Ajax Desktops Won’t Stop

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1. Pete Cashmore
   

   December 7th, 2005 at 2:44 pm

   “Why do people continue to produce these?”

   My guess is that many of these projects were already in development before it became clear that it wasn’t a new idea. I’ve noticed the same thing with “social search” recently - after Wink was launched, the floodgates suddenly opened and I’ve seen endless social search plays since then.

   But though we might love new ideas in the blogosphere, they don’t always pay off in the long run. While being the first gives you the cool factor, ideas really count for very little - it’s all about execution and constant innovation.

2. Jason Kolb
   

   December 7th, 2005 at 3:02 pm

   These all look very similar to a tool we use called Bluevue (http://www.latigent.com/BlueVue/Index.aspx). It’s our business intelligence extranet software but also has built in RSS reading and the desktop functionality like the links you have.

   Just thought I’d mention it since you asked if you missed any

3. Pavel
   

   December 7th, 2005 at 3:13 pm

   Yet another AJAX application:)
   http://www.stanfy.com/dev/webbrush
   It works only with IE, but has the good idea.
   Online multiuser canvas with ability to draw one picture simultaneously. Why only IE? Because IE support VML while native SVG not yet released in browsers:(

4. Stuart
   

   December 7th, 2005 at 4:01 pm

   I don’t like Eskobo - it doesn’t have full Firefox support and it forces you to see the adverts. It’s basically a copy of Netvibes - even the icons are the same.

   I personally like the Netvibes desktop the best, but it’s lack of an open api is letting competitors like Live.com scream ahead with additional content.

5. anon
   

   December 7th, 2005 at 4:44 pm

   Why you say? Because they’re easy to build. There are no economics in these start pages, but at the same time, there are no economics (long-term) with about 90% of the ‘companies’ cropping up. The goal? I believe VCs will eventually see through this, acquirers definitely should, but mostly- the blogosphere needs to- before we become the laughing stock of the REAL business world.

6. Mathew Ingram
   

   December 7th, 2005 at 4:53 pm

   C’mon Mike — you have to admit it’s kind of cool that you can switch to Turkish. Who else has that?

7. Klim
   

   December 7th, 2005 at 5:06 pm

   I love Ajax… but I don’t see much point in such pages (they are all the same). Of course I use Protopage (which actually IS cool), but I use it links, and less for news. And I don’t stay on that page for long what with not wanting too many tabs and because of closing browser now and then, making it useless for my news.
   Klipfolio does pretty much the same for rss with expandable and movable widgets. Easier than checking back to page that is often lost amidst the tabs.

8. Michael Arrington
   

   December 7th, 2005 at 5:23 pm

   Mathew, no. 6 - You are right. That’s a feature I forgot to mention.

9. Patrick
   

   December 7th, 2005 at 7:52 pm

   I don’t quite get this. All of these apps are (at best) jazzed up versions of My Yahoo! except you can move the boxes around. If it’s a desktop tool, shouldn’t it actually live on the desktop rather than the browser?

   It seems to me that the only disruptive play in this space is Konfabulator, which exists on a level above and beyond 15 open browser windows (or tabs) and can push the information you want to you in an efficient manner without you having to remember to go there or minimize other windows. If you’re busy, the LAST thing you need is another open browser window.

   But maybe Konfabulator is not “Web” 2.0, making this a soporific comment.

10. Jessu
    

    December 7th, 2005 at 8:01 pm

    >>Who am I missing?

    I think you missed FeedTV ( http://www.feedfeeds.com/feedtv )

11. Mikael
    

    December 7th, 2005 at 8:23 pm

    A desktop like this is a limited idea unless it sits ontop of a real webOS, with an open API, which execute downloadable xml as real live server applications, so that anyone can write apps and publish them for consumption anywhere.

12. Ryan Nichols
    

    December 7th, 2005 at 9:08 pm

    I actually *do* get these things. I use net vibes myself. What I love is having a consistent start page with access to documents and project links for both my PC and laptop. I switch between them a lot so it’s very handy to have the same set of content at my fingertips.

    I would love one day to have a real desktop that stays the same no matter where I go. Applications, documents, the works.

13. Joe Caropepe
    

    December 7th, 2005 at 9:36 pm

    Ryan (#13) has a point. Between my office PC, office laptop, and home PC having a consistent and unified place to start is great. I also love having my bookmark synchronizer and two tabs (GMail & NetVibes) set up the same way on Firefox on each box.

14. Liam
    

    December 7th, 2005 at 9:43 pm

    Re: “a real desktop … Applications, documents, the works.”

    To do that reliably requires a distributed web 2.0 service, which places the application server on a mobile device. We call that “web 2.5″.

15. Kevin Burton
    

    December 8th, 2005 at 1:48 am

    > Why do people continue to produce these?

    Because choice is good…

16. George T.
    

    December 8th, 2005 at 2:06 am

    You are missing the best!

    I have commented about this in a previous post. It’s called “porcupine”, it’s open source and is “web application server that provides an object oriented framework for developing web applications rapidly”.

    This can be used to provide much more than a fancy desktop. It can produce web applications (CMS systems, mail clients, on line shops, etc) that have an unbelievably similar look and feel with windows applications we use in our operating systems. Users unfamiliar with web applications, can start using applications developed with porcupine immediately, because the graphical user interface is exactly like windows desktop.
    Check it out at:

    http://www.innoscript.org/

    They have an online demo… (IE and FF work ok, although FF seems to be a better choice)

17. Scott
    

    December 8th, 2005 at 2:33 am

    “Google and Microsoft already have compelling products”. No, google doesn’t. Theirs is frankly crap. It’s 3 columns or nothing. MS are doing well, but Netvibes is still best of current crop of these things, and that’s just because the way they handle presenting feeds in a floating 2 pane window frankly leaves the rest scratching their heads.

18. MPO
    

    December 8th, 2005 at 6:00 am

    You miss Favoor, http://www.favoor.com/ uups i don`t know if Favoor based on AJAX. But it`s a new personal Web-Desktop.

19. Alterion
    

    December 8th, 2005 at 9:04 am

    well. frankly i have news for all of these companies.. frankly session save r means that for me and many of the target audience i see my start page only once in a blue mooon. I just pick up where i left off.. i reaaly don;t see the point at all. MS live is kid of cool with its gadgets. but reaaly this seems like the kind of project that an amtur coder (like me) would create in thier spare time not a seriuos web 2.0 app

20. anon
    

    December 8th, 2005 at 9:45 am

    I like how it previews the story if you roll over alink.

21. nitram
    

    December 8th, 2005 at 12:03 pm

    What about eyeos.org ?

22. Charlie Wallace
    

    December 8th, 2005 at 5:48 pm

    I guess I have to disagree about not seeing a use for this kind of service. I’m using protopage and I find it very useful, mainly for links and misc notes. It’s handy because I gives me a central place to keep info from all the different computers I use (4). Yes there are other ways, but this is easier. And the new Protopage feature set is really nice… Netvibes is nice too but I like the new protopage more.

23. Ajax Dude
    

    December 10th, 2005 at 4:41 pm

    thoes arnt exactly ajax desktops ajax homepages at best the only true ajax desktops i can tell is goowy (yes goowy uses ajax and flash) windows live is more of a homepage with addons and there should be a line between both
    such as desktop = graphical not all links and flash based most likely and a ajax homepage mostly being a personal page with rss where you can check your favorite stuff in one page instead of having a google search/search portal for your homepage

24. ben wang
    

    March 7th, 2006 at 7:49 pm

    “If it’s a desktop tool, shouldn’t it actually live on the desktop rather than the browser?”

    when you are online what is your real desktop? the system desktop or your browser? I think it’s the latter. with the multi-tab browser, it’s easy to keep the web desktop and switch to specific websites.