Microsoft & Google: "You'll have no real computers, and you'll be happy"
Microsoft & Google: "You'll have no real computers, and you'll be happy"
This is a trend we need to put the kibosh on.
The big computer companies like to copy each other.
Whether they focus on hardware or software, they all tend to move together. Like a drunken herd of lemmings, clumsily meandering toward one cliff or another.
One company creates an “App Store”? Hold your breath, count to ten, and every other major computer company will have their own App Store too. Better than even odds they will all look the same too.
That consistent lack of originality has both good and bad aspects. While it makes predicting the actions of major computer company practically a walk in the park… it also means that bad ideas spread like wildfire.
One drunken lemming decides to walk towards the cliff… they all make the trip.
With that in mind, it is with great horror that I present you with the current trend that the Big Tech companies are pursuing:
Fewer, less capable computers… remote desktop-ing into a central server.
Want to use a big desktop application? Use a low powered, cheap computer (such as a low-end Chromebook) and remote desktop into a server which will provide you with a “Cloud based” version of Windows (or, less often, Linux).
Yeah. Yuck.
Now, obviously this isn’t some new fangled idea. We’ve had low-end “Thin Clients” connecting to a central, beefy server since the very dawn of the computer age. And, every so often, this idea comes back around again. Every decade or two it crops back up like a mole that need a good whacking.
And here we go again.
Microsoft says “No more beefy computers”
Microsoft is encouraging the usage of what they have branded “Windows 365 Frontline” — open a web browser tab and connect to a remote Windows 11 desktop directly hosted by Microsoft. Which you or your company pay for monthly, naturally.
As part of this effort, Microsoft has released a PDF telling people that using Windows 365 Frontline on a low powered computer — instead of running powerful PC — will lower CO2 emissions.
The messaging from Microsoft is rather intense: “Stop buying powerful computers! Use Windows 365 Frontline instead if you want to save money… and save the planet!”
Google takes computers away from employees
Unfortunately for us, Microsoft is not the only company pushing down that road. The “Drunken Big Tech Lemmings” are in full swing, copying each other at every turn.
Google has decided that most of their employees no longer need big, powerful computers at their desk. Employees will now only be getting low-power Chromebooks… and, if they really need to use regular desktop PC software (such as office suites, page layout, image editing, etc.) they can use what they call “Google Cloudtop” — their internal service for remote desktops.
In fact, Google goes even further down that road. They are also taking away permanent desks for their employees.
Seriously. No desk. No powerful computer. Just a Chromebook and, if they have a good Internet connection, they can remote desktop to use real software.
"You'll have no real computers, and you'll be happy"
Why are Google and Microsoft pushing in this direction? The answer is simple: money and control.
What’s better? A customer buying a big, powerful computer (with a software license) one time every 5 to 10 years? Or a customer buying a new, low-powered, cheap laptop every year or two… plus paying a monthly subscription… which you can raise the price on at any time?
The message here is simple: “You’ll have no real computers, and you’ll be happy.”
And, rest assured, if both Microsoft and Google are heading down a particular path… you can bet your sweet bippy that others will follow suit. Even if it is a terrible idea.
Because… lemmings.
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If you want to 'save the planet' by consuming less, don't buy any new hardware and install Alpine or Linux Light.
Everything old is new again, back to the era of dumb terminals and mainframes, except now it's chromebooks and the cloud.