BBC are available via RSS. Whenever I read the paper in the evening I found that it all the sounded so familiar becuase I’ve read the real-time news as it happens plugged into Personalised Google, even Su Doku & crosswords are available :)

]]> by: Dave Briggs http://www.livingwithoutmicrosoft.org/2005/12/15/living-without-the-desktop/#comment-26 Mon, 19 Dec 2005 09:38:04 +0000 http://www.livingwithoutmicrosoft.org/2005/12/15/living-without-the-desktop/#comment-26 It is a nice idea to come up with something like that. I think there is a real possibility of these types of services creating something of a revolution in the way that users interact with computers. The biggest problem facing the majority of users these days is that their machine is just too damn complicated. Windows, Linux and even the Mac still suffer from the problem that a lot of the people that use them don't really understand them. There is a veneer of usability present in most modern OSs, but it just isn't enough to either protect the user from things going wrong, or to help them out when they <em>do</em> go wrong. My dad got a new laptop recently, and while he is reasonably proficient IT-wise, in that he uses a PC for the web, email and word processing at work, he simply couldn't work out how to copy the tracks from a CD onto the laptop. He asked me to have a look, and I fairly quickly found the app. to do it, called easyCDripjukebox2000 or something. But how on earth was he supposed to know that? By providing applications over the web, it could be a simple case of telling the computer, via a type of search engine what it is that you want to do. It could then take you to a site where you could carry out the task in question. Easy. Sorry, bit of a ramble there... It is a nice idea to come up with something like that. I think there is a real possibility of these types of services creating something of a revolution in the way that users interact with computers.

The biggest problem facing the majority of users these days is that their machine is just too damn complicated. Windows, Linux and even the Mac still suffer from the problem that a lot of the people that use them don’t really understand them. There is a veneer of usability present in most modern OSs, but it just isn’t enough to either protect the user from things going wrong, or to help them out when they do go wrong.

My dad got a new laptop recently, and while he is reasonably proficient IT-wise, in that he uses a PC for the web, email and word processing at work, he simply couldn’t work out how to copy the tracks from a CD onto the laptop. He asked me to have a look, and I fairly quickly found the app. to do it, called easyCDripjukebox2000 or something. But how on earth was he supposed to know that?

By providing applications over the web, it could be a simple case of telling the computer, via a type of search engine what it is that you want to do. It could then take you to a site where you could carry out the task in question. Easy.

Sorry, bit of a ramble there…

]]> by: jnaughton http://www.livingwithoutmicrosoft.org/2005/12/15/living-without-the-desktop/#comment-24 Mon, 19 Dec 2005 09:07:29 +0000 http://www.livingwithoutmicrosoft.org/2005/12/15/living-without-the-desktop/#comment-24 Very useful post -- many thanks. Makes me think that maybe we should have a page on "web services for beginners" (or "why the network, not the computer, is the computer"). Very useful post — many thanks. Makes me think that maybe we should have a page on “web services for beginners” (or “why the network, not the computer, is the computer”).

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