Stateless Future

Stateless computing, the concept that all data and applications live in the web, and are delivered by a device built to provide connectivity, display, and user interface, is one of the most important trends in technology.


This page aggregates the Infrics.com coverage of stateless device theory, advocacy, and deployment.  



--articles that introduce the stateless device idea, discuss the problems stateless promises to solve, point out that stateless is also about content and digital rights, and show why tech history markers all point to a stateless future.


Arise, free your machines!

Nothing but net: stateless computing, technology triggers, and the business of technology
The Infrics.com technology triggers model and the stateless future.


Who owns your music, video, and books?  The stateless revolution comes to the world of content and media
Much of the controversy around digital content ownership arises out of an inevitable shift: content is now stateless, separate from the delivery and consumption mechanism.  This article shows why that has happened, and who will be the winners and losers in the stateless content future.


                                                                                                                                       

--actionable advice about making the stateless future real
5 steps to stateless
Other articles in this series make the case for stateless data, applications, and machines.  This article offers five steps enterprises can take today.


                                                                                                                                       

--next, Google's ChromeOS, the first commercial deployment of a stateless device. (reverse chronological order)

My year with a Chromebook and ChromeOS: stateless in real life
My review of an entire year spent using ChromeOS every day.  Analysis of what this means to fat operating systems from Microsoft and Apple, and some reflections on what's really important here

A new window manager for ChromeOS
Aura, the evolution of Google's ChromeOS, makes the stateless operating system look and feel more like conventional windowing computers.  This report analyzes what that means, and why we are moving to a "post-browser" world.

Chromebook update: at 4+ months

 2 Weeks with the Chromebook: stateless in practice

Quick report: a day with the Samsung Chromebook


                                                                                                                                       


--with smartphones eclipsing PCs and laptops, Mozilla is working to bring stateless to the smartphone realm.  

from Engadget: Brazilians first to get Boot 2 Gecko phones

Mozilla's 'modest proposal:' Dump the smartphone OS

Network World reports on Boot2Gecko and stateless smart phones

Mozilla to challenge big players in mobile web - San Jose Mercury News

More on the Boot2Gecko stateless mobile phone project

from Read Write Web: an update on Mozilla's plans for a stateless phone

Boot2Gecko from Mozilla hopes to bring stateless benefits to the world of smartphones, especially very inexpensive ones for emerging economies.

                                                                                                                                       

HTML 5 and web-based applications are central to the stateless future.  The app store concept is a transition phase--in fact future app stores will likely look little different than present ones--but locally-installed apps perpetuate every problem of the legacy client/server era.  These stories track that discussion.


Wired magazine interview with Jeff Bezos: Kindle Fire, taking the long view, and why Amazon is the opposite of Apple
Includes the "I get stateless" quote, "our devices are simply a means for us to directly connect with the goodies in someone’s data center."

Apps belong on the web
.net magazine's Scott Jenson says "Mobile Apps Must Die"

The Web is back: Ross Mayfield's weblog
Ross Mayfield examines the "app store" concept vs. HTML5, a confirmation of the promise of stateless app delivery

                                                                                                                                       

--enterprises can't just dump what they have invested in client-server applications.  Desktop virtualization, in which a virtual computer runs in the cloud and delivers a desktop replica via browser-based technology, is an important transition technology.


IBM Debuts Swiss Bank-Tested Secure Remote Desktop Via USB | TPM Idea Lab
Security remains a big concern for desktop virtualization, users' use of their own devices, and central management of apps and data.  IBM's virtualization appliance may overcome those concerns.

OnLive Desktop Plus Puts Windows 7 on the iPad in Blazing Speed - State of the Art - NYTimes.com

If you can't deploy a fully stateless machine, you can virtualize a desktop to make legacy apps available to almost any device.  This is an important advance in desktop virtualization technology.

                                                                                                                                       

--and sometimes, we'll see hybrids, in which stateless benefits and current technologies overlap.

Amazon's new Silk browser: stateless architecture comes to market using EC2
The Silk browser dynamically chooses cloud or local delivery depending on context; it's a fascinating way to be part-stateless, and a waypoint toward a fully stateless tablet-type device.