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I do like the quality of results, but I do not like the way they look like regular results. It is clear that Google is trying to have users confuse online vs offline results. Google has drank the "web is platform" koolaid.Clearly, there is a negative connotation attached to this comment, and I am curious from what foundation it is based? What are the negative aspects of "the web as a platform"? I had not really considered the idea before this comment but I have been turning it over since that time. In essence, distributed computing is the web as a platform. Google's new GDS is probably the most advanced application of the web as a platform. Web-based e-mail is the web as a platform. Today on Slashdot there is an article about utilizing damnsmalllinux that is essentially a portable "web as platform" implementation. And from what I have seen Longhorn will take this all a step further.
Is broadening the scope of the Internet from merely being a place to read hypertext to a non-centralized personal data store for everyone a bad thing? What about the rumors that Microsoft is going to take the applications away from the users and we will run them from the web as well? Doesn't this solve a lot of today's problems incorporating security threats?
It seems to me that this is the future of the web and I don't see anything wrong with it. John Batelle's blog section on the Web 2.0 has been a very interesting read on this as well.
I really don't have any interest in combining my online life with ANYTHING else. So I guess the "web as a platform" thing won't appeal to me, and maybe should it actually occur, I'll become the last holdout....
This sort of thing always affects me the way statements about others' perfection in way of life do.... Count me out.
[Edited to remove political ref.... Sorry!]
What is wrong with the "web as a platform"?
The single most obvious answer to this is security. Not the type of personal security that will keep your data seperate and secure from everyone elses that uses the "web spreadsheet", but the type of security that is required to keep the web itself up and running, 24/7/365. It's still pretty early to be seriously considering web platform applications - any 14 yr old with a desire can cripple the web for a few hours to a few days. Until that type of security is reached, I'll keep most of my applications right here in the box next to me.
Advantage: Cheap hardware/software box at home. It'll be like the old Unix days where everyone just has a cheap dumb terminal (not much more than a keyboard and monitor) accessing programs on a central server. It works on private networks, has for a long time, and will for a long time. It makes it way easier for sysadmins. Youy don't have to worry about 5000 different computers with different software/patch levels, where updates and software changes can be a pain. You just have to worry about 1 computer running properly. Whether you can truly transfer that onto a web based platform has yet to be seen, though people are sure trying.
Imagine never having to update your software? You just have to logon and it was done for you by someone else. Very handy for the technically clueless.
Disadvantages: Almost too many to list. Security is a BIG one, availability is another. How can you lose access to the web? Let me count the ways... Privacy is another huge hurdle. Big companies are much more known for bending to the government's will when the data their sharing is private data they're holding for someone else, and not their won data. Also, what guarantee do you REALLY have that when all your data is stored on Big Corp X's server, that they aren't going to snoop it for marketing data?
I think we've got a long way to go before this type of environment becomes a major player.
