However, if you are running Vista the files will stay intact. It is an upgrade.

But for those of us who didn’t go to Vista, we have to move all images, documents, music, etc. and the complete organized file system off the computers for the install. Plus, you have to reinstall all the programs and drivers you have to do with any OS upgrade.

This is not kosher for those of us who manage a large number of computers that may migrate to the new OS in the future. We are excited about the new OS. It sounds like it will be fantastic but is it worth the effort?

Article: Wall Street Journal – Move to Windows 7 Will Be Tough for Some by Walter Mossberg,.

But in order to compete with Google, Microsoft has to drop their prices. CNN Money reported today that Microsoft will soon announce that the web version of Office 2010 will be free. This is a direct assault on Google who last week announced that they are going to release a web OS that will be free to compete with other OS’s (SP?) on the market.

Google and Microsoft are tearing it up at each other right now which means some really interesting things for those of us in education who need to provide ways to get students using technology at a small price.

So…let’s do some simple math (because I am a simpleton when it comes to Math).

1 Netbook with a Web-based OS + Web 2.0 Tools + Online Office Suite = Rich, collaborative working tools for the cost of the hardware. A Netbook costs in a range from $100 to about $450 without the cost of the operating system.

Microsoft’s licensing for Windows XP is currently running near $100 per machine because they are pushing Vista on us all. Google releases a FREE Web Operating System which will be available in August.

Throw in some neat Web 2.0 Tools that include document, spreadsheet, presentation tools along with photo, audio, and video editors also available online for free.

Or, get access to Microsoft Office 2010 online (document, spreadsheet, and presentation tools) and throw in the other Web 2.0 tools as well.

And you get a fast track to 1:1 computing for your schools. Prices are dropping on the hardware and the giants of industry are competing by literally throwing their purses to the ground.

But what about network infrastructure? With all this need for Web OS, Web 2.0, and all resources online – how do we get high speed Internet. This is the boom to end the war between all these companies. How will the world access high speed Internet? Will it be owned by the government? Will we be taxed?

Aren’t you glad I have talked about this before? See my previous blog post from Feb 5, 2009 about how Google has been working with Motorola and Microsoft (huh?) to use the old American Broadcast System (pre-digital cable) to funnel GB-TB data lines through our existing cable systems. This old system is owned by the people and for use for the people – you and I. The “white spaces” is the old analog system which is not encumbered with broadcast television frequency and allows for some interesting testing right now to push high speed wireless broadband to any home running that old analog line.

I know. This seems ridiculous right? A little too much of a reach? Kind of like my post from September 8, 2008 about Google releasing a new browser called “Chrome” and how I predicted that they would not make an operating system – but a browser operating system??

What’s next? What’s the next prediction?
Riddle me this – I have to open a spreadsheet program now to access a database. I have to open a separate document program to create a document. I have to open another program for photos and a presentation program to work on a that system.

But what if there was only one program that not only had all these programs running simultaneously but allowed collaboration, sharing, and kept a history for the entire project? What if I didn’t need an office suite but a one-stop shop that let me do everything I needed in one window (whether I used Firefox, IE, Safari, Android, Chrome, etc.) and from whatever web device I had?

I believe this is the next WAVE. How long until Microsoft/Apple starts their own? And will they name it something similar to Wave like Tsunami? Current? Tide?

Google has developed the idea of Wave but they haven’t combined all these elements into the one system yet. I think that may be Wave 2.0 or Apple’s Me 2.0 or Windows 7.5…

Whatever the case will be, it looks like the math problem is more simplified if this is the next evolution:

Netbook/Phone + Web (Wave) = Collaboration All-in-one access point

Is this crystal ball prediction correct? We will have to wait and see….

See previews of Microsoft Office 2010 on my summer tech training site (at the bottom of the page).

What I find interesting right now is the rivalry between Microsoft and Google. Google has been the powerhouse search engine for years and now MS has released Bing to compete. Microsoft even offers up television commercials touting the new search engine and to make the word “Bing” part of our vocabulary. Sneaky and yet Bing is Google without advertisements.

The design of an OS was really to create a graphic interface to show a person how a computer is accessing data and storing it. However, with Web 2.0 and resources stored online there won’t be a use for hard drive storage and an OS. The applications are online now. The files are online now. What do I need a hard drive for? What do I need an OS for? Why do I need to keep paying Microsoft for an OS that will cost half the price of the laptop?

The new OS is touted as lightweight and will be designed to run on netbooks. I had written before about SkyTone’s netbook that runs the Google Android OS and costs $100.

When the Google OS is available and netbooks in the US cost around $100, what does this mean for 1:1 ratios? In towns where the population is less than 30,000? In towns looking to create a ring wireless network around the entire city to provide portal access to city and district resources?