The Portable Life

I have just noted that it is rare, and I think will become increasingly rare, for me to use any software which is not available either as a Web app or as command-line UNIX software. In the first case, I just need a username and password to access My Stuff from anywhere. In the second case, I have ssh and screen available on my personal server to give me access from anywhere. The notable exceptions:

- visual media creation and editing. You still can't depend on enough bandwidth, nor are the remote tools good enough, to run GIMP over the Net. The file sizes are big, the response times critical. A vector illustration program might work well enough to be an AJAXish app, though.

- access to local removable storage devices. You can't usefully burn a CD or a DVD over the Net, although if you've preloaded a disc, you can do it... but then you have to wait for a tape monkey in your machine room to FedEx it to you. Not quite immediate gratification. I wonder if there's a burn-yer-disc web service out there? Send them an ISO and get back an overnighted disc. Good for sending stuff to family, micro-runs for garage bands...

Eventually, I want my PDA to be a box in my backpack or in my pocket that handles local computing, storage, and transceiving, with a set of HUD glasses at a nice high resolution (180 pixels per degree of view sounds about right),
earphones with HRTF precalculated for my ears, and some sort of virtual keyboard. Or a real one. Or a GigE connection to my brain, as long as I've got a sufficiently good and paranoid firewall.

The Portable Life

I have just noted that it is rare, and I think will become increasingly rare, for me to use any software which is not available either as a Web app or as command-line UNIX software. In the first case, I just need a username and password to access My Stuff from anywhere. In the second case, I have ssh and screen available on my personal server to give me access from anywhere. The notable exceptions:

- visual media creation and editing. You still can't depend on enough bandwidth, nor are the remote tools good enough, to run GIMP over the Net. The file sizes are big, the response times critical. A vector illustration program might work well enough to be an AJAXish app, though.

- access to local removable storage devices. You can't usefully burn a CD or a DVD over the Net, although if you've preloaded a disc, you can do it... but then you have to wait for a tape monkey in your machine room to FedEx it to you. Not quite immediate gratification. I wonder if there's a burn-yer-disc web service out there? Send them an ISO and get back an overnighted disc. Good for sending stuff to family, micro-runs for garage bands...

Eventually, I want my PDA to be a box in my backpack or in my pocket that handles local computing, storage, and transceiving, with a set of HUD glasses at a nice high resolution (180 pixels per degree of view sounds about right),
earphones with HRTF precalculated for my ears, and some sort of virtual keyboard. Or a real one. Or a GigE connection to my brain, as long as I've got a sufficiently good and paranoid firewall.