If certain government big shots and computer software companies get their way, the future of computing will be one of endless dependence upon the Internet. End users will no longer own computers that have their own hard drives, programs, operating systems, or any type of substantial memory storage. All of these frills will be rented via subscription schemes using pleasant sounding names such as “software as a service.”
Microsoft began sowing the seeds for this future in the mid 1990’s, with their .Net “environment” being released in 2002. Promoted as a way that the many disparate (and non-Microsoft) elements of the Internet could be unified as part of one, easy to use system, .Net is seen by many as nothing more than clever marketing.
What .Net provides is a proprietary way to write computer programs called Web Services. These programs, rather than being installed on your hard drive, reside on assorted websites. Sometimes you may use them for free. The desired business model is that you pay ongoing, perpetual fees to use programs such as Microsoft Word, or your favorite email program. Your files would be stored at a central data storage facility, rather than in your own computer.
However, .Net hasn’t yet caught on with the masses in a significant way. Many people are still reluctant to trust Microsoft’s Passport identity verification service to handle all of their Internet commerce needs, and too many people still like the idea of retaining physical possession of their own programs and data.
Now, Microsoft is upping the .Net ante by launching its Live Software strategy, a full-fledged software as a service plan, including services called Office Live and Windows Live. Industry analysts see this action as the beginning of a long term plan to move people away from purchasing prepackaged software, and, instead, relying on the Internet for every computing need.
Intrusive governments around the world love the idea of compulsory dependence on the Internet. Governments and private industry have long been making backroom deals to compromise individual privacy, with no sign of that trend letting up. With backdoor surveillance features built into software programs, and files such as email kept in centralized repositories, pesky checks and balances such as search warrants almost become irrelevant.
The two-fold “stick in the mud” for all these ideas has been independent-minded computer users, and open-source software and operating systems such as Linux. Old-school computer users (i.e., anyone over the age of 30) still seem to like the idea of possessing their own files, and being able to use their computers without being connected to the Internet. Younger users may not realize that there can be a difference.
In addition, as long as excellent versions of the Linux operating system are free to download and use, and they are supported by free software, software-as-a-service may never completely take hold. Or, maybe we are like frogs in a pot of water, with the heat slowly being brought to a boil.