Access your applications any time, anywhere with Web 2.0

Wouldn’t it be great if you never had to install another piece of software? Or how about being able to avoid upgrading your favourite applications every time a new version is released?

What if you could access all the software you want to use with nothing more than an Internet connection and your trusty web browser?

Well, you can – almost – with a new breed of applications that are discarding the Microsoft Windows desktop in favour of an Internet-based platform that can be delivered to any user, anywhere, anytime.

The web is changing. New technologies that are often dubbed Web 2.0 are being developed rapidly. Users are embracing blindingly quick Internet connections that are becoming ubiquitous, and asking why they can’t use the applications they rely on every day as easily as their favourite websites.

Desktop application developers and the new start-up companies that are embracing the ‘webtop’ will soon go head-to-head, to win the hearts and wallets of users who are becoming increasingly frustrated with desktop-bound applications.

Old-guard developers such as Microsoft and Adobe will have to look at their business models and modify them, so the webtop becomes more central to their products’ functionality and relevance to users.

However, there is a shark circling these leviathans.

The great white Google with its massive user base and inherent evolution on the Internet could steal more than just market share. What would your computing world look like if there was a Google operating system (OS), for instance?

Google has had its chequebook out recently and snapped up Writely, the online word processor. This purchase fits well with the company’s online business model. And with advances such as Gmail, who needs Outlook?

Add a few more applications to its shopping list and the idea of a web-based OS doesn’t seem too far fetched.

Now broadband access is almost ubiquitous, the desire to make even more use of this massive data pipe attached to people’s homes is encouraging developers to come up with more than just new desktop applications.

The massive take-up of the Firefox browser, the demand for more computing power on the move, plus the need to access and use heavyweight applications such as word processors from any location, has ignited a new paradigm that has no time for the foibles of a desktop-bound operating system.

So what are these new applications, and what can they do for you that your trusty group of desktop applications can’t? Think about your last computing session.

Chances are you used your word processor, maybe did some accounts, made a few notes about the things you need to do this weekend, sent some emails and checked your calendar for any appointments you have to keep. All these tasks required you to start a variety of applications that rely on the operating system you’re running.