Cloud & virtual desktops: iCloud

iCloud
 iCloud is another great looking virtual/cloud desktop that has a great look and feel. However, it seems to run only on IE8.It did not work on Firefox 3.5.6 for me. iCloud offers  a MSN chat client, a twitter client, a to-do list  and a built-in browser. The free version provides 3G of free space and a paid premium version provides 100GB of space.

Other features included in iCloud are a document editor, a photo manager and as with all the other virtual desktops reviewed in this blog, the ability to upload files.

Conclusion
In the last couple of  weeks, we have looked at several virtual/cloud desktops. All of them offer great eye candy and a useful set of tools. In my brief analysis, there is no clean winner among them. The whole concept of having a computer in the 'clouds' accessible from any computer via a browser is  indeed 'cool'.

Having said that, will they prevail in the future? The truth is that cloud computing is not new. Anyone who uses Yahoo mail or gmail uses the cloud.  Google docs offers many of the online tools provided by these so called virtual computer. These include spreadsheet and document editing software.

With Google now offering disk space, virtual computers have lost out on yet another offering.  Unfortunately, none of these cloud or virtual computers builds a strong case with a unique offering that can attract users. It remains to be seen how many of these cloud desktops will survive in the next few years. It is only a question of time before Google begins to offer online media management.

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Cloud & virtual desktops: Ghost

G.ho.st
G.ho.st or Global hosted Operating system is another cloud desktop that offers a virtual machine inside a browser. Signing up for an account would let A you use the computer and its tools and a whopping 15GB of free space.G.ho.st provides a decent set of utilities.



G.host has an interesting business model. According to the website, G.ho.st gets a commission when one clicks on an ad in google from within a G.ho.st browser.(Got it?)

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Cloud & virtual desktops: EyeOs

EyeOs
This is another good virtual computer. It's look at feel is undoubtedly modelled after Linux.
In addition to the usual utilities, EyeOS provides a public board, an FTP client, and even a process manager.
The website promotes the use of EyeOs in schools, Government,etc. They offer different licensing options, support and training. A downloadable version of EyeOs can be used to run the system on your own server. EyeOS also provides the ability for branding and personalization of its look and feel.

See also:
Set Up a Web-Based Desktop with EyeOS

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Cloud & virtual desktops: Glide OS 3.0

The traditional desktop like a Windows PC, Mac an Linux come with browsers in them. With the coming of cloud cto upload from and download to the virtual computer. omputing, we now have desktops accessible within browsers and just days ago, Google released another model, the desktop IS the browser. For now, I'd like to look at some of the free desktops accessible within browsers.


Glide OS 3.0

This one requires a Flash 9.0 plugin and offers 5 GB on web storage. In addition to media tools, Glide offers a blogging utility, photo editing, a meeting scheduler, an email, and even web space.

Glide provides GlideHD, a media manager .One may upload or download audio, video or imae files to and from the virtual machine. There are utilities to sync files from the virtual computer to the local machine.

Further it offers a browser called Portal. Portal allows the ability to add bookmarks to quickly access websites or RSS feeds from websites. Portal also comes with a stock ticker. Interestingly, the Portal lacks the ability to import or export bookmarks.

Glide also provides premium monthly and yearly plans that provide 50GB of storage.

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