ajaxWindows Web OS Officially Launches
Ajax13, the makers of a web application suite that includes ajaxWrite, ajaxPresents, ajaxSketch, ajaxXLS, and ajaxTunes, today officially released their web operating system, ajaxWindows.
ajaxWindows is a full featured web OS deployed in a browser window using JavaScript. It has a familiar Windows like desktop feel, complete with a task bar, start menu, and desktop icons. It acts as a launcher for many popular web 2.0 sites and applications -- and lets you add menu or desktop icons for each. It also supports a range of desktop widgets and all of Ajax13's applications operate natively.
ajaxWindows can probably be looked at as a pretty launcher for its suite of apps, which ties their web office suite together (I say web office, because it includes mostly office-type apps, but they do offer a simple drawing program and a music player app -- both of which technically fall outside the definition of web office).
Because the only apps that ajaxWindows supports natively are the ones from developer Ajax13 and the handful of in-house widgets, using ajaxWindows can feel a bit disjointed. Other apps launch in a new browser window outside the OS (though a link to the open browser window is included on the taskbar). Though ajaxWindows is encouraging developers to create widgets for the web OS, there doesn't appear to be a full developer API that would allow app creators to make versions of their applications that could run natively on ajaxWindows (i.e., not in a separate browser window). For those reasons, it feels like ajaxWindows is really more of a sophisticated launcher for Ajax13's other apps than anything else.
Ajax13 is hoping that their storage strategy is what sets their Web OS apart from the competition. ajaxWindows users receive online storage space for automatically backing up and syncing documents and photos from their PCs. "We are tremendously excited about the breakthroughs we have been able to build into ajaxWindows that go well beyond the valuable back-up storage service," said Ajax13 CEO Michael Robertson in a press release.
Robertson is a serial entrepreneur, who was once the founder of MP3.com, and is currently the founder of Linux OS company Linspire, and the CEO of SIPphone.com, in addition to his role as CEO of Ajax13.
A video demo of ajaxWindows from Ajax13 is embedded below:
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haha... looks like the site got slashdotted. It's "down for planned maintenance" 30 minutes after launch. :)
Wow! Just tried it, this is great!
The type of machine/OS is really less important... Soon enough, we might see a battle of Web OSes...
BTW, they site is up and running fine now :)
Hey Josh,
I've been an avid Read/WriteWeb reader for several months now. I really enjoy the frequency and breadth of the articles you and the crew put in here.
Anyhow, was just was wondering if anyone else thought launching an OS-type product with "Windows" in the name was asking for trouble? Any bets on how long before Microsoft's team of lawyers comes knockin' on Ajax13's door? :P
In any case, keep up the excellent blogging!
Regards,
Benjamin DiGregorio
@Benjamin: That's something that Ajax13's CEO has some experience with... remember Linspire used to be called Lindows before Microsoft sued (though that lawsuit ended in a settlement in Linspire's favor, which scored $20 million on the deal).
Josh;
I think that's part of their strategy. I didn't hear about Lindows/Linspire until the legal troubles.
I wonder if they are in fact hoping that a legal battle will ensue over the ajaxWindows name, leading to product awareness?
Nice but can you really call it an OS? I mean can you actually operate anything besides moving files around or uploading/syncing files? All it is is a web ap that opens more web apps in new windows, or opens widgets on the existing page. Can I change my screen resolution with it? Call it what you want, but it is not an OS, its still a web app.
nice one, though it still cant compete with existing webtops and frameworks - www.oos.cc for example looks much more homogenuous, desktoptwo provides a large application suite, eyeos comes with community.