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Set Up a Web-Based Desktop with EyeOS
Posted by Kevin Purdy at 4:00 AM on March 8, 2008
When you're at a computer that's missing a vital file or application, like an office workstation that's locked down, a friend's system or coffee shop computer, you can still get to a desktop that contains your essentials—on the web. A "webtop" is a virtual desktop that you access using only a browser, and it can include much of the stuff you'd expect on a local computer desktop: like file storage and management, a calendar, RSS reader, email client, and photo viewer. While there are several web desktops available these days, the free and open source EyeOS application is the most accessible, useful, and promising one out there. Follow along to see what a web-based desktop looks like, and how it can help you get things done when you're locked down or out of pocket.
Why a web-based desktop?
To say the least, not everybody is on-board with the idea of a web-based working environment. It's always going to be a little slower than the system you've got at your fingers, and those with enough DIY initiative can hack together a fully-loaded thumb drive or remote-controlled computer that can do the same things, and probably better, than a "webtop." But while an app like eyeOS isn't full-featured or perfectly smooth at this point, it offers a lot of functions in one screen that would require opening tab after tab in your browser, and anyone can set it up and test-drive a free hosted account in less than a minute. And eyeOS, in particular, isn't too harsh on the eyes, either (click for a larger image):
For those inclined to try something new, here are a few features and uses you might find pretty handy. Create a separate workspace for projects
As the proliferation of one-thing-only apps and no-distraction desktops has shown, some people want to see only their task in front of them. With eyeOS, it's easy to create an environment devoted to one project, or one type of work, that's more focused than your do-everything standard desktop full of little attention-grabbers. Switch your browser to full screen, set up only the bookmarks, feeds, email, and other tools you need to get your work done. Since you don't know half as much about how to distract yourself in this place, you might just get to cranking those widgets. Need to grab a file from another web app or service? Head there in eyeOS' built-in browser and download it directly to your virtual space, rather than heading back to your actual desktop.
Add it to your home server or web space
The free-to-use version of eyeOS offered at eyeOS.info comes with a good number of useful apps and features (including the nifty multi-provider eyeTerre satellite map program also known as Flash Earth). But if you download and install it to a server or any hosted web space that supports PHP, you'll get access to a wider range of applications, and you can give out logins to anyone you want to collaborate with or provide a consistent workspace to. For you developer/hacker types, eyeOS provides a no-worry environment to try out JavaScript applications in, complete with working command line. Browse and work in privacy
The idea of having a browser inside a browser might seem ludicrous—unless you consider the IT rules and snoopers it might help one get around. This won't apply to those using the free accounts at eyeos.info, but those accessing a hosted version can have their web traffic routed through whatever server hosts their browser or other eyeOS apps. Not every web host might support this, and you'll have to opt for the stripped-down versions of JavaScript-heavy sites (Gmail, I'm looking at you), but it's a decent way to avoid cyber-snooping and Draconian restrictions. POP email and FTP app
Two of the eyeOS' best features are the two that would come in most handy at a workstation or on another restricted system. Need to grab a file from a remote site or your own home FTP server? eyeOS has you covered. Bosses clamp down on your Gmail or Yahoo access? You can load them through the POP interface in eyeMail as a work-around. Given eyeOS' open source nature, IMAP support is a likely addition in the near future.Stream music and video privately
YouTube and other music-sharing sites are great for distributing your videos and music across the Internet, but sometimes you only want to reach a small, select audience—which might just be only yourself, at a later time. Web-based desktops like eyeOS are chock-full of multimedia features, and eyeOS in particular lets you upload and stream videos and music in a wide variety of formats, and place those files in a Windows-like "public folder" for mass or select sharing with other eyeOS users. Do some actual work
eyeOS' actual work tools—including a word processor, slim-featured spreadsheet editor, slideshow viewer, and basic calendar and contact managers—aren't best in class in any of their categories, as Google, Zoho, and other apps each offer richer interfaces and more features. But the benefit of eyeOS is that they're all in one browser window/tab, with files placed in organised folders or spread out on a desktop. For those not particularly tied to a particular online office suite and needing just the basic text-changing capabilities, the web desktop's suite of tools might just be the next best thing to having your own desktop available.... or take a break
I'd love to say that eyeOS is designed to eliminate time-eating distractions entirely, but it's an unwritten rule that any operating system must have some kind of addictive game pre-installed—eyeOS in its hosted form has four of them. There's the old standbys chess and solitaire, but also modified versions of Sonic the Hedgehog and Prince of Persia. There are plenty more for those who take the installation plunge, but that's a healthy dose of browser-based fun already. Got any useful ideas of your own for using an OS-inside-an-OS? Found another Webtop you want to vouch for? Let's hear it all in the comments.
Kevin Purdy, associate editor at Lifehacker, wrote most of this feature from inside his own eyeOS. His weekly feature, Open Sourcery, appears every Saturday on Lifehacker AU.
Tags: browsers | desktop | distractions | feature | home server | online documents | online file storage | open sourcery | privacy | security | top | web as desktop | webapps
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
ddrager
Posted 5:48 AM 8/3/08
I tried eyeOS a few months ago and I think it has a lot of potential. The thing that turned it off for me was that their formats didn't appear to be 'open' - meaning that a document you create in eyeOS couldn't be used anywhere else. Also, many of their progams were just other websites embedded in a window, or a flash applet.
While I think this sort of project has it's place, it has a long way to go for general consumption. I recommend anyone to test out the free hosted EyeOS site and see how you like it! Personally, I didn't seem myself working this into my daily routine, as hard as I tried to think of a way to work it in.
ddrager
Space Cowboy
Posted 5:48 AM 8/3/08
Don't forget that you can play the greatest Nintendo games directly in your browser. Not really anything that'll help productivity, but work hard, play hard, eh?
Space Cowboy
Brenny
Posted 6:19 AM 8/3/08
I have this running on my old Pentium 4 computer. It runs awesomely over the internet. Took me 5 minutes to install, too.
Brenny
ph15h
Posted 6:19 AM 8/3/08
Sweeet... Now to find a job so I can use it.
ph15h
ocdude
Posted 6:19 AM 8/3/08
I also had tried this out a while back. I was looking for a way to have my documents on my server at home somehow synced to a browser based environment where I could do things with them, but found eyeOS rather lacking in this respect.
Also, maybe it's because I have a slow computer (first generation mac mini), but eyeOS seems to crawl on a lot of their applications, which makes me think twice about using it in any sort of productive way.
ocdude
gavman00
Posted 6:47 AM 8/3/08
@gavman00: My comment was meant to be directed at ph15h. Sorry Brenny.
gavman00
gavman00
Posted 6:47 AM 8/3/08
@Brenny: Loser
gavman00
Myles
Posted 7:57 AM 8/3/08
Nice.
Very nice.
Myles
techchic
Posted 7:57 AM 8/3/08
@Space Cowboy:
Woohoo, thanks for the link. I will definitely be playing those classics in my free time!
techchic
acewave
Posted 7:57 AM 8/3/08
Can the eyeNav be used as a sort of proxy for browsing anonymously?
acewave
LegosJedi
Posted 9:01 AM 8/3/08
Hey, guys, my name is Jason, and I'm actually a developer for eyeOS. I'd like to take the time to answer some of your questions about it. Also, if you have more questions, the best place to ask them is over at the eyeOS forums at [forums.eyeos.org]
"The thing that turned it off for me was that their formats didn't appear to be 'open' - meaning that a document you create in eyeOS couldn't be used anywhere else."
If you have a Linux server, there is a file that can be used with OpenOffice to save documents created with eyeDocs as a Word document.
"Also, maybe it's because I have a slow computer (first generation mac mini), but eyeOS seems to crawl on a lot of their applications, which makes me think twice about using it in any sort of productive way."
When you first load the page and are presented with the login screen, it usually takes a while to for the whole page to load. After that, apps generally open quickly.
"Can the eyeNav be used as a sort of proxy for browsing anonymously?"
Currently, no, but I think that the programmer of the app is working on incorporating this into the application.
Glad you guys like it all! Definitely give the forums a look at, and if you need more apps, check out the official eyeOS Apps site at [www.eyeos-apps.org]
LegosJedi
jbucky1092
Posted 9:32 AM 8/3/08
I can think of about 11 others off the top of my head, some still in development, and I've only tried a few, so I can't exactly vouch for them...
Craythur
DeskTopTwo
Glide
Goowy
Orca
Purefect
SSOE
YouOS
Jooce
Ghost
jbucky1092
mistercow.pnoy
Posted 2:49 AM 9/3/08
@jbucky1092:
I've used g.ho.st, and it worked pretty good, except it was really slow, and not much documentation on it. so i couldnt figure out how to install apps on it.
on topic though...this looks really simple, i'll try it at school, where i cant do anythign on our computers
mistercow.pnoy
sumnumbnutz
Posted 3:04 PM 9/3/08
So, if I already have a website hosted and domain name hosted on a godaddy linux server, is this something I can throw into a spare directory and use?
sumnumbnutz
LegosJedi
Posted 1:28 PM 10/3/08
mistercow.pnoy, check out eyeOS's wiki at [wiki.eyeos.org] . It tells you how to install apps, configure the extension to read/write Word Docs, and how to create your own apps.
summumbnutz, yes, it is. You just unzip the package you download, upload the index.php file, install.php file, and the .eyepackage file, and give 777 permissions to the pacakge, both files, and the directory eyeOS is uploaded to. Then point your browser to that install.php file, and the installer takes care of the rest.
LegosJedi
gyffes
Posted 2:02 PM 10/3/08
And, for those still wondering WHY, I met a fellow recently who fires up an ancient laptop using a Knoppix disc and then navigates his way to YouOS, where he does all his coding/backs up his files/etc.
As a wannabe geek, I love the concept behind these sites but haven't yet found their utility for me. As I discovered the day my connection to googledocs dropped, doing your work in cyberspace can be more troublesome than it's worth, at times.
But I hold out hope one of these mad coding geniuses (geniusum? geniii?) stumbles upon a way for us to step from eyeOS to... well.. SnowCrash?
gyffes
whiskey
Posted 6:38 PM 10/3/08
@sumnumbnutz: yes, no need for a Data Base
whiskey
whiskey
Posted 6:38 PM 10/3/08
@techchic: You need to know then vnes... google for it (even more games).
@LegosJedi: send any html with the text/rtf header and it downloads right off the browser as an rtf document..
People people... We seem to be forgetting something... This can potentially mean that you could have all your online apps and sites working from a central "home web desktop" if you will. I have been able to modify the provided Sonic program to create a "the Last Stand" one... so that means that we could learn from this to make it better... how about something to keep an eye on your Facebook friends while playing a bejeweled flash clone and monitoring your email and stock ticker?
If you play with it enough you will find out just how powerful this is as a stepping stone to create more programs too...
Now, you might be wondering why... Well how about being able to burn your own "Morphix kiosk Live CD" (A linux live cd that has nothing more than firefox running) so you can take it with you to any Internet coffee place and reboot the machine, use the disk to get firefox, use firefox to get to your online OS securely...
Get XAMPP or Uniform Server and run it from your USB... you get an instant OS (no more waiting lots of time to get that linux from your USB drive)...
Add it to your School/Organization/Home Server and give it some use to share/store your docs on your intranet...
How about using it on a local server but have it sync to a web server (somewhere ... i dunno)... Why... How about just because you could?
whiskey
LegosJedi
Posted 8:41 AM 11/3/08
"send any html with the text/rtf header and it downloads right off the browser as an rtf document.."
Really? Sweet. I'll suggest that to the developer. Thanks!
LegosJedi
Heresjonny
Posted 8:41 AM 11/3/08
I put this on my website a few weeks ago, and the idea is really good! But it ran incredibly slow. It was really annoying having to wait 2 minutes for it to open the word application.
It needs some work, but could when all the small problems are sorted out it will be awesome.
Heresjonny
zia
Posted 10:11 PM 26/3/08
Do you really need an Online Desktop?
zia