Software Virtualization - the term for sucking you dry a penny at a time. If MS Office goes to virtual functionality - that is, each time you do a function on a program (e.g. copy, paste, print, etc) you download the function. The obvious benefit is that you always get the latest software with updates, the downside is that the upward goal is to charge you for each function each time you use it. That may not be the way it starts out, but that is the ultimate goal.

I attended a Microsoft Tech Conference in Redmond in 1993 about the time that MS NT came out and the discussion was then around this concept. Some companies had tried server based office suites earlier, Borland and WordPerfect which was a disaster. It touted ease of installation and support for the techs, but was slow, unreliable and ineffective such that it was dumped pretty rapidly. The discussion was also around using mega servers (remember this was only a little ahead of the Internet revolution) using a nationwide network. The internet was discussed as the delivery tool, but it was not pervasive enough within companies and cities at that time. The plan was to charge the user a part of a cent for each keystroke or click of the mouse (the mouse was coming into it's own with Windows at the time). Thus a letter would not cost too much, but they did not dwell on scaling costs.

Processing is now faster and it is coming out of the woodwork again. I am categorically against web based applications of this sort. Don't confuse this with database applications that require it. Common, repetitive office functions as used by the office suites we have today should remain totally resident on the local unit. I think it would have the effect of driving everyone to Open Source products and MS Office would die a slow death. The remaining problem would be compatibility between packages, versions, etc. Today I can send a Word Doc to a client and be assured it can be opened. With virtualization I lose that assurance.

On the other hand it may drive us back to the electric typewriter, I still have one (1) IBM Selectric in my office for emergencies and forms.

Hmmm, maybe not such a bad idea after all.