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A discussion about a user interface

Its focus on running applications within the browser is an important driver of interest in cloud computing, where applications live somewhere off on the Internet and are delivered by the browser. The focus of future browsers will shift from "going places" to "doing things." This will be a boon to free operating systems, which will increasingly be able to hide themselves under the browser user interface. While Windows and Mac OSX won't go away overnight, the pressure on them will be to innovate beyond the browser, perhaps through a common set of extensions for HTML5 applications to use.

So what happens when most of the residents of planet Earth carry a device that gives them instant access to pretty much all of the world's information? The implications-for politics, for education, for global economics-are dizzying. In theory, the mobile revolution could enable citizens to demand greater openness and accountability from their governments. The reverse might also be true: governments could more easily spy on citizens. "You also have the prospect of having 5 billion surveillance points," says Jonathan Zittrain, codirector of Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society.