Sunday, May 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Mashup vs. Web Desktop vs. Web OS
During the past year I heard many opinions about all kinds of the recently introduced über-web applications, Web 3.0 if you will. Roughly we can divide them to mashups, web desktops and web operating systems. Unfortunately, more often than not, these terms are used improperly, and I wanted to get the terminology straight.
So what's in a name:
1. Mashup - a mashup is a simplest kind of über-web applications - it combines a number of so called widgets or gadgets, each one doing something useful and simple. The widgets do not inter-operate, they are developed by different people but stored in the mashup itself, often using a special widget format. Examples - iGoogle, Netvibes, Pageflakes and My Yahoo!.
2. Web Desktop - a web desktop is tiny little bit more complicated, it's usually a GUI that looks like Windows desktop and integrates several useful web applications such as email, instant messaging, file storage and sharing. Examples - Desktop Two, YouOS, EyeOS, GlideOS and others. Interesting how many of them have OS in the names.
3. Web Operating System. According to Wikipedia, an operating system is "...is the software component of a computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of the computer...". Rephrasing this, a Web Operating System is a software component of a large and distributed computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of all kinds of resources stored in many different places on the web.
What was once a device driver is now a web service driver, and the Web operating System coordinates and uses these drivers to provide a unified experience to the users.
Disagree? Feel free to rant here :-)
So what's in a name:
1. Mashup - a mashup is a simplest kind of über-web applications - it combines a number of so called widgets or gadgets, each one doing something useful and simple. The widgets do not inter-operate, they are developed by different people but stored in the mashup itself, often using a special widget format. Examples - iGoogle, Netvibes, Pageflakes and My Yahoo!.
2. Web Desktop - a web desktop is tiny little bit more complicated, it's usually a GUI that looks like Windows desktop and integrates several useful web applications such as email, instant messaging, file storage and sharing. Examples - Desktop Two, YouOS, EyeOS, GlideOS and others. Interesting how many of them have OS in the names.
3. Web Operating System. According to Wikipedia, an operating system is "...is the software component of a computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of the computer...". Rephrasing this, a Web Operating System is a software component of a large and distributed computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of all kinds of resources stored in many different places on the web.
What was once a device driver is now a web service driver, and the Web operating System coordinates and uses these drivers to provide a unified experience to the users.
Disagree? Feel free to rant here :-)
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Pixie 1.0 is finally up and running
I'm more than happy to tell that the new G.ho.st Mobile client based on Pixie - http://code.google.com"/p/pixie-os/ is finally up and running at: http://g.ho.st/m!
Pixie should support all devices that have XHTML browser as well as mashups such as iGoogle, Netvibes and Pageflakes.
Please see the list of user benefits is at: http://code.google.com/p/pixie-os/wiki/UseCases
Feel free to contact me if you're interested to join this project.
Enjoy!
Pixie should support all devices that have XHTML browser as well as mashups such as iGoogle, Netvibes and Pageflakes.
Please see the list of user benefits is at: http://code.google.com/p/pixie-os/wiki/UseCases
Feel free to contact me if you're interested to join this project.
Enjoy!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Virtualization helps minimize the e-waste
I don't know how about you, but I feel very uncomfortable after reading this: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/electronics.
Do we really have to create and consume so much in such a short time?
I bought my digital SLR, Nikon D70, only 3 years ago when it was state of the art. Today it's considered an old piece of junk. Since then Nikon has released D70s, D40, D40x, D60, D80, D200, D300, D3, D700, and that's only from the "prosumer" line!
Do we really need all the high definition recorders, players, TVs, flat computer monitors, laptops? Do we really have to see every pimple on Mel Gibson's face to really enjoy our life?
And then the question is whether we can take the virtualization to the next level, just like you have your virtual computer at G.ho.st, and stop worrying about backing up, upgrading, swapping gear, recycling and so on. Can we virtualize more aspects of our lives? What else can be replaced with a "thin" and "dumb" virtual "client"?
Do we really have to create and consume so much in such a short time?
I bought my digital SLR, Nikon D70, only 3 years ago when it was state of the art. Today it's considered an old piece of junk. Since then Nikon has released D70s, D40, D40x, D60, D80, D200, D300, D3, D700, and that's only from the "prosumer" line!
Do we really need all the high definition recorders, players, TVs, flat computer monitors, laptops? Do we really have to see every pimple on Mel Gibson's face to really enjoy our life?
And then the question is whether we can take the virtualization to the next level, just like you have your virtual computer at G.ho.st, and stop worrying about backing up, upgrading, swapping gear, recycling and so on. Can we virtualize more aspects of our lives? What else can be replaced with a "thin" and "dumb" virtual "client"?
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Join us at the first Jewish-Arab flash mob!
Being a G.ho.st employee, I'd like to propose organizing the first Arab-Jewish flash mob party.
How about dancing pairs dressed as Jews and Arabs in the middle of the Times Square? :-)
BTW, just in case, flash mob is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_mob
If you are interested - post here or email me.
How about dancing pairs dressed as Jews and Arabs in the middle of the Times Square? :-)
BTW, just in case, flash mob is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_mob
If you are interested - post here or email me.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Working in an Israeli-Palestinian Startup
University of life
I am a Russian-Israeli working in G.ho.st, the first Palestinian-Israeli startup in history (more about us: http://antonbar.blogspot.com/2008/05/ghost-on-news.html). I was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and came to Israel in 1991. Here I received my education, married my wife (a US-born Israeli), and started a family. My three daughters were born in Jerusalem.
During the last few years, I was the CTO of a high-tech company specializing in enterprise content management. I was bored to death and was desperately looking for something new and exciting until one day, my Headhunter agent called and asked – “What do you think about working with Palestinians from the West Bank in Ramallah?"...
And so the real learning began...
Geography
At the moment of writing G.ho.st employs 35 Palestinians in Ramallah and 6 Israelis in Modiin. We are so close to each other – if I was allowed, I could drive to our Ramallah office faster than back home! And yet, there are walls, fences and army checkpoints…
Politics
Israelis are not allowed to visit the Palestinian territories and Palestinians must receive special permits to visit Israel. Even if they receive permits, there is no common public transportation and all the alternative solutions are rather expensive.
Communications
We have a company to run, we have to design the system’s architecture, write code, find and solve bugs and this is all about communication. Virtualization to the rescue! I was surprised to learn that video conferencing is a great solution. We always keep the video conference open between the offices. I think of it as a window, or a tunnel, to another room where the rest of the team is working.
Sociology
Despite the common misconception, it turns out that it is much easier for an Israeli to find a common language with a Palestinian rather than with an American – we like similar food, similar sports, and speak very similar languages.
Theology
Did you know that Judaism and Islam are actually more similar than they are different? Both share common origin in the Middle East through Abraham, and both are considered Abrahamic religions. Islam is similar to Judaism in its fundamental religious outlook, structure, law and practice.
Psychology
We all are the same. We like laughing, love our children, care for our families, and we all bleed when we get cut!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
G.ho.st is on the news
Following the presentation at the "D" conference: http://d6.allthingsd.com/20080528/ghost/, we're all over the news now: http://news.google.co.il/news?hl=en&q=g.ho.st&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
