Web Office will be much different than Microsoft Office

Web Office will be much different than Microsoft Office | Web 2.0 Explorer | ZDNet.com.

Office 1.0 (1980s): a set of discrete and often incompatible applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentation creation, and simple database management. Archetype: Lotus 1-2-3.

Office 2.0 (1990 - present): integrated suites of PPAs, with expanded, if still limited, collaboration capabilities. Archetype: Microsoft Office.

Office 3.0 (present - early 2010s): hybrid desktop/web suites incorporating internet-based tools and interfaces to facilitate collaboration and web publishing.

Office 4.0 (c. early 2010s): fully web-based suites.

Web technology is gradually becoming the main stream and it is truly hiding enough potential to take over most of the client side applications. As far as the innovation is concerns, two major changes can also happen:

1. A refromation of the web. The current WWW infrastructure may not be an ideal platform for the distribution of robust applications. Existing web applications are mostly confined to dashboards, accounting, reporting, database operations and computing. High end fancy effects are not entertained. Imagine what it is like to access your office software by means of a URL, are you comfortable having it run within a browser?

2. A reformation of the client machines. Moving most of the loadings to the servers will require the servers to have superb computing powers. At the same time the requirement of the client machines will decrease so that the evolvement of PC hardware may slow down. Operating systems will also have to change (in this case OS with high system requirement like Windows Vista may be heading towards a wrong direction). Instead of UI fanciness, more emphasises should be placed on web compatibility, security and stability.