Point studios

Web2.0 category

Integrated platform as I see it

Mayank proposed a question "Is Integrated Platform Web 3.0?", on his post he described integrated platform and how cool it is, here is part of it

I mean if I am using an application like latest news on my igoogle homepage, I shall be able to pull it out and place it on my desktop. I would surely like those apps that I use daily to be on my desktop working when I boot up my machine. Also, if I do some work on my computer and want it to be accessible from anywhere else, then I generally use email to save it over the wev. Now, what would be cool is that if I save that file on my desktop, then it automatically gets synched with a database on web and thus becomes accesible from anywhere. Thus, difference between storing one's file on desktop and storing it on web is blurred.

Mayank - Is Integrated Platform Web 3.0?

He also mentioned an approach towards it which is prism from Mozilla Labs, which is a great approach, it could convert your web apps like Facebook for example to a separate application with it's own shortcut on the desktop and no browser bordering it.

That's cute this really is the future of the web but I was thinking, why don't operating systems themselves integrate web apps in there systems just like desktop apps? why don't they show them just as desktop apps, just as you explore your hard disk to click on anything.exe or anything.app (for Apple users) we should explore the web just like our hard disks and click on anything.php (or maybe a new extension is created for this issue ".web" for example) and this application open just like any desktop application free of browser borders and has it's own icon, this truly maybe web 3.0

It's weird yesterday, we was impressed that web apps are replacing desktop apps in their functionalities, today we want web apps to really replace desktop apps in there place and get out of browsers borders.

Maybe Apple or Microsoft need to apply this quickly before OS's themselves become web apps.

October 28, 2007, 2:16 AM Comments 0 TrackBack 0

Google calender

With collaboration of Doglas Bowman Google has designed it's new Calendar app, it's still beta but it's really great, go give it a try.

April 13, 2006, 6:53 PM Comments 0 TrackBack 0

Web OS

On November 26, 2005 I posted a post named Browsers replacing desktops here is part of it

I heard long time ago from some technologist that browsers are going to replace computer desktops and I keep thinking when will that happened. Now after this new state of mind called Web 2.0 I think it is happening now and happening very quickly.

I wrote about netvibes, meebo and some web apps that bring us closer to the time were browsers totally replaces desktops.

Now we are even closer as there is two serious tries of developing a full web based operating system were you can access all your data and apps all through one interface just like your Windows or Mac OS interface, ofcourse they are both still beta but I think they are a strong core of a real web based OS

First there is Goowy from it's interface you can check email, write email, manage your calendar and much more.

Second there is eyeOS an open source free OS you could access it through the web or it could be installed on a server of a company or a school for example, I see eyeOS better than Goowy as eyeOS provide an API so that any developer can develop new apps for the platform and because it depends more on the windows style that you can open more than one window in the same time and you can minimize windows, but the bad thing about it that every time you click a link the whole page has to refresh, its true that they succeeded to make a light weight page but it was still going to be great to use AJAX to call and hide windows.

imagine opening any computer in the world to find your same interface, apps, data how powerful will it be as more people are switching to broadband doing the daily actions on a Web OS will be more logical but for heavy apps like photoshop, dreamweaver etc.. I think we will still need a desktop based OS for them.

I bet Google will buy one of those projects soon.

March 12, 2006, 7:03 AM Comments 0 TrackBack 0

"Web 2.0 Show" interview with Jason Fried

Web 2.0 show interviewed Jason Fried the owner of 37 Signals about his different vision of some aspects that let 37 Signals an inspiration to all of us and a leader of Web 2.0 move, he kind of denied it but definitely it is.

They discussed some of his thoughts and opinions that is mainly found on 37 Signals blog Signal vs. Noise like the less is more vision and there way of developing web apps by designing it's interface before coding the backend and how ridiculous is beta releases. I can't agree more. any way the incredible success of 37 Signals in such a short time prove the brilliance of his visions.

It's about 45 minutes interview you gotta listen to it.

January 17, 2006, 2:55 PM Comments 1 TrackBack 0

The power of the web

I always thought about how powerful is this World Wide Web, How quickly and accurately can a person reach information on the web, I got a UK friend who was traveling to Tanzania, and he was depressed that his job force him to go there, in a minute I cheer him up by some flickr photos about Tanzania, some information through Wikipedia & ofcourse it's satellite pictures through Google maps ofcourse he started from this point and started zooming in every place seeking cool places to visit.

One of the technologies that let you benefit from this power too is RSS, if you got Safari try opening this news menu click on "View All RSS Articles" and you view all news articles from 8 of the most well known news agencies in one window, now you can fill this "Search Articles" input area with any word you want, and boom it will filter all the articles and leave the articles that contains this word only. I know this is not a new technology and some of my readers might know that but a lot of my readers also don't know about that, and even who knows may still don't realize how powerful it is.

The web is powerful also in connecting people together in various ways, me and Rida Al Barazi have been using Basecamp for managing FRESH PX which we will release soon by the way. and I can't tell you how this app help us and how it is easy and pleasure to use.

Even Google search engine is a powerful tool if you know how to use it well, and Technorati as well, were you can search most of the web blogs around the world through it.

Those are all signs of the power of the web but what I wanted to focus on today is Wikipedia, for those of you who don't know Wikipedia, it's a free encyclopedia that any one can edit, imagine that this encyclopedia can be fed by any person in the world who has something to add to it, how powerful is this encyclopedia and how big it is and even how updated it is. The new thing that I wanted to mention today that it is also reliable, it is even as accurate as the encyclopedia Britannica, Read this BBC news.

This World Wide Web is gonna let every ones life easier and will help everybody to achieve their goals, but unfortunately not every body in my local community know enough about the web so I hope this post encourage them to start, checking it out.

December 16, 2005, 3:15 AM Comments 2 TrackBack 0

DON'T LET ME WAIT, USE AJAX

By the transition of web sites to web applications, user experience becomes more complicated, and caring for user experience becomes more important. While thinking about user experience you have to put yourself in the user shoes and see what he likes and what he hates, if you ask me one of the first things I hate after miss-usability Which is the DON'T LET ME THINK part, is slow speed this problem is becoming more in web apps than in web sites.

The problem

The problem is waiting for every user request to go to the server and back with a different page. In web apps it isn't about hyperlinks any more it's about relatively complicated functionalities, let's take Flickr as an example, you got this photo you can rename, add description & add tags to it. What if every single request of those want you to wait for it to go ask the server what do you think should we do this request to the user and the server reply oh well maybe after I take a nap and they keep chatting while you are shouting Hey request I'm waiting here, will I wait every time like this?.

A bad user experience is an anti-marketing for your project first of all a user will never come back to you, then he will never recommend you and he may even warn others from you.

The solution

AJAX AJAX AJAX

Yes this is it, by placing an Ajax engine between the user and the server, and boom it's solved no more waiting, read more about how it works.

Ofcourse it is not yet supported by all browsers and there have to be alternatives for browsers that blocks javascript, but it's still a big jump towards better user experience.

Check out some Ajaxed web apps.

Is it part of Web 2.0?

I believe it's not part of Web 2.0 concepts, but many web 2.0 apps couldn't exist without it, How is that?

Let's take Ta-da List as a simple example, Ta-da List is a simple app for online to-do lists imagine if it was not based on Ajax how slow would it be, a user should have to wait every time he check a box or add an item or reorder or rename, that users will prefer to do it offline rather than waiting. But Ajax is the reason this app exists.

So Ajax is not a part of Web 2.0 but it delivers the better experience that's required for Web 2.0 to exist.

November 29, 2005, 6:12 PM Comments 1 TrackBack 0

Browsers replacing desktops

We are facing a crazy period of Web 2.0 killer apps, every one week 2 or 3 new very cool apps are announced, some of them are bought by Google, some are bought by Yahoo and the rest kept to their owners, I like to mention some of the very cool web 2.0 apps I discovered through those few last weeks.

Netvibes.com is one of those apps that collect all your data in one interface were you can record a note and keep your bookmarks, reed all your feeds and even take a look on a flickr feed all in one flexible customizable interface.

Backpack another app from 37 signals The creators of Ruby on Rails framework With David Heinemeier Hansson and one of the companies that acted quickly and filled the web with great useful Web 2.0 apps. After the success of Basecamp which is the perfect solution for project management over the web, they done it again this time on the personal level by introducing Backpack which make it very easy to organize your life by setting to-do lists, notes & much more.

meebo is an in-browser IM client for AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber, Gtalk & MSN.

The best benefit from this bunch of Web 2.0 apps is what Andy Budd call it device independency, the ability to work on your PC then use any other PC in any other place and open your same netvibes page and keep track of your projects progress through Basecamp, check your personal to-do list on Backpack while connected to all your IM accounts through meebo.

I heard long time ago from some technologist that browsers are going to replace computer desktops and I keep thinking when will that happened. Now after this new state of mind called Web 2.0 I think it is happening now and happening very quickly.

November 26, 2005, 1:07 AM Comments 0 TrackBack 0

d.Construct results

d.construct held on 11 of November I hope most of you followed the live updates, it was really a great conference I personally learned alot from it.

First of all Andy's presentation titled What is Web 2.0? was great, the community needed a presentation like this long time ago there was alot of thoughts going around including mine, but this presentation document those thoughts in a simple understandable points that I think every body agree on.

Stuart's presentation about DOM scripting and Ajax was also very useful explains how DOM can make richer user experiences and that Ajax reduce the waiting time which also leads to a better experience

Tom Hume Presentation Web everywhere? was a new topic to me but it was very interesting it contains valuable information about mobile phones popularity and how it is the device of the century, letting you really believe that it is the future of the internet, and start thinking how the web will be few years later.

Thanks to all of you guys who work to make the web a better place and special thanks to Andy Budd who hosted the conference and to attendees who live blog the conference Paul Boag, Zach Inglis & Tim Beadle.

Don't forget to see the presentations

November 13, 2005, 2:21 PM Comments 0 TrackBack 0

Web 2.0 buzzword

A lot of miss understanding around what web 2.0 means, Web 2.0 as I understand it is not a technology like AJAX or Ruby on Rails, web 2.0 is a new platform new way of thinking of the web from different perspectives, Thinking of the web from more personal & social perspectives, increasing the connectivity between individuals around the web.

A blog for example is a personal web site based on a CMS that make it easy for none advanced users to share their thoughts and ideas over the web and get comments on them like this blog.

Folks like Six Apart make it easy by introducing a cheap, customizable & easy to use CMS like Movable type & even easier to use CMS which is TypePad, Blogging get even easier by Blogger were you could build a perfect blog by an easy 3 steps process it's free and easy to use enabling any one to start blogging.

By this new thinking of the web even business become a lot easier by Basecamp for example which is a great platform for managing projects make it alot easier for teams to work together over the web.

Web 2.0 even enter the fun field through Flickr were you could share your photos and see others photos in a perfectly integrated system.

So connecting individual people with each others is what web 2.0 all about.

October 22, 2005, 6:14 PM Comments 0

Web 2.0 Revolution

People used to use the web as a source of information they used to read about news on CNN.com, about graphics issues on Adobe or Macromedia or about Apple news on Apple. But every thing is rapidly changing now, people want to write as well as they read they want to share their opinions and thoughts for the world to read it and comment it.

Content on the web now is dramatically increasing making it really difficult to track all the web sites that provide the kind of information you need, the solution is Web 2.0 which is forcing itself on the web.

Web 2.0 is a new way of thinking of the web that put the content at the first priority in which web content is broken up to "microcontent" units that can be redistributed by technologies like RSS, to make it easy on a reader to get all the content he want in one place.

Aggregators & remixing tools:

RSS is a really powerful technology, you could view an RSS feed of a web site which is a list of the recent news published on a specific web site in a light weight XML format, each entry published called a feed, you could specify the date range to see feeds published in this range of time you could sort feeds by Date, title, source, you could search through feeds on a specific word which will filter the feeds to let the feeds that contains this word only. The best part is that you could merge more than one web site feeds in the same window and run the same functions on them. Imagine the power of this it's incredible.

Technorati is a tool for keeping track of what's new on what they call the blogsphere which is the world of blogs, you can search all technorati claimed blogs which are 16.9 million right now about a specific word like katrina for example and you will see all blog posts that contains the world katrina.

This revolution is not regarding text content only but regarding photos as well, flickr is a great tool for sharing photos that has a lot of new fantastic functionalities, check my photos on flickr.

Del.icio.us is a tool for organizing and sharing bookmarks, check my del.ico.us bookmarks.

Fun, Friendly & Easy to use web