And not everyone owns a smartphone, or has the same applications for sharing.
This means that any computer which is connected to the internet (including mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets) is connected to all the same applications and files.
I needed to stop following the herd, to fight the literal sheepish effect that makes me, like most Facebook users, gravitate to the same applications my friends already use.
So far, some 4 billion software utilities, games, maps and music tracks have been downloaded by owners of iPhones, iPods and lately iPads all of which share the same operating system and can therefore use many of the same applications.
The iPad will run the same applications that work on the iPhone and iPod Touch, which demonstrated that consumers were willing to pay for software that turned their devices into gaming machines, e-readers and navigation systems.
Sodium hydroxide, an alkali like sodium carbonate, in some cases competes with it for the same applications, and in any case the two are interconvertible by rather simple processes.
Ironically, in the video-game business Microsoft will be confronted by a hurdle its rivals know well, the same "applications barrier to entry" that the judge in the federal antitrust case against Microsoft cited as being at the core of the company's software monopoly.
Despite Windows 10's chameleon behaviour, all platforms using it will share the same unified code-base, and be capable of running the same applications, downloaded from the same app store serving all Windows devices, be they phones, tablets or computers.
Instead of forking out up to $2,600 for Creative Suite, its flagship design package, on a disc, customers can now use its Creative Cloud service, which offers the same applications (plus a few additional ones) online, with a 12-month subscription costing $50 a month, or a month-by-month fee of $75.
