More on the web as the platform

Earlier this year I wrote about my attempts to move to a web-based workflow. I discussed how people tend to see devices that rely entirely on the web as for other people.

Last week I moved house. We don’t get broadband until tomorrow so I’ve had to go about my web-based job by hopping between dongles and tethered devices. On top of this, I decided to run an experiment. Rather than using my MacBook Pro as usual, I opted to use a Chromebox connected to a 24-inch display, wireless keyboard and mouse.

So instead of picking up my MacBook Pro every time I ran into an issue, I decided to use the difficulty:

• I bought a webcam that doesn’t need drivers and works with the Chromebox
• When I needed to use Vidyo or Skype to talk to my colleagues I used the Android app
• I used the opportunity to try appear.in (a WebRTC app)

What surprised me was just how easy it all was. No need to update apps. No perceptible slowdowns. No spinning beachball of death. Everything I needed to do as part of my current job was possible by using the web.

Image CC BY-NC-SA Evan Leeson