I’ll never forget when I first figured out why Microsoft was scared of the Internet. I had just built my first Web application, an online event scheduling system for my old school district that would display information about upcoming sporting events, concerts, etc. That was the moment when I realized that the Web made the underlying operating system nearly irrelevant.
One of the best recent examples of a Web-based application that directly challenges the traditional software model is Writely, an online word processor. Writely allows you to share your document with other authors nearly in real-time. I used it to collaborate with a co-author on an article recently and it worked great.
The big news of the day is that Google has just purchased Writely. Google’s been on a bit of a buying spree and this latest acquisition is yet another indicator that the future is on the Web.
Holy cow! That’s awesome!! Imagine the benefits to English teachers everywhere!!
It’s a pity they have closed registrations so we can’t try using it right now.