One of the driving forces of Web 2.0 has been the concept of bringing applications that were once the exclusive domain of the desktop to the web. There’s no shortage of examples; online email negates the need for a desktop client such as Outlook or Mac Mail, Google Docs, ThinkFree and Zoho are suppose to negate the need for Microsoft Office. And yet many, many people still prefer their old school desktop software. Fluid is a Mac OS X tool that helps bridge the gap between online and desktop applications.
The idea behind Fluid isn’t new. We’ve covered gOS previously, a Linux distro that comes with a dock that is full of icons that open online apps. However with gOS those links simply open Firefox and brings the page up. Fluid on the other hand attempts to make the online application appear as though it is a desktop app by hiding the usual URL bar and buttons that would appear with a browser, instead offering a clean “Site Specific Browser” that shows the app requested.
Setup is dead easy. Open Fluid, type in the URL of the app required and the name of it, then it creates a shortcut that can be easily dragged onto the Mac dock. Click on the newly created icon and up pops the app/ page like it was a normal piece of software.
Those readers who frequently use online applications in a browser as though it was second nature may not find Fluid appeals, but for those still using desktop apps who are looking for an easier way to make the switch to online alternatives, Fluid may be a winner.
(via Lifehacker)
Love it tc ! any linux fluids like that?
Soo…. slow news day, eh? ;-0)
Checkout Mozilla Prism.
Hey guys, Mozilla announced their Prizm project on october 24th. Why no love?
http://labs.moz.../2007/10/prism/
Interesting.. but not interesting enough…
Asad
Windows only.
Prism isn’t Windows only.
http://labs.moz...-mac-and-linux/
@Duncan: And Fluid is Mac only. What was your point again?
Maybe you need to read the Fluid website again more carefully?
“Fluid is highly inspired by the excellent Prism (formerly WebRunner) project by Mozilla Labs. Check out Prism for much more information about SSBs and the benefits they provide to webapp lovers.
What makes Fluid different from Prism? Prism is cross-platform and based on the Mozilla web rendering engine, Gecko. While Prism’s cross-platform nature means it can be run on Windows, Mac, or Linux, it also means SSBs created by Prism aren’t the most “native”-feeling applications on Mac OS X.”
Justin, From the link above
“We have an early prototype for this working today on Windows, with work continuing on Mac and Linux (for which we should have builds available soon).”
So it looks good, so what, we cant review something else? Since when did reviews become a both or none proposition? Are you seriously suggesting that we have to review every single site or service in a space? great: let me hire a team of 100 and we’ll start doing all the social bookmarking and digg clones now… in the mean time, if you want to use Mozilla’s product over this one, great, more people using web apps.
Bubbles is a windows application that first came out with the content of site-specific browsing back in mid 2006.
Bubbles offers site specific browsing, site specific scripting in JavaScript with a layer of JS API that exposes OS functionalities like uploading files, drag-and-drop, toaster notifications.
Some of the examples that come with Bubbles allow you to upload photos to flickr by dragging them into their ‘bubble’, or getting gmail notification with a system-tray icon and a toaster notification.
Bubbles is widely adopted and used by tens of thousands of users out there. It was also commercialized into a product called Desktopize – http://www.desktopize.com which is beta tested by Zoho Office and offered on the Zoho site.
have a look at Bubbles – http://www.3d3r.com/bubbles
and the company that created it, 3D3R Software Studio – http://www.3d3r.com
Somehow I don’t think “building a defensible business” equates to “always being defensive”
Site called Glass Booth lets you find the right match among Presidential Candidates, by comparing what you think about various political issues with what different candidates think. I was surprised to find mine, give it a try and see if you are going to vote for the right person : Glass Booth
Scotty, what does that have to do with webapps?
Scotty, what does that have to do with webapps?
Why doesn’t this post give credit to the author of the product?
Everybody is good with desktop apps…
Same exact copy of mozilla Prism.
Wow, well that is pretty stupid (and a total rip off of Mozilla Prism).
Way to go guys!
Er, why not just develop desktop apps?
I must be too old school. But then again, I am an assembly language programmer.
cbmeeks
http://codershangout.com
Mozilla’s Prism does the same thing for Windows (and Mac…). It’s also much easier to use. If you’re using a Mac, though, stick with Fluid because the Mac version of Prism is a little buggy.
Duncan, crediting the project/product/people who pioneered this concept when reviewing a clone seems like a reasonable request.
- A
to further make my point,
Duncan said:
>Are you seriously suggesting that we have to review every
>single site or service in a space? great: let me hire a team
>of 100 and we’ll start doing all the social bookmarking and
>digg clones now
No, no one is suggesting that. If you did, however, review a digg clone, I think people would rightly question your review if it didn’t at least mention digg as the pioneer in that space.
- A
you guys are mac fanboy douchebags. Stop posting useless shit and get to reviewing startups. Duncan your reply is useless, just confirms that you’re full of shit as usual.
cheers and good day
I just downloaded Prism for my Ubuntu box. Instructions are here: http://ubuntufo...t=mozilla+prism
Nice and easy to use, and works well with our own web app. Seems to have some issues with Edit Grid, as it wants to open your spreadsheets in a separate Firefox instance, which doesn’t work so well.
I think both Fluid and Prism are nice tools!
Airifier does something very similar on Adobe’s Air platform – which works on both Macs & PC’s:
http://lab.arc9...09/airifier.php
whats the need for this? why not just open a new browser window. This is useless!
Curious… Why do you have two Second Life icons on your Dock?
TechCrunch is firmly up in Steve Jobs’ ass.
“Many, many people still prefer their old school desktop software” because there are still a ton of advantages to it. Can Mac OS X’s Automator script Gmail? Can I create droplets that automatically email files to specific contacts? Can I install plug-ins that let me use a true tagging system or automatically shuffle files into image editors or organizational apps? Can I still edit my Google Docs files while traveling offline through airports and restarting a machine?
Considering the vast, integrated power that desktop software and OSes offer, web apps and utilities can be considered by some just as “old school.” I’m a Gmail user, but I also use Mail over IMAP when I need more power than a browser or even plug-ins like Greasemonkey can offer. I completely understand the appeal and place in the world that web apps and even web OSes hold, but desktop software cannot be written off so easily. Or at all really, for that matter.
I use Prism since it came out… and it is great…unlike some stupid single OS supported software … pfft~
What I can’t figure out here is …. Why are a bunch of Linux and Windows users even reading (and commenting) on a review of a Mac Application. Yes, Prism is the first of its kind — actually WebRunner was and Mozilla had to buy them to be able to proceed with Prism development. So Prism IS NOT Mozilla’s brain child.
The other thing is, Prism uses Gecko and Fluid uses Safari Webkit….So Fluid is a MAC App, not Windows and not Linux … and the website says nothing to the contrary.
Duncan is a Mac user, as am I, so he writes what he knows. And I being a Mac user, read only what I am interested in.
So for the last time … All you Windows losers and Linux wannabes leave Duncan alone and go back to your crappy Consumer driven lives.
ex-Googler said:
> Yes, Prism is the first of its kind — actually WebRunner was and Mozilla had
> to buy them to be able to proceed with Prism development. So Prism IS NOT
> Mozilla’s brain child.
Just wanted to correct this – I worked for Mozilla when building WebRunner, so Mozilla did *not* buy WebRunner in order to make Prism. Mozilla just decide to move my side project into Mozilla Labs
Happy with your 15 minutes of fame? Seriously… having to stand up and yell “It’s mine! It’s mine!” is just crying for attention.
A far more interesting approach to this same type of concept may be found here: http://www.ntractive.com — launching at MacWorld San Francisco next month.
@Mark Finkle
…stands corrected.
TechCrunch Forums
TechCrunch Forums