Is packaged software dead? and how to lose weight with no diet

Many have predicted that packaged software days are over. Gmail will kill outlook, Salesforce.com would abolish Siebel etc.

This week I had a chance to test the theory as I had to install a new laptop from scratch, moving to windows 7.

BTW, does anyone remember how SUN re-branded Solaris 2.7 to Solaris 7 just to compete with Windows NT 5 (which was re-branded Win 2000) ?

Surprisingly , I’m still using a ton of packaged software.Yes, these old-fashioned exe\zip\tgz files that used to come in ARJ format on multiple 1.2 diskettes.

However, about half of the software is used to either connect to the Internet, or synchronize information between the internet and my laptop.

Here is the list of software installed during the first week

1. Skype – For Instant Messaging and Voice
2. SnagIt32 – Screen Captures
3. Babylon – Translation and Spell checking
4. Office 2010  -  Outlook,Excel,Word,PowerPoint ( Is anyone using OneNote or the thing Ray Ozzie invented ?)
5. Google Sync For Outlook
6. SecureClient – VPN to Connect to the  Office Network
7. XMarks -To Synchronize Bookmarks
8. Chrome,FireFox - Additional Real Browsers Beyond Internet Explorer
9. Adobe Reader – For Reading PDF Files
10. ITunes – To manage My iPhone and Watch HOUSE on flights
11. VMWARE Workstation – To run some of these programs in a Sandbox
12. KeePass – keeping multiple password in a simple way
13. Java ( Now Spelled ORJAVA ) – In honor of the great company that SUN used to be
14. Notepad++ – for normal text editing
15. InfanView – For Viewing Pictures easily ( Picasa might join later )
16. QuickTime , Silverlight  – Because there was no way to avoid it
17. Putty\WinSCP\FileZilla – because files need to be moved
18. 3G Modem Software – because Apple thinks iPhone is not a modem
19. Tons of Lenovo Useful and annoying software that came pre-installed
20. CloudShare Firefox Plug-In
21. The Bank ActiveX for Authentication  – so our employees would be able to put food on their table for Sabbath

Shrink Your Stomach in Two Weeks No Dieting

Like many promises made to Americans (see sign above) the death of packaged software seems to be premature.

Looking at my iPhone the situation is not much different , all these “Apps” are actually good old-fashioned shareware applications.

1. iTunes
2. Skype – see above
3. WAZE – GPS and Traffic
4. Foresquare – Narcissism
5. Facebook -  Group Narcissism
6. MacDonald Farm – keep kids quiet
7. Haaretz – updates on the pseudo racist government we have
8. Bank App – to pay the bills
9. WordPress – obvious

Again, all of the apps are connected to the net, updated from the net and send updates to the net (except for the Macdonald farm ).

In practice, while the web becomes the main interface, installed connected apps are probably here to stay for a long time.

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Tags: Apple, SUN