I've always been intrigued by the concept of having my desktop no matter where I went. By that I mean, no matter what computer I go to, at home, office, someone else's computer in the office, a kiosk in an airport....you get the idea...no matter what computer...as long as it had a browser and internet access, I could bring my actual desktop up and work there. It's the idea of a virtual/online operating system. I've no doubt that this is where Google is planning on going. Well I had the chance to play today with a site that delivers part of this vision. It's called Goowy which I think is a play on words for GUI (Graphic User Interface) because they do indeed deliver a really nice GUI over the web via Flash.
They deliver a suit of tools via this flash based interface: Desktop, Today, Email, Contacts, Calendaring. The interface is slick, fairly usable (but does require some further work, especially the Today screen which is far too limited) and responsive. The tools are like really decent client apps but totally delivered over the web. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I've included a bunch below. Click to make the larger.
I love it!
Posted by: John | September 24, 2005 at 04:07 PM
Goowy is pretty cool. It seems pretty limited to email and collaboration, though. A company that is trying to create more of a desktop experience is Evolving Web (www.evolvingweb.com). Their software allows developers to upload applications on the fly. Although it has a ways to go before it's a full "virtual/online operating system" it has a great start.
Posted by: Mobile O/X | September 30, 2005 at 01:46 AM
I checked your url Mobile O/X but didn't see anything around an online desktop experience? Did I miss something? It seemed mostly about webhosting?
Sam
Posted by: Samuel Ict | September 30, 2005 at 07:12 AM
No, the website doesn't say much because the technology is still pretty young. However, I've worked with the technology somewhat and have seen the ability to plug in and configure applications (in the form of controls) on the fly.
They have an old demo that demonstrates adding a 3rd-party stock-ticker to a website: www.evolvingweb.com/support/demos/pluginobjects.wmv. The UI could be expanded to provide more of an OS-like feel.
Posted by: Mobile O/X | September 30, 2005 at 12:16 PM
There is another one like it and you don't need to have macromedia flash installed - at goGUI.com
While goGUI doesn't have email yet, it does have a fully functional "portable desktop" complete with:
* drag and drop
* context menus
* keyboard navigation and shortcuts
* PI explorer (like Windows explorer only portable)
* shortcuts (to other files)
* music and video modules
* online scripts and webpages
More is being added every week, and if you are into developing, you can create your own.
Posted by: Joseph | October 01, 2005 at 11:18 AM
goGui looks interesting. I signed up for an account and was poking around. How do you create your own app and plug it in?
Posted by: Mobile O/X | October 02, 2005 at 12:25 AM