Glide has launched an updated version of its web-based "operating system." Like its predecessors, Glide OS 3.0 provides users with a desktop-like space within a browser window. You can use Glide's web-based applications to create Word documents, spreadsheets, or presentations. You can also play music, manage photos and videos, and send and receive email. In other words, you can do many of the same things you'd do with a desktop operating system, but in a web browser.

What sets Glide apart from many of its competitors is that Glide offers a suite of tools that let you synchronize your files with a Windows, Mac, Linux, or Solaris machine. There's also Glide Sync software for a number of mobile phone models. Free account holders get up to 5GB of web space, and if you need more, you can shell out a few bucks a month for additional storage.

One of the new features in Glide OS 3 is a Glide Group tool that adds social networking features. You can communicate with other Glide users by sending messages or sharing media files.

[via WebWare]

Ever wish you could find one web site that works as a social networking site, an IM service, a way to discover new music, sell your artwork, or store files online using a web-based desktop? Yeah, neither did we, but those are just a few of the services offered by Hurox, a site that's so jam-packed with features that it almost defies description.

Don't get us wrong, Hurox is hardly the only company trying to control all of your online activities. Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and others would like you to use their email, IM, calendar, photo, and video sharing services. The difference is that most companies don't try to cram everything into a single URL. And there's a good reason for that. Hurox is kind of pretty, but it also seems horribly complicated.

When you first sign up for a free account, Hurox asks you a series of questions to determine whether you're more interested in things like celebrity gossip or tech news; folk music or heavy metal; reading or watching movies; and so on. Then you get a little tour that attempts to explain what you can do with the site, but it's hard to keep everything straight when you can do everything from creating and sharing personal web pages to creating an online marketplace for selling goods.

We're all for all-in-one solutions. We love programs like 8hands or Flock that let you manage multiple social networking services at once. And Digsby does an awesome job of acting as n email notifier, chat client, and social networking monitor. But Hurox is something else altogether. It doesn't let you manage activities you were already doing online. It asks you to join yet another social network. Sure, it's a social network that's full of features, but it has so many features that we can't help but think of Hurox as a kitchen sink site. It seems like the company just added every feature they could think of without taking the time to make sure that they all make sense together.

[via Mashable]

Online storage service Ewedrive is shutting down and the developers are focusing their time on Desktop on Demand, an online desktop application instead. And that got us thinking. Are online desktops, or so-called "web operating systems" the new online storage?

Sure, we've been a bit down on WebOSes in the past. They sort of jumped the shark for us when companies started creating web browsers that you could access from... your web browser. But if you're creating a service that lets people store their files online, the user interface is key. The best online storage solutions already let users drag and drop files from their computer, do batch uploads, and share files with other users. Why not add a few extra applications like media players and Office documents?

After all, Desktop on Demand does everything Ewedrive did, and more. You still get 1GB of free storage space, and you can pay if you need more. If you don't want to use a web-based instant messaging application while you're there, that's fine. You don't have to. But it's nice to have the option.

[via Frantic Industries]

We've been over this before. We don't really see the point of web-based "operating systems." You've already got an operating system, and if you need a place to store your data online or access office tools like word processors and spreadsheets, you already have a ton of options which perform better than any webOS we've seen. But companies continue to pump out webtops anyway.

And we have to say, there's something we like about ZimDesk. It has a attractive graphics and a well organized menu system. Rather than group items together in the typical Windows-style pop up menu, you can choose from office applications, internet, media, or games. Some of the games are kind of fun, and the word processor and spreadsheet applications are perfectly serviceable.

But we still have to laugh whenever we open the web browser in a web-based desktop. Because essentially we're opening a web browser inside of a web browser. Yeah, loading pages has got to be more efficient that way, right? Unfortunately we weren't able to launch ZimDesk inside of the ZimNav virtual browser. When we tried, a new instance of ZimDesk opened in a new Firefox tab.

[via Killer Startups]

We know you've been sitting around waiting for yet another webOS product to launch. Because you know, they're so incredibly useful. You know, because they provide a browser-based user interface pretty much identical to the desktop from which you're launching your browser.

Anyway, if webOSes are your thing, you might want to check out atoolo. The site has been available to German users for a while, and has recently launched an English language version. Atoolo has a very Windows-like feel, with a taskbar and program menu at the bottom left of the screen.

The included applications are decent, but nothing to write home about. There's an email client, a word processor, address book, appointments, meeting planner, and some online applications like internet radio and Google Video/Google Maps.

One interesting feature is that certain "applications" like the Google Maps browser have an ad attached to the bottom of the window. The ad's relatively unobtrusive to anyone who's ever spent any time on the web, and could be a good way to make some revenue off of a webOS.

[via Mashable]

30 Boxes' Narendra Rocherolle wrote in to tell us about the new 30 Boxes Webtop, which is basically, well, a personalized home page a la Netvibes or Goowy. What sets it apart, of course, is that it's tightly integrated with the 30 Boxes calendar, so if you're already a 30 Boxes user you may prefer it to other home page options. Right now it's pretty basic, with upcoming events, buddy updates, to-do list, and Google search widgets, plus the ability to add any web page--including other services like Gmail or Meebo--as an embedded widget. Rocherolle writes about the webtop update on the 30 Boxes blog, and from the looks of it there's lots more in the works. I hope, at the very least, they add an RSS feed widget soon.