The Multiple-Personality PC
Rapidly improving virtualization technology allows you to run multiple OSs simultaneously on one computer as "virtual machines," each with its own selection of programs. In five or ten years, your choice of operating systems could become as mix-and-match as your choice of Web browsers is right now.
In View: Coming Soon to an OS Near You
An in-depth look: Count on 3D interfaces becoming commonplace as PC graphics improve. Early third-party 3D desktops like those listed at NooFace could become a standard, productivity-boosting OS feature, especially if coupled with new file systems.
Trees are for shade: Next-generation file systems could finally shed the decades-old directory tree storage structure and act more like databases, says analyst Tony Iams, who covers operating systems for Ideas International. Windows Vista's WinFS file system died, but its ideas--such as network searches--live on.
The Web hard drive: Online storage is getting cheaper and more plentiful every day. In a few years your OS will be able to interact seamlessly with the troves of online storage you've spread around the Web.
The Web OS: Your PC in a Browser
Special Report: Tomorrow's Technology
The Future of Your PC | The Future of Robots |
The Future of Cell Phones | The Future of Privacy |
The Future of the Web | The Future of Nanotech |
The Future of OSs | The Future of You |
The Future of Fun | 100 Fearless Forecasts |
Incredible Tech: Lies Ahead | A Look Back |