The next decade will see the continued rise of the browser as the platform, and I’m ready to ride the wave. Here’s a look into five reasons why I enjoy the web and all that it offers us.
Install Not Required
Open a brand new computer, start the browser, access a website, and finally close the browser. No more 5-hour reformat process, only to then have to install ten or more applications which can each take quite a while. Now you just access the application by URL and login. That’s it, nothing to install, no keys to enter – just register, pay if required, and login. Now you are not tied to a single machine, but instead can use any computer device that has a browser. Also, beyond just not needing to install anything, you also always have access to the latest and greatest version of the application, even if this does allow companies like Google to keep their apps in perpetual beta.
After finally paying for my first Apple product – the iPhone – I decided to also purchase a MacMini so I could start developing apps, as well as record music and video using the quality iLife suite.
#5 Window Dressing
Ironically, one of the features I love about owning a Mac is that you can also run Windows at the same time using virtualization. I wish the opposite were true, but alas Apple holds the keys to Zion close to its chest. Just having the option to run Windows makes the purchase of an Apple machine much easier, as I know that the same machine can be used for anything I would need OSX, Unix, or Windows for.
The following are a few of the reasons I enjoy the PC, and thus Windows. While I also use Linux, it’s only a small part of my PC experience.
#5 Custom Build
Not long after learning what a computer was I found out how to take them apart, upgrade the memory and processor, and ultimately build an entire PC from scratch. It’s one of the great aspects of the PC market, as opposed to Apple, is being able to choose from a wide range of components and parts, which also means lower prices due to competition. There was fun in figuring out how powerful a computer my money could buy. It seems that this era of hacking together a machine is slowly coming to an end as the computers of today are becoming more specialized and built in smaller form factors.
Bringing in the year with a goal to post an entry once a week and eventually move the blog itself to another more entertaining domain. Since many people don’t know how to pronounce the new year please see twentynot2000.com for a logical reason to say “Twenty Ten”
My goals for the upcoming year:
- Write weekly on this blog on code, finance, health, self, tech
- New Design for portfolio and blog
- Establish emergency fund for 3-6 months living expenses
- Reduce weight by 30lbs (Try no-carb 6 days/wk for 30 days)
- Finish work on Condo [completed]
- Finish a Triathlon (any length or type)
- Run in the Boulder-Boulder
- Summit two new 14ers
- Register for an LLC
- Launch web application or service
- Submit a paid iPhone app to the App Store
- Submit a paid iPhone game to the App Store
- Submit an app to the Android Marketplace
- Improve writing of C#, (X)HTML/CSS, and Javascript
- Learn node.js
- Learn and use Ruby on Rails
- Learn and use Asp.Net MVC
- Learn and use a NoSql Database
- Experiment with Haskell, Scala, and Erlang
- Develop a serious Backup Strategy
- Change all passwords to unique using LastPass + KeePass
- Move all accounts to use separate email account
Motto: Just do it!
Happy New Year!
