RSSMyWebOS.com Launches Web Based OS
By Craig Newell | Published December 2, 1999, 5:40 PM
Baltimore (eFront News) - MyWebOS.com launched its new Web-based operating system Tuesday offering 20 megabytes of storage space to users who sign up for the free beta. The site is the first attempt to market a Web-based operating system to Internet users.
For the moment, MyWebOS is free and offers an office productivity suite of software called Hyperoffice 2000. Hyperoffice includes various tools including a word processor, email, calendar, and contact management. The software runs on the server side and no information is stored on the user's computer. This feature makes it much easier for users to transfer their files and applications from computer to computer. It can also serve as a cost cutter for small businesses since there is less client side maintenance for the IS department, as well as lower software costs.
Shervin Pishevar, president and CEO of myWebOS.com told eFront, "Until now, software has only been available through expensive purchases, regardless of how often it's used. With myWebOS, current applications are free, and future applications will be purchased on a 'per use' basis, much like a public utility. This means even the smallest company can access affordable software. The software marketplace will never be the same."
While the service requires no special software to be present on the user's system, it does have some drawbacks. When eFront tried to use the web based OS, it was still not quite as fast as a real office suite such as Microsoft Office 2000, but the speed was more than adequate for normal usage. There would also be longer delays if you were saving a large file onto MyWebOS' server. Right now, MyWebOS can't function as the OS of the computer, forcing users to boot up with Windows, Linux, or another OS to open their web browsers into MyWebOS.
Well, it was a very interesting concept when I first saw it a few months ago, but I didn't think they would take the OS that seriously! The thing is, it needs IE5. That's all well and cool, but if I have IE5 then I also have Windows (or a mac). Thus, why bother running an OS inside an OS, when win98 has third party software :)
The only exception will be if this web-based thing is only temporary to get developers interested without forcing them to buy. Perhaps if one day it's released as a standalone OS, the web part may have helped to do what Linux and BeOS didn't (take over from Windozy).
Still, it's extremely good for free - even if it's slow on 64K ISDN, it still has some very good built in software. Pretty weird and fairly pointless, but if it's free who am I to complain :)
BTW, watch out for the "back" button after you exit... it leads to an auto-forwarding page that opens WebOS - I had 3 open before I realised!
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|System requirements need to be better specified. And it's far too slow for my use over a DUN/ISP. There are other services that perform similar functions & give better service.
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|All I can say is WOW. This is REALLY cool! Now, I *AM* using Win2K and IE5 on a fast machine over a cable modem, so maybe that has a lot to do with it.. : ) But Wow! I can't believe HTML allows them to do that! This may very well be the [distant] future of OSes. But, you other guys are right.. They gotta support more than one browser, and it's gotta work across multiple platforms.. still.. I wrote a shell replacement for Windows that just loads up a web page (like Active Desktop, only without all the other Windows BS), and it would go GREAT with something like this.. mmm.. the possibilities... : )
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|Well, I signed up, logged in, and then got error after error after error after error...nothing worked at all for me (with IE5.5). And I can't really see much use to it. It's just a bit of a novelty.
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|me either...I went to check it out today and I was very excited, but to no avail :( Support will come soon I'm sure...
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|ok , its cool in concept, but the ting dont work! I cant see the public using this till dsl or cable is in evry home , but like i say cool, and i know this is not the last i see of a web os.
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|The minor mention of SLOW was needed to be underlined. If it's intended to be used by the general public, then a T1 or LAN shouldn't be required. Maybe their servers were busy but it was way to slow to be acceptable. Yeah, cool concept, but that's about it. Why run a second slower instance of Win 98 in Win98, instead of just running Win 98? It's got possibilites but not for the realworld anytime soon.
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|This is NOT a web OS! Sheesh if I need win95/98/NT so I can have the supported browser then there goes half the functionality. Try www.desktop.com. They support Netscape at least and thus can be used on a *NIX machine.
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|I think of it as the evolution of moving applications serverside. It reminds me of Hotmail and other server-fied applications like it.
I am already using the service in fact to move files. and its a great example of using IE5's engine and DOM to make a full blown OS. I think this start up actually beat MSFT out the gate with this one.
I am probably going to implement the engine at work as soon as they send me a development kit and all the applications work fully and reliably. I can see using this in place of office 2k on all the computers. It lets users move around and have all their files and configurations follow them without much hassile.
i say this and the o2k web version will trigger a slew of applications and OSes designed to be used with HTML as a base.
(imagine what the inventors of HTML would have said about *this*....)
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|I agree, I like the idea.
But it's very restrictive that it only supports IE5 (IMHO).
I have lotsa browsers (IE4.1 sp2, NS4.7, O3.6, even Mozilla M11 and HotJava 3), but none of them work.
Better wait until (at least) 2 browsers I supported.
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|Smell an IPO anyone?:) What a ludicrous website. It's a nifty idea thats been around for a while, and its interesting to see how one company actually created the product - but at this point its utterly useless. HyperOffice is a stripped-down version of Microsoft Office. They even used the exact same icons from MS Word for some of the icons in HyperWord - and the icons they didnt completely steal are very similiar to those found in word. Theres not a single innovative feature in any of their programs:) But like I said, it was interesting:)
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