Very good article by Molly Wood on cnet about how Google could be the one to unhook us from our desktops permanently. She makes a rather compelling case that Google could position itself as the provider of network based computing that Microsoft has been contemplating. Ahh my friends, what would a truly modern thin-client look like? Well, something like an ultra light laptop with nothing but memory, BIOS, a shell of an operating system, good graphics hardware and every networking protocol under the sun. I imagine this thing to be about the size of a thick magazine (you know, the special double edition of Cosmo) have a battery life of over 10 hours (no harddrive to spin, no optical drive to power and less power to the processor since its not hogging as many cycles as the server is) and finally, the whole package will be under 2 pounds. That, my friend is my idea of bliss 
Now, think about Gmail, which, in a broadband situation (I*ll deal with that in a couple of paragraphs), is probably more responsive than Outlook; and Google Maps, which doesn*t show any signs of redrawing as you drag the image all over your screen. That*s the power of Ajax, which removes most of the server communication, almost making you forget you*re using the Web. Now think about what would happen if you had a word processor, a spreadsheet app, a photo editor, an instant messenger, a browser, a music jukebox, and any other “software application” running inside a Web framework that*s as fast and responsive as any desktop you*ve ever used. Now imagine being able to access that environment from any Web-enabled computer (or device), anywhere. Remember Bill Gates saying, 10 years ago, that traditional software was dead and that all software would eventually be delivered over the Internet? Well, I think Google was listening.
