ShareThisI haven't come across very many really good articles this week. There have been the spate of Windows vs Linux articles to be sure and some of the authors have been fanboys while others have been detractors. I am not sure whether Linux will ever become the desktop operating system that Microsoft Windows has been because we're at a paradigm shift in computing from desktop to cloud or "cloud like" computing. Recently I purchased a Blackberry Curve from Verizon for my own personal use. I had been using a Blackberry 8703 as the technology director at Franklinville Central School and I have become slowly hooked on its usefulness, but due to filtering requirements imposed by our internet provider I hadn't been able to really experiment with Google's mobile tools, Facebook's client for Blackberry, Flickr's client for Blackberry and others. In the last several weeks that has changed and now with my own Curve on Verizon's network I'm impressed with what a powerful device the Blackberry really is when it's not slowed by bureaucratic tape.  Ever since I first used a Blackberry 8703 and got familiar with it I'd been impressed with its overall utility. Now, however I've had yet another epiphany and though my experience has been limited to the Blackberry I can easily see that this is extensible to the iPhone, Google's Android and other ultra-mobile devices. That's what I mean by a paradigm change. I've used my laptop less at home because I can interact with Google Mail, Documents and Reader on the Blackberry. I've got a two megapixel camera that takes great pictures that can then be transferred by MMS or I can elect to send them directly to FlickR or Facebook. Recently I flew to Chicago to attend my nephew's boot camp graduation and because of the restrictions on bags and baggage I decided to travel as light as possible. In the past I would have carried a notebook computer and a carry-on. This time I got the carry-on and the Blackberry. I think the folks at the security checkpoints had less work to do as well. I got more use out of this mobile device than I would have out of the notebook whether it's operating system  was Windows, Mac OS X or Ubuntu (as in my own case). Therefore I believe that desktop computing or at least that metaphor is in for some incredible revision. With the tremendous progress being made in electronics and communication I can see a day rapidly approaching when even iPhone or Blackberry will look as clunky as a desktop. Can you imagine a mobile phone with a heads up display embedded in your eye glasses or that you wear somewhat like a contact lens that allows you to interact with the internet, your corporate data cloud and still has the ability that will allow you to connect with your friends for either a text message or actual voice communication? I can and I'll bet it's sooner rather than later.  I'm reasonably sure such devices have already been developed but we don't have access yet. What operating system will they run on? Well, many mobile phones already run on Linux. Some like mine run on Blackberry OS and some might even run on Windows CE. Today's professionals are more mobile than their peers of ten years ago. The demand for mobility is already there. That demand will drive this change.