This is from my latest Om Says newsletter over on GigaOM, The Slow Rise of SoMoClo OS:
Mountain Lion OS X is a step in the right direction for what the operating system (OS) for the Internet Age should be. Up until a few years ago, the Internet was a feature on our desktops, accessed through the browser and used for finding information. Along came broadband, and we all suddenly realized the Internet could be used for a lot more than just looking up facts and figures.
Today the Internet is how we do (almost) everything. Our phone calls are made using Skype. We video chat over Google Hangouts, and we communicate via Facebook, Twitter and iMessage. Twitter is the new Associated Press. Vimeo is our PBS, and YouTube and Hulu are the new broadcast networks. Amazon is the mall and iTunes is our Virgin Megastore. Pandora is our radio and Spotify is our jukebox.
It doesn’t matter whether we use Windows, Mac, Linux, Android or iOS: We can do all the things we like to do as long as the Internet is there. And if the growing popularity of apps is any indication, even a browser isn’t necessary. The Internet is what matters. From my perspective, the desktop OS of today needs to be built with that reality in mind. Let’s call this the SoMoClo operating system, where SoMoClo stands for social + mobile + cloud.
what worries me is the strings the bandwidth providers continue to choke us with. It won’t get better….we left long distance charges and traded them for bandwidth…..ya I used to pay $0.56/minute to use my phone…now I will be calculating /MB charges.
right Cameron – we’re beginning to treat wifi like the old local calling and telco wireless as long distance…