Cloudo Web Operating System
Cloudo is a web operating system that has been in private beta for a long time. A public beta started just recently which allows interested users to signup and use the web operating system. A web operating system is basically an online desktop that is providing many features that operating systems like Windows or Linux are offering. The main concerns that users have when using web operating systems is the speed of the application, data safety and functionality.
The signup process requires no email verification, there is actually no option to enter an email during signup which raises the question about data safety when the password or username is forgotten. Cloudo should work in most modern web browsers. A test in Firefox revealed an initial display problem which was solved by right-clicking and selecting a different skin from the list of available ones. The web operating system did not recognize Internet Explorer 8 yet.
Cloudo can be accessed from desktop computers or mobile devices but is far from feature complete. The public beta release is actually the same release that developers were able to access for about a year.
Some features that are already implemented are the file uploader, viewer, text editor and calendar plus a free goodies such as games, widgets and mashups. Loading times are acceptable most of the time although it usually involves waiting a few seconds before an application shows up.
Cloudo has been designed to be a open plattform meaning that it is possible for web developers to develop and share applications they create in the system. The development environment seems to be already accessible.
The public beta signup is time limited. If you are interested in Cloudo you should make sure to signup immediately even if you do not plan on using the service in the near future.
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I use Deskie, same kinda thing. I use it as an online bookmarks list for my homepage, but it can also run apps within the page, so I’ve added a few from iGoogle which are good.
some years ago i have tried EyeOS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyeos) as PHP based Web OS, but Cloudo seems to bring new feature (or did they?), i’ll try it soon
Today it works pretty well. Maybe the server was a bit crowded yesterday.
g.ho.st is another such OS.
unless you can port existing applications to it, I don’t see the benefit of this. Since Flash can now compile native apps, that would be the true starting point for a web os. But before that, tell me why I should have everything on a remote server, except for losing my privacy.
Sounds interesting at least. Of course I tried it immediately. No luck though. Same result with various browsers (IE7, Fx3, Chromium, Safari). Got something like a desktop background and a welcome message. Additionally a text clock and a few scattered texts which look like icon titles. The welcome message is movable and a double click on the clock opens an analog clock which is actually working somehow. That’s it. No right click no nothing.
I’m on XP pro SP3
can someone explain to me the point of this? i understand web apps, but a web OS? it’s kind of redundant, since you need an OS in order to access it… really, what does this accomplish?
Don’t you mean Cloudo? :-)