I was reminded today of an article I had read a while back about a browser-based operating system called eyeOS. The basic idea is that you can log into your eyeOS account and have access to your files from wherever you are. At first thought, it sounds like a file host , but it's so much more. It's actually an operating system, complete with programs, folders, a desktop, etc. You can either use the international server, or host your own. I installed it (with a quick install of Apache and PHP) on my laptop and I'm up and running. What I haven't figured out yet is how to use my documents, music, pictures, etc on my hard drive without copying all those files into the eyeOS directory structure. But once I have that nailed down, I will be able to log into my laptop from wherever I am and have access to all my files.
The idea is not necessarily new; all these functions can be done using various other gateways. There are plenty of remote desktop solutions, but this being browser-based (and Flash-based inside of that), it's fast, uses no more processor or memory than a web page, and doesn't require any kind of installation for a client. Even the server install only took about 10 minutes (and that's because I had to install Apache and PHP and forward port 80) and a tiny amount of space (the install file is less than 7 megabytes). To top it off, it's free and open source. There is huge potential in this, especially in the world of Web 2.0.
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