Ecosystems

I am beginning to wonder if the Internet is going to continue to get bigger or rather if it will become fragmented again, much like the beginning with various walled gardens.  What made me consider this is the new Chrome-book, as well as Surface, and whatever new product (small tablet?) that Apple is planning to announce soon.

While I know that there isn't really any pressure for me to use any one platform over another (I have a PC, and I am writing this on my Macbook), it isn't that difficult to notice that Google and Apple are both doing what they can keep you in their respective spheres, and with Surface, will Microsoft be far behind.  This blog is here, rather than somewhere else, because I chose not to move it when Google bought Blogger, and I am on Blogger because the friend who talked me into this was on here.

I think I need to be a bit more specific about what I mean, as even if Apple does have the equivalent of Blogger, I have no clue as to what it is, and don't really care.  The thing with Apple is the thing with apps, which, if you have Flipboard, or something similar, means you don't really need to go outside into the real Internet, on your phone or iPad, if you load the feeds on an app with sites you regularly go to for news or whatever.  It is really little more than a customized favorites bar with previews, but it does narrow what you see, though on my phone, that is plenty fine with me, but on my computer, I rather like the exploration aspect that is still there in the "you might be interested in" links.

I wonder if I should have chosen Google for my first example, though considering how sloppy my thought processes today, I likely will mess this up by adding extraneous information.  The reason I think Google may support this hypothesis a bit more than Apple is that while it doesn't feature a walled garden quite as strictly defined as Apple's, it does gather enough information on users that links and such will be those your habits have lead Google to believe you want to see.  Let's face it, whenever your insurance is up for renewal, if you use Chrome and flow your quote requests through a Gmail account, you will be seeing insurance commercials for the next six months, or perhaps longer.  While not strictly delineated, this would be Google curating your ads and perhaps links as well, based on some activity recorded by its data cruncher algorithms.

What part of the pie this leaves Microsoft is a good question, and one which I guess only time will reveal.  Whether the future of Internet is some Flipboard style app, or something based on your viewing history data being crunched, and then you fed those results as to where you should go, or perhaps Microsoft has something in mind beyond just getting into the game, some view of how they see people, computing devices, and the Internet , and how all three fit together to form someplace that people will continue visiting via the Microsoft way, rather than the Apple or Google way.  It will be interesting, and while Surface looks really neat, if there isn't much beyond a tablet with a fancy keyboard, I think Microsoft will have another Zune.

I wonder if the reason Google's Chrome-books haven't been extremely successful is that people don't really view them as much more than another way to view the web, and not the best for so many other things people use laptops for, since wifi is pretty much a prerequisite, and you can't count on it free everywhere.  To be honest, I haven't used any apps for my Macbook, as I am not even sure mine would support them, as it is an older model, so I am not sure what the app even offers, but Apple has effectively made their hardware work well together, so even though this is old, it still works for my Apple TV, and I like my laptop better for blog posts because I can sit in the living room and compose, rather than at a desk, looking at a wall.  I have done blog posts from my phone, and they aren't that fun, and I can't imagine the experience would improve from my iPad.  While I think Surface, with its keyboard, would be a great Internet thing, for me it would be less so, since I can't quite use the keyboard from my lap, and for the screen to stay up, there needs to be something for the stand to use as a base.

Now this is just how I use the tech that I own, and I can not say if others use their tech in the same fashion.  Considering the number of hardware and software companies out there, I am sure that not everyone uses their tech toys in the same fashion I do, so there should be plenty who will explore what Surface has to offer, though whether it will replace tech from other companies or co-exist with them, each performing a slightly different function, is impossible to predict.