Networked Apps - The Future of Software?

MacRumors · Oct 31, 2003

Wired covers comments from Tim O'Reilly at the recent Mac OS X Conference in Santa Clara, CA.

O'Reilly believes that Apple "is leading the charge in a software revolution that soon will see most applications reaching beyond the box they are running on and connecting to other computers or devices."

The iTunes Music Store is the prime example of this initiative, while "unconnected" applications such as the word processor or spreadsheet are becoming dated.

O'Reilly was critical that the implementation of this concept is currently incomplete -- with users being unable (yet) to share Photos or purchase Stock photos via the iPhoto application.

wendel · Oct 31, 2003

prediction. In a few days MOSR will claim that they have seen beta versions of iPhoto 3 allowing rendezvous sharing of photo collections, and even early betas of purchasing photos online.

you heard it here first.

nycmacartist · Oct 31, 2003

Originally posted by wendel
prediction. In a few days MOSR will claim that they have seen beta versions of iPhoto 3 allowing rendezvous sharing of photo collections, and even early betas of purchasing photos online.

you heard it hear first.

Or they'll update next week, with what's being discussed this week, reworded of course. Then ask for donations.

Foxer · Oct 31, 2003

Various developers/publishers have been predicting this for years, at least since 1996 - notably Microsoft. I remember that all this was supposed to be a major part of (what eventually became) Windows 98.

It may happen, but it is hardly revolutionary.

Liquidity X · Oct 31, 2003

I wanna see a imovie movie store, we got piexlet, lets get downloadable movies thar re in dvd-r formate, or pixelet movie.

balconycollapse · Oct 31, 2003

Sadly microsoft swallowed up getty images one of the biggest stock photo sources around so apple would have some stiff competition. Everyday people have no use for stock photos unless they are 1024x768 and "purty". What this person seems to be asking for in their editorial is that there be an application for every possible thing you could want to purchase. Pretty soon Pizza Hut will have the iPizza win & mac app where you visually build a pizza and then order it online. Just kidding. I think the best example of this remote application would be desktop cray, man did that make my computer scorch! ^_^

MacsRgr8 · Oct 31, 2003

Originally posted by Liquidity X
I wanna see a imovie movie store, we got piexlet, lets get downloadable movies thar re in dvd-r formate, or pixelet movie.

QuickTime's "what's on" is sort of doing that.
I expect more "media" live/streaming apps, or games. Fun online stuff!
Not the office applications. Think of security reasons.

johnnowak · Oct 31, 2003

Re: Networked Apps - The Future of Software?

Originally posted by Macrumors

The iTunes Music Store is the prime example of this initiative, leaving "unconnected" applications such as the word processor or spreadsheet becoming dated.

Can I ask why the hell I'd want a "connected" word processor or spreadsheet? What fool wrote this?

dstorey · Oct 31, 2003

Re: Re: Networked Apps - The Future of Software?

Originally posted by johnnowak
Can I ask why the hell I'd want a "connected" word processor or spreadsheet? What fool wrote this?

the 'fool' that wrote that is Tim O'Reilly, the guy the founed and owns the most respected publishers of programming and computer technology books I can think of, and predicter of many future technologies through working at grass roots (alpha geek) level...

reflex · Oct 31, 2003

Re: Re: Networked Apps - The Future of Software?

Originally posted by johnnowak
Can I ask why the hell I'd want a "connected" word processor or spreadsheet? What fool wrote this?

Probably the same fool(s) that wrote it 5 years ago.

AmigoMac · Oct 31, 2003

Company work...

Originally posted by johnnowak
Can I ask why the hell I'd want a "connected" word processor or spreadsheet? What fool wrote this?

You are preparing the monthly report for the company on the 23th to be presented on the 31st, but you have vacations from the 25th and want some help from your friends at work and everyone will do a single task in different places or even cities... connected apps will work fine... big companies need real rendevouz (whatever) working there. they wnat to go now for the companies as they did for education...

peterjhill · Oct 31, 2003

Re: Re: Networked Apps - The Future of Software?

Originally posted by johnnowak
Can I ask why the hell I'd want a "connected" word processor or spreadsheet? What fool wrote this?

I could definitely use this. That way I would not have to use Microsoft's Sharepoint portal.

I often collaborate on documents with people in my group at work. We will either work on different sections of the same document, or more often, we review, make suggestions, proofread, each others work. Now we usually mail a document around. Then you need to worry about versioning. What we really need to be able to do is work on the same document with some kind of versioning, change tracking. Most of this is available in Word now, but it does not allow simultaneous editing by multiple users of the same file.

Spreadsheets are the same. We work up cost models of projects and need to share the data/update/make changes.

timdorr · Oct 31, 2003

Image Capture already provides this feature:

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20031028064213303

I'm surpised it's not more advertised...

nycmacartist · Oct 31, 2003

MS would love this. Instead of owning office, you subscribe to the iOffice website for $10 a month. Can you imagine working on a document with advertisements springing up all the time?

Nermal · Oct 31, 2003

Originally posted by balconycollapse
Pretty soon Pizza Hut will have the iPizza win & mac app where you visually build a pizza and then order it online. Just kidding.

You might just be kidding, but they're actually doing this. Their current online ordering system says that they currently won't allow you to build your own pizza, but it looks like this option will be coming soon.

Of course, it's a web page, rather than a true app.

beefcake · Oct 31, 2003

Skynet

/flees to Mexico

MacsRgr8 · Oct 31, 2003

Originally posted by beefcake
Skynet

/flees to Mexico

eh.. Terminator?

Le Big Mac · Oct 31, 2003

Originally posted by Nermal
Their current online ordering system says that they currently won't allow you to build your own pizza, but it looks like this option will be coming soon.

EXciting. I can choose the ingredients and get a preview of what it looks like, click submit, and then a sheet pops out at the Hut, that says, in print: Lg, pep, saus, onion, anch. THat's technology. the phone is just so passe.

As for collaborating on documents/spreadsheets, isn't that already done? I have a shared drive at work and anyone can pick up the doc. Two folks can't work on it at a time, but that's obvious.

Janger · Oct 31, 2003

Back to the 60s

Apps that reach beyond your own machine. Sounds like "back to the mainframe" to me.

arn · Oct 31, 2003

Some interesting thoughts... as people said, this has been something that people have been saying for years - every since the Internet really took off... but I think it was kinda under the radar that iTunes represents this concept.

In reality... the web browser is the concept... connected to a network of sites.

For while there was a move away from proprietary clients... and standardization -- such as Java.

And yes, the iTunes store could have been done entirely in a browser interface -- like BuyMusic. But I think Apple brings some key advantages in creating an client-native actual application for it. And this advantage could be maximized in other applications too.

arn

Iconocat · Oct 31, 2003

Pizza Online Rules!

Originally posted by Le Big Mac
EXciting. I can choose the ingredients and get a preview of what it looks like, click submit, and then a sheet pops out at the Hut, that says, in print: Lg, pep, saus, onion, anch. THat's technology. the phone is just so passe.

As for collaborating on documents/spreadsheets, isn't that already done? I have a shared drive at work and anyone can pick up the doc. Two folks can't work on it at a time, but that's obvious.

I know it's not a seperate app or as "visual" as what you are thinking of, but I live in the DC area too and I order Pizza Hut online ALL the time! I'm pretty familiar to what the pizzas I get look like, so I don't really need the visual. It's really cool "building" your pizza though and they often have all sorts of specials. I never have to deal w/ them via phone unless there is a problem, which I don't think there ever has been.

merges · Nov 1, 2003

Originally posted by wendel
prediction. In a few days MOSR will claim that they have seen beta versions of iPhoto 3 allowing rendezvous sharing of photo collections, and even early betas of purchasing photos online.

you heard it here first.

they'd be on to something...

;-)

merges · Nov 1, 2003

Re: Re: Networked Apps - The Future of Software?

Originally posted by johnnowak
Can I ask why the hell I'd want a "connected" word processor or spreadsheet? What fool wrote this?

How about, you're working on a screenplay with a friend; both of you want to be able to revise it individually but be aware of each others' changes.

Check out Hydra. Or whatever it's called now... this kind of software is actually very useful in many contexts.

Rocketman · Nov 1, 2003

Re: Back to the 60s

Originally posted by Janger
Apps that reach beyond your own machine. Sounds like "back to the mainframe" to me.

This actually IS the point. Have centralized resources from apps to data to surge compute resources and every"node"or"user"whether on a dual 2 ghz desktop or a cell phone would have platform specifica nd user specific access methods.

As the internet becomes morewireless, higher bandwidth amd more everywhere accessable, this will be increasingly significant.

I feel what we will see is critical "local kernals" downloaded or saved for some local processing aswell.

Rocketman

sethypoo · Nov 1, 2003

I just wonder when someone is going to finally develop a virus for Mac OS X. All this networking stuff could, possibly, result in a lot of headaches for a lot of Mac users.

Just a thought.....

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