Web operating system
Encyclopedia
In metacomputing
, WebOS and Web operating system are terms that describe network services for Internet scale distributed computing
, as in the WebOS Project at UC Berkeley
, and the WOS Project. In both cases, the scale of the web operating system extends across the Internet, like the web
.
However, the terms WebOS and Web operating system have been employed more broadly and with far greater popularity in the context of "the web as in HTTP"
, and for many meanings ranging from singular systems to collections of systems. In April 2002, Tim O'Reilly
spoke of "the emergent Internet operating system" as an open collection of Web services.
Common to uses for collections of systems, a Web operating system is distinct from Internet operating systems
in that it is independent of the traditional individual computer operating system
. This conception of the system reflects an evolution of research in the field of operating system
s into the increasingly minimized (for example, TinyOS
and Exokernel
) and distributed
(for example, Inferno
), and for distributed systems increasingly defined in terms of the specification of their network protocols more than their implementations (for example, Plan9's 9P
).
In a usage referring to singular network services, a Web operating system is another name for a Webtop. These services turn the desktop into a service that runs on the Internet rather than on the local computer. As these services include a file system
and application management system, they increasingly overlap with the functionality of a traditional desktop computer
operating system.
In a usage referring to desktop (or handheld) computer application environments, a Web operating system is a traditional operating system that is focused on supporting Web applications themselves, or a desktop operating system solely providing Web access. Systems like these also are known as kiosks
.
and later known as MyWebOS), was founded by Berkeley grad Shervin Pishevar and Emory
grad Drew Morris. WebOS licensed the WebOS technologies from Duke University
and University of Texas at Austin
and recruited Dr. Amin Vahdat, Professor
of Computer Science
at Duke, who had pioneered the WebOS technologies at University of California at Berkeley where he got his PhD
on his WebOS research. WebOS acquired WebOS.org, which was created by a young Swedish programmer, Fredrik Malmer, who had created the first online desktop environment.
Soon after, some of the top DHTML and JavaScript
programmers in the world such as Erik Arvidsson of WebFx fame, Dan Steinman, creator of the Dynamic Duo Cross-browser DHTML API, joined WebOS. WebOS raised over $10 million in financing from Impact Venture Partners led by Adam Dell and Grotech Capital. WebOS was launched with a vision of creating the first web operating system complete with a WebOS API allowing developers to create Windows-like web applications that worked at extremely fast speeds by caching much of the code in the local browser. Arvidsson later launched Bindows, a framework very similar to the WebOS API, that does much of this and is used by many large companies and the US Military.
WebOS filed the very first WebOS patents in 1999. WebOS competed with another start up, Desktop.com
, which was aimed more at the consumer market. WebOS was covered by many media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times
, LA Times, Power Lunch
on CNBC
, Fox News and CNN
and helped spread the WebOS meme further. WebOS launched Hyperoffice
, a full office suite
, back in 1999.
A 2003 scientific publication was made about BolinOS, a "Web Operating System for Internet / Radiology" based on works started in 1995 by the University of Geneva
in Switzerland
, and relates the diverse aspects of this kind of online platform, based on client and server side distribution of applications using platform independent software. Which was later adopted by Palm
. Which was later bought by Hewlett Packard.(webOS)
Metacomputing
Metacomputing is all computing and computing-oriented activity which involves computing knowledge utilized for the research, development and application of different types of computing. It may also deal with numerous types of computing applications, such as: industry, business, management and...
, WebOS and Web operating system are terms that describe network services for Internet scale distributed computing
Distributed computing
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...
, as in the WebOS Project at UC Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, and the WOS Project. In both cases, the scale of the web operating system extends across the Internet, like the web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
.
However, the terms WebOS and Web operating system have been employed more broadly and with far greater popularity in the context of "the web as in HTTP"
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
, and for many meanings ranging from singular systems to collections of systems. In April 2002, Tim O'Reilly
Tim O'Reilly
Tim O'Reilly is the founder of O'Reilly Media and a supporter of the free software and open source movements.-Life and career:...
spoke of "the emergent Internet operating system" as an open collection of Web services.
Common to uses for collections of systems, a Web operating system is distinct from Internet operating systems
Internet OS
Internet operating system, or Internet OS, is a term used in the computer industry to refer to any type of operating system designed to run all of its applications and services through an Internet client, generally a web browser...
in that it is independent of the traditional individual computer operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
. This conception of the system reflects an evolution of research in the field of operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s into the increasingly minimized (for example, TinyOS
TinyOS
TinyOS is a free and open source component-based operating system and platform targeting wireless sensor networks . TinyOS is an embedded operating system written in the nesC programming language as a set of cooperating tasks and processes. It is intended to be incorporated into smartdust...
and Exokernel
Exokernel
Exokernel is an operating system kernel developed by the MIT Parallel and Distributed Operating Systems group, and also a class of similar operating systems....
) and distributed
Distributed computing
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...
(for example, Inferno
Inferno (operating system)
Inferno is a distributed operating system started at Bell Labs, but is now developed and maintained by Vita Nuova Holdings as free software. Inferno was based on the experience gained with Plan 9 from Bell Labs, and the further research of Bell Labs into operating systems, languages, on-the-fly...
), and for distributed systems increasingly defined in terms of the specification of their network protocols more than their implementations (for example, Plan9's 9P
9P
9P is a network protocol developed for the Plan 9 from Bell Labs distributed operating system as the means of connecting the components of a Plan 9 system. Files are key objects in Plan 9. They represent windows, network connections, processes, and almost anything else available in the operating...
).
In a usage referring to singular network services, a Web operating system is another name for a Webtop. These services turn the desktop into a service that runs on the Internet rather than on the local computer. As these services include a file system
File system
A file system is a means to organize data expected to be retained after a program terminates by providing procedures to store, retrieve and update data, as well as manage the available space on the device which contain it. A file system organizes data in an efficient manner and is tuned to the...
and application management system, they increasingly overlap with the functionality of a traditional desktop computer
Desktop computer
A desktop computer is a personal computer in a form intended for regular use at a single location, as opposed to a mobile laptop or portable computer. Early desktop computers are designed to lay flat on the desk, while modern towers stand upright...
operating system.
In a usage referring to desktop (or handheld) computer application environments, a Web operating system is a traditional operating system that is focused on supporting Web applications themselves, or a desktop operating system solely providing Web access. Systems like these also are known as kiosks
Kiosk software
Kiosk software is the system and user interface software designed for a kiosk or Internet kiosk. Kiosk software locks down the application in order to protect the kiosk from users. Kiosk software may offer remote monitoring to manage multiple kiosks from another location...
.
History
WebOS gained popularity in 1999 when a much touted start up, WebOS Inc. (at first known as HyperOfficeHyperoffice
HyperOffice is a privately held American corporation based in Rockville, Maryland, that offers web collaboration, online meeting, web conferencing, online database and email marketing applications to the small and mid sized business segment...
and later known as MyWebOS), was founded by Berkeley grad Shervin Pishevar and Emory
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
grad Drew Morris. WebOS licensed the WebOS technologies from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
and University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
and recruited Dr. Amin Vahdat, Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
at Duke, who had pioneered the WebOS technologies at University of California at Berkeley where he got his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
on his WebOS research. WebOS acquired WebOS.org, which was created by a young Swedish programmer, Fredrik Malmer, who had created the first online desktop environment.
Soon after, some of the top DHTML and JavaScript
JavaScript
JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
programmers in the world such as Erik Arvidsson of WebFx fame, Dan Steinman, creator of the Dynamic Duo Cross-browser DHTML API, joined WebOS. WebOS raised over $10 million in financing from Impact Venture Partners led by Adam Dell and Grotech Capital. WebOS was launched with a vision of creating the first web operating system complete with a WebOS API allowing developers to create Windows-like web applications that worked at extremely fast speeds by caching much of the code in the local browser. Arvidsson later launched Bindows, a framework very similar to the WebOS API, that does much of this and is used by many large companies and the US Military.
WebOS filed the very first WebOS patents in 1999. WebOS competed with another start up, Desktop.com
Desktop.com
Desktop.com was an Application Service Provider founded by Katie Burke, Larry Drebes, and Karen Drebes. They created a Web application compatible with the Internet Explorer 4 browser that effectively simulates a user's desktop over the World Wide Web, so that it is accessible from anywhere.A full...
, which was aimed more at the consumer market. WebOS was covered by many media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, LA Times, Power Lunch
Power Lunch
Power Lunch is a television business news program on CNBC, airing between 1:00pm and 2:00pm Eastern Time. It is presented by Tyler Mathisen, Sue Herera, and Michelle Caruso-Cabrera. Simon Hobbs will fill in on occasion. Bill Griffeth anchored the program alone from 1996 to 2002...
on CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
, Fox News and CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and helped spread the WebOS meme further. WebOS launched Hyperoffice
Hyperoffice
HyperOffice is a privately held American corporation based in Rockville, Maryland, that offers web collaboration, online meeting, web conferencing, online database and email marketing applications to the small and mid sized business segment...
, a full office suite
Office suite
In computing, an office suite, sometimes called an office software suite or productivity suite is a collection of programs intended to be used by knowledge workers...
, back in 1999.
A 2003 scientific publication was made about BolinOS, a "Web Operating System for Internet / Radiology" based on works started in 1995 by the University of Geneva
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and relates the diverse aspects of this kind of online platform, based on client and server side distribution of applications using platform independent software. Which was later adopted by Palm
Palm (PDA)
Palm handhelds were Personal Digital Assistants which ran the Palm OS. Palm devices have evolved from handhelds to smartphones which run Palm OS, WebOS, and Windows Mobile...
. Which was later bought by Hewlett Packard.(webOS)
See also
- G.ho.stG.ho.stG.ho.st was the trading name of Ghost Inc. and the service name and URL of the company's hosted computer operating system or WebOS service. Its name is an acronym of Global Hosted Operating SysTem. The old URL G.ho.st is a domain hack using the São Tomé and Príncipe .st country extension and more...
- Desktop.comDesktop.comDesktop.com was an Application Service Provider founded by Katie Burke, Larry Drebes, and Karen Drebes. They created a Web application compatible with the Internet Explorer 4 browser that effectively simulates a user's desktop over the World Wide Web, so that it is accessible from anywhere.A full...
- World Wide WebWorld Wide WebThe World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
- Web 2.0Web 2.0The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
- Online office suite
- MetacomputingMetacomputingMetacomputing is all computing and computing-oriented activity which involves computing knowledge utilized for the research, development and application of different types of computing. It may also deal with numerous types of computing applications, such as: industry, business, management and...
- Distributed computingDistributed computingDistributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...
- Interactive computationInteractive computationIn computer science, interactive computation is a mathematical model for computation that involves communication with the external world during the computation...
- Web desktopWeb desktopA web desktop or webtop is a desktop environment embedded in a web browser or similar client application. A webtop integrates web applications, web services, client–server applications, application servers, and applications on the local client into a desktop environment using the desktop metaphor...
- Universal spaceUniversal spaceThe term Universal space was established in Computer Science the mid 1960's by John Holland. It refers to a singular system of representation or communication, "as the spaces used in physics to study its various mechanics", to enable our focus on the information processing performed by the active...
- Cloud ComputingCloud computingCloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....