Web operating systems, the next generation

I don't know if "Web operating systems" is the best name for what this post is about, but I continue to be intrigued with what might more accurately be called "desktop environments over IP," meaning full desktops of applications that work via a Web browser. While Google is slowly getting into this space with Google Docs and Spreadsheets (and is trying to offer offline functionality via Google Gears, there are plenty of others -- Microsoft included -- vying for what I think will be the future of business and personal computing.

Stan Schroeder of FranticIndustries offers a very detailed review of 10 such services.

One of the most intriguing is Desktop on Demand, which basically pipes a Linux X server over the Internet to your browser. Still, you need a helper app on your PC, so it doesn't exactly have the "use anywhere" functionality that I think makes this kind of service essential -- that and they're not accepting new users at present, so I couldn't try it.

Way down in the comments to Schroeder's article, somebody mentioned eyeOS.org, an open-source project -- and it looks pretty good. Signing up for an account was a little bit squirrely, but I was able to do it, and I'm pretty impressed with it. You can write documents, save them in folders, create a spreadsheet and even open a Web browser (yep, a browser within a browser -- not exactly the most useful thing in the world, but you can do it).

I'll definitely be keeping my eye on eyeOS. Schroeder did cover it in an earlier Web-OS roundup.

One of the most noted Web-app developers is 37signals, which was recently covered (and very positively at that) by Time magazine. When it comes to collaboration among many workers in different places (which is how 37signals itself is run), they've got quite a lead in the Web-application field. I don't quite understand what they're doing, but I do plan to check it out. The one thing they've done that most geek types have heard about is Ruby on Rails, a Web-app development platform. Alas, I'm not anywhere geeky enough for that ... yet.

Here's a bit of business-running wisdom from 37signals, via the Time article (emphasis mine):

37signals isn't shy about dispensing one thing without charge: advice to small-business owners. On the company blog, Signal vs. Noise, Fried shares what he's learned about the art of streamlined teamwork with more than 65,000 readers. First, kill all your meetings; they waste employees' time. "Interruption is the biggest enemy of productivity," he says. "We stay away from each other as much as we can to get more stuff done." Use asynchronous communication and software instead to exchange information, ideas and solutions. Next, dump half your projects to focus on the core of your business. Too much time and effort are wasted on second-tier objectives. Third, let your employees decide when and where to work so they can be both efficient and happy. As long as their fingers are near a keyboard, they could as easily be in Caldwell, Idaho, as in Chicago.

Yeah!