In a May article eWeek envisioned a mobile workforce in the near future, where employees were issued images rather than hard drives, and could get most, if not all, of their work done on the go, using a laptop or a smart phone.

With the recent high-profile smart phone and netbook releases, plus the growing interest in cloud computing and Google Apps, are we any closer?

Is Microsoft Office an undeniable fact of life?

Apple, Google and other companies who hold a stake would like you think we are, but the analysts are weighing in with a big, fat “no.” For now, that is.

Exhibit A, cloud computing is still a lofty idea: Judging by the way cloud computing has been covered in the press, you would think Office was ready for a spot in the Computer History Museum. But the cloud isn’t gathering quite that fast.

In a recent study, Forrester Research Inc. found that 80 percent of respondents were still supporting MS Office, while a scant 3 percent were supporting Google Apps. Read more…

Jenny Sweeney Cloud Computing, iPhone, Mobile Devices Christmas, Cloud Computing, Computer History Museum, iPhone, netbooks, Oprah, SaaS