I recently wrote that the Ajax desktop space was getting crazy-crowded. That was before Google released their desktop widget API and favoor launched. And now we have a developer release of a new ajax desktop called Pageflakes (available only in IE).
Pageflakes has a number of features – rss reading, email checking, note taking, searching, etc. It also has a developer API to allow third party module-creation. Given that Microsoft and Google have this feature, it is a must have to even get in the game.
Pageflakes says it is easier to develop modules for their site than for Microst Live or Google – Developers can use MS Visual Studio and they support ASP.NET and Atlas (modules can also be build using PJP or JSP). Of course, overcoming the user loyalty of Netvibes (now a significant source of TechCrunch daily traffic) and the network power of Microsoft and Google will be very difficult.
My current count of ajax/flash desktops is nine:
- Eskobo
- favoor
- Goowy (Flash, not Ajax)
- Microsoft Live
- Netvibes
- Pageflakes
- Protopage
- Zoozio
Who am I missing? Who’s lucky number 10? At this point I’m just writing about these for the fun of it. 
i know your missing at least one.. bacuse i turned up there yesterday .. but these stupid names mean i’ve forgotten it
Well, let me know when you remember. I am on a quest to have the definitive list.
One could argue that Meebo is an ajax desktop with a single application…instant messaging
i think the real issue at hand should be the fact that the service does not support firefox?
This one is not released yet,
http://www.dashboardhq.com
more information at:
http://www.33inc.com
I think you can add Gritwire to this list. Maybe that is your lucky 10
.
Number 10 ccould be eyeOS, at http://eyeos.org, opensource and free
um michael.. i’ve just realised that’s your missing yahoo off that list.. that’s embarassing. i gues my yahoo gets to be no 10. Its also a pretty neat service especiaaly with the integration thngs lke the nbotepad are seeing with yahoo widgets
Sreejith at http://ajaxblog.com/ mentioned in passing in his latest post http://www.gritwire.com. It’s flash, but if you’re including goowy in this list, I think you should include this one as well. After quickly checking it out, it seems to be pretty neat.
Their website doesn’t support Firefox. As a result, their app doesn’t rate my time. I’ll check out one of the others instead.
Hey Michael – ever considered that the only reason you think so highly of Netvibes is that you’re a featured feed on their site? I wonder if you’re biased.
And by the way, when I say ‘biased’ – I’m not suggesting misconduct. I’m just saying – if everyone is automatically given a techcrunch feed on their netvibes page, then OF COURSE you’re going to get a ton of traffic from them.
I get javascript errors on Pageflakes. IE 6.0.2800. Perhaps they are not quite ready yet??
Jason
I guess ajax doesn’t mean that javascript now works…
And no FF support yet – figure they’d want to have that in place given the appeal to the early adopter community that PF would have in common with FF…
Oh, but I guess its “pre-alpha” – so I’ll cut them some slack…
No Firefox, no go.
Like others have said… What the hell are they thinking offering this when it’s not compaitable with FF?
I’m guessing that browser share for their target market is close to 30-40% FF, if not more.
With 10 other options to choose from you only get one chance to earn my business. You had your chance PF and you blew it.
We wrote one over a weekend a few weeks ago. Didn’t bother to launch it, but if you really need another, we’d be happy to launch it…
Michael- why are you still giving these kind of “startups” free publicity? Have they done anything to warrent your or our attention? I think you need to maintain better standards for what can get posted- or like I said, eventually this “web 2.0″ thing is going to really seem like a sham.
so which one is the best — most feature-rich, useful, etc. ??
do people agree with Hinchcliffe (http://web2.wsj...are_of_2005.htm)?
Hi everyone,
With regard to the Firefox issue: Make no mistake about it, we know that we need to support a decent browser.
Please don’t forget that what can be seen at http://www.pageflakes.com right now is really just a “Developer Release”. We’re not even in alpha yet, and 99% of the functionality is still missing. We’re at a point where others put up a teaser page, but we wanted to show a little more so that developers can start building applications.
Once we target the general public, we will also support Firefox, of course. Please have a little patience with us…and don’t forget to subscribe to our launch notification.
Best regards
Christoph Janz
Pageflakes
I ran across something over at ajaxian, before they shut it down, requiring logins and stuff, called xin.
( http://www.nalt....se/desktop.asp )
Something is going on there that’s way more than just a mere ajax desktop, ’cause when I try googleing for ‘rich desktop’, guess what makes the top spot?
( http://www.goog...;q=rich+desktop )
- That’s just wierd..
I agree with anon. I also would like to ask why you are promoting websites that have nothing to offer yet. YUIEBU is a really cool service, here is the link to their landing page, they have blog where they discuss what they are drinking, and they would like to have your email-id to tell you whenever they are ready with whatever it is they are doing. I just don’t get it.
Chunni – ’cause I want to.
I am also an entrepreneur and I know how hard it is to build a company. I’ve chosen to focus this blog on small companies like that. So I’ll keep writing about them (and trust me, there is a ton that I don’t write about).
Peace! I guess I will have continue ignoring those posts. The reason I read your blog is to be an early adopter of hot new products. I am an entrepreneur myself and I love the fact that entreprenuers find an outlet to the world through you, but a landing page with email box is simply vaporware INMHO.
yeah, well, you are right. Keep reading. I need the page views.
No. 10, Phil, I thought about adding gritwire after your comment. I wrote about them earlier this week. While they certainly share some of the attributes of these services, it seems to me that they are primarily positioning themselves as a RSS reader. Disagree?
Well, there is a whole list published at http://www.read...b_20_office.php .
The list goes like this – AjaxOffice, Writely, gOFFICE, NumSum …
Thanks,
Mukul.
I would keep a close eye on Meebo. Eventhough the current focus is on IM, there is obviously more desire there.
Many are mentioned by the readers that I have to check out and add to my list, but ten seems to be the number I had on my list as well.
Since we are talking about lists, I am maintaining one for bunch of other categories (still working my way through the theme templates and don’t know how to get the comments to work for this page): tech company roundup on twistedblog
Seems to be a lot like netvibes, no? I am not sure if everything seems to be like netvibes (eskobo, especially), or if netvibes is like everything else. However, my vote is for netvibes
Yeah i was going to say EyeOS too.
Thanks for remembering us, Gagan. Michael! How soon you seem to have forgotten us
Working hard on fixing bugs and taking suggestions–hope we can stay on your radar.
i would second Meebo. lots of people (especially teenagers) have been using meebo as their active desktop…
A great web2.0 review map is available right here :
http://webosphe...d-services-map/
One of the sites is left off of the personalized portal radar screen is Microsoft’s My MSN. The latest incarnation is actually more attractive to some users than the Live.com/Start.com concept. Drag and Drop, Multiple columns, Web 1.0 and 2.0 content, themes, email preview, favorites, and an add content feature that allows you to approach content from four different views (popular, all content, sorted by provider, and search). Not bad, not bad at all.
Check out a theme like Windows XP Silver. Very clean. I created a page that mimics Netvibes, Google IG, etc. with the latest Web 2.0 feeds, including TechCrunch. Sure, it’s Microsoft, but this is actually the best Web 1.0 > 2.0 portal conversion I’ve seen. I still prefer the spare interfaces provided by the pure 2.0 personal portals, but I’d use this in a pinch.
http://my.msn.com
The other problem with most of these sites is that they offer no way to view them on mobile devices(PDA, Cell, Blackberry). As a much more mature service, I can view everything on my.yahoo or bloglines on a mobile device, and even Google offes a basic html view for the personalized page that most pda’s can access, albeit with some limits on functionality. Until I have the option to view this information when I’m on the go these services have limited or no value to me.
Hey..where is Start.com ? Is that a different breed?
Jane
NICE!! I love this software, it’s awesome with IE!
AJAX Network Neighboorhood.
Besides desktop, also need a way to navigate your local intranet. SSLBridge
provides that capability with AJAX.
http://www.sslbridge.com
Dunno guys, check it out. If you are a FF only zealot then ok, but I thought Netvibes was miles ahead of anything I’d seen (as a newcomer to 2.0 stuff) and am blown away by pageflakes – the user interface is great. Tabbed pages, tabbed to-do lists, 100x cleaner look, its like moving from Netvibes is like moving from command-line prompt to a GUI for the first time, from black & white to colur, you get the drift.
yEAP ..Web will be better
This website http://www.pageflakes.com is unbelievable !!!
Found another http://www.yoosi.com
Here is one more – http://www.startforce.jp
Seychelles Islands
Republic of Seychelles
Here is one more
http://www.repu...-seychelles.com
some of those are pretty cool. i swore by netvibes there for a while. everything about it is great, but a few months ago it just didnt load anymore. not on my home or work computer, it would not let me logon so i lost everything. it really sucks, and they wont email me back or help
i like the eyeOS, whoever suggested that, thanks. i think im gonna use that. i believe thats the direction we are going to go too, where everything is web based, it wont even matter which os you use.
hi what kind of feature developers used to develop a website like pageflakes and netvibes.com?
how thery have used webparts feature ,and how they interacted with flash,ajax …tell me more abt developing a this kind a site ..if u have larger content to say u can mail me my id is ketan_raval_7@yahoo.com
i ll wait for ur reply impatiently