Computer World

As we get closer to the singularity, I've been thinking more about how technology has changed throughout my lifetime. Previously I had thought of this in terms of hardware, advancing from my Commodore 64 though a 486, Pentium II, Pentium IV, to a Pentium D. But now I'm beginning to think more in terms of how I use computers. Most of the programs I use now, didn't exist 5 years ago, and I can barely remember what I was using back in the 90s. Who can remember a time before iTunes? How about the days when we had to a CD-ROM encyclopedia instead of instantly accessing a VERY current Wikipedia. We now have a myriad of choices for using our PCs. My computer is so customized - using quick launch shortcuts, keyboard shortcuts and programs and plug-ins like Slickrun and Googlebar, that its hard for me to use other people's machines efficiently.

I never really jumped on the idea of internet apps. Of course when I first used Google years ago, I knew it had a future as THE search engine, but I never imagined how far they would go. I started using iGoogle (or Google IG back then) as my home page, and now I couldn't live without it, I have all the links and precise news that I need in one place, plus some cool tools and toys. Last week I was doing an update, and I unintentionally installed Google Desktop. This program is excellent. It has a nice transparent design with time and temp and a cool photo slideshow. It also has a handy notepad, so I don't need to open a new program or file to quickly remember something - and it reads html, which is the first time I've found a text editor that does. It also provides news articles to the desktop and its has a web clips section that shows near-real-time additions to web forums, discussions, USENET groups, Wikipedia, and blogs (now I'll know when I update this page). I now have a new appreciation for RSS feeds. This is all done so much more effectively and stylishly than Microsoft's failed Active Desktop could ever do. Of course, the real power of Google Desktop is the Desktop search. I never really thought I would need this back when I heard about X1. But now, I read so many various articles on the net, I begin to forget what I was reading and I spend way too much time trying to find things again. Like so many other geeks these days, I now need a Google-assisted memory. The desktop search not only remembers these articles for me, but it also searches documents, email and files, so I can search for everything in one place.

My other new tool is the Google Notebook. I've apparently made notes in it before, but I never realized it. By simply selecting Note This, I can put something from a search into the notebook. I have previously been using Evernote for this, but the great thing about Google Notebook is that it is stored online. This way, I can do work on one computer, and then continue on another machine. I don't have to remember to keep moving various text files from one PC to another, as it is all easily integrated into the browser.

So , I've now reached a new level in computer use as we have reached the point where a computer isn't all that useful with an internet connection. Just as web pages have now become dynamic, our desktops have become much more useful and interesting than the static ones they used to be. Besides these applications, I can't get enough of Google Earth, along with Google Sky. These guys really have a vision for applications, and their pricing scheme is much better tan Microsoft. I can't wait to see what Google will have for us in the future.


edit - 10.21.07: I just listened to Leo's 10.02 show and he was talking exactly about this, saying that technology has matured enough that we can now talk about content and not hardware. Great minds.