Looking Toward a Networked World

"O'Reilly, a longtime industry watcher who runs tech book publisher O'Reilly & Associates, cited Apple's iTunes, iPhoto and iChat as applications that all reach out to the Internet and devices like Bluetooth phones to extend their functions. In iPhoto, for example, users can publish their photo collections on the Web or go online to order prints or a bound book of their pictures. O'Reilly said the old idea of stand-alone software -- the unconnected word processor or spreadsheet -- is becoming passé. Even the idea of making a distinction between software platforms -- Mac, Windows and Linux -- is starting to no longer make sense."