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Filed under: Internet, web 2.0

Seriously, what's with all the WebOS applications?

Jooce
It seems like every week a few dozen companies pump out new online "operating systems," commonly referred to as WebOSes. Essentially, they're like virtual desktops that you can access from any web browser. Each lets you run a small suite of applications like a word processor, spreadsheet, calculator, instant messenger, and in some cases, even a web browser.

This week, French company Jooce launched a beta version of a slick looking WebOS, and we shrugged. It's hard to care anymore. Mashable's put together a list of more than 45 WebOS applications. And that might be just the tip of the iceberg.

Sure, the world would be a better place if we had more than 3 or 4 desktop operating systems to choose from (assuming you don't run into file compatibility problems). But seriously, do we need 50 different webtops? In fact, do we need one? There's not a single thing you can do with Jooce, EyeOS, Ataloo, AjaxWindows, or any other WebOS that you can't do with Zoho, Google Docs & Spreadsheets, and a good online storage site.

We could see a WebOS being useful if the world was filled with dumb terminals that had nothing but a web browser installed. Then you could go to any terminal and access a powerful online desktop. But instead, you can use your powerful computer to access a stripped down version of all the same tools that are already on your desktop.

Seriously, does anybody actually use any of these services? Bueller? Bueller?

Filed under: Internet, OS Updates, Web services

AjaxWindows: yet another webOS

ajaxWindows
While Windows, Mac OS X, and various Linux distributions dominate the desktop operating system market, there's no clear market leader in web-based "operating systems." There's also not much of a proven demand for these services, but that doesn't stop webOSes like ajaxWindows from popping up.

AjaxWindows is certainly one of the more polished web operating systems out there. You get the distinct impression that you're using an actual operating system and not just a series of web-based services from within your browser. It includes a couple of applications like a PowerPoint style presentation viewer/creator, a word processor, music player, and drawing program. Oddly, there's no spreadsheet application.

There's also integration with a variety of web services such as Gmail, Flickr, and Meebo. For example, when you click on the instant messaging application, web-based multi-chat client Meebo opens up. In other words, there's little you can do with ajaxWindows that you couldn't have just done from Firefox.

AjaxWindows does provide you with 1GB of online storage, so the idea is that you can synchronize data from your desktop and access it with a familiar interface wherever you go. But it's only familiar if you use it at home, and that just seems a bit silly.

[via TechCrunch]

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