What is a webtop?

What is the "webtop"?, well the webtop is basically a web-centric version of the desktop OS. Microsoft's $270BN market valuation attests to the value of the desktop OS (and its suite of integrated applications) and there is a growing belief in the tech world that much of that $270BN may be up for grabs again as end-users make the platform transition from desktops to webtops. There is also a realization that in the standards-based world of the web, the only real sustainable advantage is control of unique customer data because without that data one webtop OS is basically indistinguishable from the next.

To put this another way, if you think about what really makes your PC or laptop "your" computer it's not the desktop operating system, but all the unique data and applications you have installed on top of it. If you take away that data all you have left is a terminal that most people could care less about. On the web, there is no need to install applications because all applications are universally accessible. That leaves personal data as the only unique asset that defines one webtop from another.