Jon Callaghan has some thoughts on how easy it was for him to switch from a PC to a Mac.
This made me think about the Windows Vista launch and the inevitable OS X vs Vista comparisons, and how come I’m deeply uninterested in any of it.
I run a PC at home and a Mac on the road. Their respective operating systems just don’t get me very excited these days. The only thing I care about is that they run Firefox. That’s because my digital day is currently spent in the following apps: WordPress, Yahoo Mail, Bloglines, 30boxes and Google. And they all run perfectly well in Firefox. So as long as I can get to Firefox, I’m pretty much surrounded by everything I need for my work. The only desktop app I use regularly is an IRC client and occasionally I’ll use Open Office to edit a Word document (I bet I could move both of those to web based apps as well).
This leads me to the following conclusion: I want a Firefox computer. A nice, sleek, solid state notebook with a big screen that you open up and it just runs Firefox. I bet this could be had for a reasonable price, it could have a nice long battery life and start up almost instantly. I’d still have a PC or Mac at home to store my photos and music, but for my everyday work life the Firefox computer is all I need.
the web’s changed the game. OS is quite unimportant these days except for aesthetics and usability. In terms of lockin, it’s just not there anymore.
ggw
Chatzilla is quite a nice firefox IRC client (http://chatzilla.hacksrus.com/). I’ve stopped using other IRC clients all-together.
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Manual trackback: http://standblog.org/blog/post/2007/02/10/Quote-of-the-day-%3A-The-Firefox-Computer
[...] February 11, 2007 @ 2:25 pm It’s just not possible because you would still need an operating system and Firefox can not be run on it’s own. You could however have a DOS based system that could run a dos or unix based browser like Lynx. But say we wanted a Firefox computer, and didn’t mind having Windows installed on it (a stripped down version of course), would it be possible? Well let’s take a look… [...]
You know it
You could probably run a linux/unix based computer with minimalism in mind. Perhaps Xubuntu or something might interest you.
to store your photos and play your music, you don’t need a PC or Mac. Maybe this might interest you : http://foreversafe.com
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That would make me crazy. I think you would really notice the lack of a good desktop environment if you did not have it.
Why would you want a slow and insecure computer that does not work with all webpages? Get the facts: http://www.FirefoxMyths.com
Ooooh, Andrew, you burned us. You party pooper.
I’d still need IE to be sure my code works in legacy apps
, but with Oracle Application Express all my development is done through a browser. Google spreadsheets records my timesheet and expenses. Most of the other apps I use are written in java. A FF/Java pc would be perfect.
You don’t edit photos or listen to music?
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You can use “neo office” on the mac. It is slow but it is the same as open office for the PC.
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Firefox would be okay if you’re only doing web stuff. But what about software ? While there are software converters and programs that let your view documents made with other systems, the interchangeabiliy isn’t perfece.
If you use more than text, www, email and Adobe I don’t know why you would want two different operating systems.
Software on it’s own system can be unstable enough.
What would be the ideal specs on things like screen size? Is a battery needed? I am guessing that a notebook form factor is desired, it does make it easier to move around.
How much local storage? 8 gig. would give a decent Linux install with growth and be reasonably cheap.
Very good article. Thanks for the good information!.
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I’m browsing with google about “firefox” and i found this article, i agree with you about it