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XP or Vista user — take the poll!
f0dder:
IMHO Vista is a step backwards, not forward, which is why I shun it.
ReactOS is a cute enough project, but it's nowhere near *usable* yet... which is probably the reason it hasn't been nuked to death by Microsoft.
steeladept: isn't the "bare-bones" VMWare ESX/GSX server (I forget which) linux-based, though?
Also, I don't see everything moving to web-based apps... just won't happen for games and that kind of multimedia, even when everybody has 10/10 1ms latency fiber connections (although at that time, streaming HDTV content should be doable). Same goes for a lot of "heavy" tasks.
But sure, trivial things like the office suite and other productivity items can easily be moved.
Grorgy:
What a depressing sort of future, if you folk are right. A lot of the fun of the computer for many is hunting up that little program that does just what you want, or tweaking something, if the above scenarios are anywhere near what we can expect then I won't be surprised to be asked if I want fries with that computer the next time i need one.
steeladept:
steeladept: isn't the "bare-bones" VMWare ESX/GSX server (I forget which) linux-based, though?
Also, I don't see everything moving to web-based apps... just won't happen for games and that kind of multimedia, even when everybody has 10/10 1ms latency fiber connections (although at that time, streaming HDTV content should be doable). Same goes for a lot of "heavy" tasks.
But sure, trivial things like the office suite and other productivity items can easily be moved.
-f0dder (July 24, 2007, 10:22 AM)
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That I can't be sure of, since I haven't installed it and they don't say so on their site, they only state that it requires no OS and runs all the VM's. However, that is sort of my point. Regardless of what the underlying technology is as an OS, it boots the system and the browser/VM software and that becomes your OS - so to speak. No fiddling with setup and no installation to install useable software. It is just install and run. (Well in this case you still need to load your VM's, but you don't need to load the software to run the VM's.)
As for the games and multimedia, I disagree. My argument is things like World of Warcraft and Everquest. These games proved online only games are viable, and to many preferable, to local games. Granted these games came with many files preloaded before you connect to limit the lag, but there is no reason you can't do a server pre-fetch to get that into the system on log-in. Once that is done, there is really very little, if any, difference between a web app and these games - technically speaking.
f0dder:
As for the games and multimedia, I disagree. My argument is things like World of Warcraft and Everquest. These games proved online only games are viable, and to many preferable, to local games. Granted these games came with many files preloaded before you connect to limit the lag, but there is no reason you can't do a server pre-fetch to get that into the system on log-in. Once that is done, there is really very little, if any, difference between a web app and these games - technically speaking.
-steeladept
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WOW and Everquest *could* work this way, since they aren't extremely latency sensitive, but it just won't work for first-person shooters and the like.
And even when it becomes possible to have <1ms internet latency and send 1280x1024@85fps full uncompressed video, it's simply an insane waste of bandwidth. Some things work fine as a web app or terminal services, while others simply run better on local hardware.
Carol Haynes:
Also, I don't see everything moving to web-based apps... just won't happen for games and that kind of multimedia, even when everybody has 10/10 1ms latency fiber connections (although at that time, streaming HDTV content should be doable). Same goes for a lot of "heavy" tasks.
-f0dder (July 24, 2007, 10:22 AM)
--- End quote ---
Think not? How about a bare metal OS incorporated in the game package - could be licensed from an OS manufacturer. There are lots of advantages for that approach from games manufacturers ... no external OS dependence and so a consistent environment to work in, can use 'effective' (in their terms) DRM/copy protection to protect the discs they distribute from copying and require the disc present to run the app - they could even lock them to one core processor plus they have a universal system which means Mac/Linux/Doze host OS becomes irrelevant and Doze users can't mock Mac users for not being able to play games.
An alternative approach (with similar vendor advantages) is to simply shift their emphasis to the game platform market rather than a general purpose PC - if users are prepared to pay for Vista Ultimate just to get DX10 they will certainly cough up for a new PlayStation or whatever is coming.
The biggest problem witht he coming webapps approach is that huge numbers of people have no access to high speed internet. It's OK if you live in inner-city Japan or France where high speed access (30-100Gbs broadband) is common enough to be endemic - but in other countries (including the US and UK) high speed connections are not nearly so common or even available. In the UK 8Gbs is just about top speed if you are dependent on the phone system and I can't see BT digging up the entire country to replace copper wires to every premises and lots of rural areas struggle to get above 512Mbs. The US is apparently even worse in rural areas where there are still large communities depending on dial-up (I read a recent article on this but can't remember where I found it).
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