Tablet wars and the shape of things to come

So, HP has just released its first tablet computer since it bought Palm and webOS a year or so ago. Generally it's had good reviews, and is apparently almost as slick as the iPad. The main complaint is that it lacks the number of apps that Apple, or indeed Android, have available.

What's really interesting though is that it is basically one big web browser, with some really nice effects thrown in. This means that apps are written, like web applications, using HTML and Javascript.

Why should you care? Well, the implication is that an app made for webOS should work with just a little modification in a normal web browser or other system built around web browser principles, which is exactly what Microsoft appears to be planning if the previews of Windows 8 are anything to go by. This would mean that apps would run on anything and the vendors have to compete on the quality of their products rather than how much software runs on them, as Microsoft have certainly done in the past.

Won't it be refreshing if you can run the same app on Windows, Apple, Android, webOS or whatever just as it doesn't matter if you're reading this blog in Firefox, Internet Explorer or Safari? That's the future of computing...