Webupon

The future of computers is held within the online. Slowly but steadily, all kinds of websites start offering applications that can successfully replace the desktop software you are currently dependant on.
Let’s take graphics editing for example. You don’t really need a graphics editing software when you can simply create an account with Photoshop.com and use the exquisite Flash interface to upload images and modify them as you like, Then you can also create a gallery to share with your friends or post images on forums.

You can even view other people’s images if curiosity dictates you to. There’s a wide range of effect you can apply to images, from removing redeye to applying filters. 
How about writing? You can use either Google Docs or Microsoft Live Office. Since Microsoft Live office requires me to have Windows installed to access the site, I’d rather stick to Google Docs. Here you can create new documents and later download them in various common formats ranging from DOC, RTF, TXT, PDF, OpenOffice document file, XLS, PPT or even zipped file if the document si too large. You can even share your documents with other people by granting them access to them.
You can even use a messaging application online. Meebo.com allows you to login into your AIM, Yahoo!, Google Talk or MSN account and view your buddy list just like you do in your operating system’s desktop. You can chat, send and receive files, add buddies and use emoticons.
But if you want to have it all in one place, try the open-source EyeOS. EyeOS is an online operating system. You can either create a new account with them or download a copy of EyeOS, install it on your server and run it from there for your users.
You’ll get a desktop just like the one in your operating system. you can upload files to this desktop, view them using the online filemanager, create and edit spreadsheet files, create word files you can save on your harddrive or online, use the Calendar application or RSS Feed Reader, mail client or even an internal… web browser. 

You also have some games to enjoy in EyeOS, a calculator application and an internal messaging application you can use to communicate with the rest of your users.
The best thing is that when you install it on your own server, there’s a wider range of software you may install. These packages enrich your desktop with further useful applications.
EyeOS behaves just like a regular desktop. Right-click on the wallpaper and you’ll be given a contextual menu to change a couple of things. One of those things is the overall look of the operating system theme. There are presets like eyeVista to make the desktop look like Vista or eyeUbuntu that looks just like Ubuntu Linux.

You want videos? You go to YouTube or Google Video. YouTube recently allows using HD videos, just like Vimeo or Veoh. You want online music? Try Songza or SeeqPod.

 
Bit by bit, you can replace your existing desktop with another one that requires only a web browser, Flash and Java. Almost everything is moving online. The only question that remains to be answer is… will the users accept it or not?