Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Let's rock without Microsoft

Today, Microsoft formally announced to stop the major technical support for Windows XP, and the extension support will stop before 2014. Are you using Window XP or Vista? or Window 7? Do you feel the Windows is your only choice as the OS on your machine?

I am imaging a world without Microsoft in a short future. At least three major trends can lead to a new world without Microsoft:

1. Cloud computing, Virtual Infrastructure Access service, all these new technologies show an approach to compute and run applications without a complex local OS. More and more applications are deployed on server side, and they can be started and run remotely easily. In a short future, we only need a thin client or just only a browser in computer, cell phone, play station or something other machine like current TV station to run most of useful applications. The OS is not important any longer, while the key things are the applications or services in the network.

2. Many office applications become more and more mature, such as Google Apps including Gmail, Document and Calendar, IBM's Lotus Notes and Symphony, Sun's OpenOffice. Actually these software are powerful enough to totally replace the Microsoft Office now, and these software are more open and flexible through the open API library.

3. Even for the OS itself, the Windows is challenged by many competitors. Ubuntu is very nice and more and more powerful Linux system for personal usage. And these days, you know, most of eyes are focused on some new operation systems in mobile phone, like Google Android, Apple iPhone and Nokia Symbian. This is another new and more important war field than traditional computer desktop, as more and more applications and services are provided through network in future, but Microsoft is a loser in this field.

Less Microsoft, more wonderful world! Let's rock without Microsoft!

For now, I am also using Windows as it's required by company, but I believe when Microsoft stops all the support for Windows XP, I bet that the company will embrace Linux, for example Ubuntu, instead of paying money for next Windows version. These are some major applications for daily work in my computer:
  - Using Firefox as browser, instead of IE; It's faster, and there are many Firefox Add-ons to make the browser powerful, but IE can not;
  - Using Lotus Symphony and OpenOffice to create and edit document, spreadsheet or presentation materials, instead of using Microsoft Office. And these software can also easily create and edit Microsoft Office format document for customer, but Microsoft Office can not support OpenOffice format;
  - Using Lotus Notes (v8) to communicate with others. It integrated To Do List, Calendar, Email, Contacts, Instant Messging, Feed and many other useful functions together. Instead of using the Microsoft Outlook;
  - Using Lotus Sametime for online conference, instead of NetMeeting which function is too limitted and very slow;
  - Using Rational RAD/RSA for software design/development, and RTC for working planning, tracking, and for team communication and collaboration;
  - Using Twitter and Blue Community to build up my social network;
......

And the most important is all above applications can run well in Linux system, even better. If it was not required by company, I would like to use Ubuntu. I installed it which runs very well.

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