Comments on: Web2.0, WebOS, WebOffice, We… Whatever.

By: amikael

amikael — Thu, 18 May 2006 15:26:13 +0000

–If the apps in question need to comunicate inbetween eachother, like in the case with a dialogue window, then a popup seem natural.
This easily extends into having a wordlike app open in which you can copy and paste into from an spreadsheet app.
Then it’s more natural if they are both represented by two windows.
It’s the same interface approach that made the desktop viable on the PC to begin with.
There would be no need for the dektop on the pc any more than on the web, unless it dealt with the interface issues that arises if the applications need to collaborate.
It’s the same problem being adressed in both cases.

By: searchengineblog

searchengineblog — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 15:46:34 +0000

Thin clients, eh.

The problem is that there is no problem to be solved. In 2006, fat clients (read: PCs) aren’t expensive – bandwidth is. Who is going to trust all their data, and their computing uptime availability to web-based third parties? The potential costs are enormous compared to the cost of a PC running a local OS. How about when you’re working offline?

I can see scope for limited, non-critical applications, or thin client computing within private robust networks, but for web applications and OS’s to be robust as they need to be then all that will happen is a shift of costs from desktop to network. And it’s difficult to imagine those costs being lower – quite the opposite.

By: Nick Wilson

Nick Wilson — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 09:52:40 +0000

Such a system would also see the end of monopolies like that of Microsoft, because there would be genuine choice in how you interact with your computer.

hehe…. yeh it all sounds very nice and fluffy, and you can call me an old cynic if you like, but the world just doesn’t work that way

By: georgemanty

georgemanty — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 07:19:35 +0000

It’s bad enough that there is so much of our personal information out there in cyberspace. WebOS sets of tons of security concerns in my mind.

Do I really want a third party to have access to everything on my computer’s hard drive???

It just sounds like a security nightmare. I really don’t want to dump the contents of my computers hard drive to cyberspace, but that’s just me…

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 04:39:49 +0000

WebOSs are relevant and potentially huge. For a start, they could bring down the price of computing massively. All you would need on a desktop is effectively a thin client that handles inputs and outputs, and connects to the internet. This has huge and obvious implications for computing in the developing world.

The applications don’t have to be native to each WebOS, and it makes sense for them not to be. One should have the choice of using Writely or ZohoWriter, say, and not be shoe-horned into using the one built into the OS you choose to use.

Such a system would also see the end of monopolies like that of Microsoft, because there would be genuine choice in how you interact with your computer.

By: Shrikant Joshi

Shrikant Joshi — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 03:57:20 +0000

You hit the spot!

All this OS-in-a-browser-on-another-OS sounds crazy to me as well…

I can’t believe there are people thinking seriously about this.

Regards,
Shri.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 03:18:05 +0000

Good roundup of current webos stuff their shrikant, thanks.

I’ve not even looked at one of them yet, but the same thoughts you’d had have crossed my mind. Isnt this just putting an uncessary layer inbetween me an what i need to do?