Eideard

Windows Vista or OS X? Who cares, says Google. The future of software will transcend operating systems.

That was one of the main messages of the company’s I/O 2009 conference, as it kicked off in San Francisco. The two-day event brings together web developers to discuss, share, and encourage breakthroughs in online applications…

“It’s time for us to take advantage of the amazing opportunity that is before us,” said Google CEO Eric Schmidt … referring to the growing sense that the Internet and browsers–rather than a computer’s operating system–will be the future foundation for application development.

The notion takes a current Web trend to its logical conclusion. Unlike most of the software available on store shelves, Facebook will run on (pretty much) any computer. It doesn’t matter if you prefer Linux, or an older version of Windows, or even a cellphone. All Facebook needs is a browser. But on top of that, Facebook allows for third-party programmers to make applications designed to run in Facebook. This new level of app is now several times removed from the battle over which operating system is best.

Google’s I/O presentations imagine what will happen as this trend develops. The company showed off ways that browsers could soon adopt many of the features of traditional operating systems. Yet, as Krazit (and Google) points out:

The industry isn’t quite ready for that yet. Many of [the] applications demonstrated before the crowd of around 4,000 developers will require the widespread adoption of HTML 5 technologies, which are still under development by a consortium of companies and organizations…

But even when HTML 5 is completed, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer could be a major roadblock.

The problem with that analysis is that Web roadblocks have a habit of being circumvented. New paths become new roadways. Ask the people who used rule the world at Lotus.

Microsoft may just paint themselves into an acute corner if they don’t join the upgrade.