There are numerous choices in operating system to run on your computer. Most use Windows. Others use Linux. Others (like myself) use a Mac. However, one thing is abundantly clear: our computing lives are moving online.

Speaking for myself, it is my web browser (Firefox) which is always open. It is the first program I start when I boot up. I use Gmail for my email. I use Google Apps for managing my time (Calendar in conjunction with Remember the Milk). My entire business is online.

Computing is running into the cloud. Cloud computing is a term used to refer to the fact that our computing experiences are increasingly online (the Internet) rather than being locked to your computer. More and more, your choice for operating system for your desktop is meaningless. More and more, the desktop operating system is acting more like a terminal to the Internet - where the REAL computing happens.

Obviously, we’re not there yet. And perhaps we will never fully put our computing lives into the cloud. But evidence for the fact that it can be done is in the web-based operating system.

Web OS

A web OS is just that - an entire operating system environment which operates fully inside your web browser. It depends on Javascript and XML (together called Ajax) to operate. Basically, JavaScript is the programming code which runs inside the web browser. Server side code (whether it be PHP, ASP, Cold Fusion, etc) operates on the web server. AJAX is simply a way for the Javascript to talk with the server. By combining the two, you can have web applications that act like desktop applications.

All this adds up to one thing: It is possible to have a fully responsive OS-like interface all inside of a web browser using the above technologies. We’re talking a full Windows-like experience.

Examples

There are several web OSes you can check out. Your reaction may simply be, “Cool, but useless for me”. But, we’ll go over possible uses in a minute.

• ajaxWindows. A really slick web OS which works in both Firefox and IE. You can run widgets on the desktop, plus it has a host of applications (web-based) “installed”. You can store your data in your Gmail account (essentially using the vast amount of storage Gmail provides to store your files virtually. Here is a video from the guys at AjaxWindows to show what it does:

• EyeOS.
• Glide. Glide is really slick. It uses Flash to give a highly graphical operating environment. In fact, it has an Iphone-ish look to it. It also has a way to sync up your files, bookmarks and email from your local computer up to your Glide account.
• DesktopTwo. Pretty cool. You also get the full version of OpenOffice 2 in your virtual desktop.
• Stoneware Web OS (not free)
• AstraNOS
• G.ho.st
• Goowy
• Mybooo
• MyGoya
• Purefect
• Startforce
• YouOS
• Zimdesk

Why?

Basically, it comes down to portability. Being on the web means you can get to it from anywhere and from any computer. So, you can have your own virtual computer, complete with your own data and files. You could be on the other side of the world, log into your account from an internet cafe somewhere and everything will be right there. No notebook computer to lug around.

Personally, I do not use a Web based OS. But, I think it is pretty cool.