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I haven't tried it myself, but stumbled on it few years ago.
Ulteo (download links) should provide you with seamless application integration regardless of the platform.
Downside: the webclient is java based

http://www.ulteo.com/home/ is a simple drop in replacement for citrix.

Run real Linux apps...

Install it at home, too...

Use Ulteo. Check it out for yourself.

There are things you can do to increase OO.o 2.0's performance. 3.0 runs like a champ. and for those that say OO.o doesn't run in a browser..I present to you: http://www.ulteo.com/home/en/home?autolang=en

I, personally, would be THRILLED, if I could sit down at any broadband-connected PC in the world and get the same desktop and files that I have at home. I've played with Ulteo, and it is close - but clearly needs some time and manpower thrown at it. If there was a mature, polished version of Ulteo that could do what other OSs can do, I'd probably be willing to give up my Macs as well as my Windows/Ubuntu machine.

Can MS pull it off? I doubt it, but I'm glad that they are trying.

Actually, sounds like Ulteo. I've played with Ulteo and it is pretty close, and technically MS should be able to throw enough people behind something like it.

I'm not affiliated with these guys:
http://www.ulteo.com/

You have 1GB of storage with the free account and can use OO.org as a webservice. They also have a "Virtual Desktop" which is a stripped-down KDE environment with OO in Windows thanks to CoLinux.

I tried it out and found the Virtual Desktop fairly impressive- the sort of thing that Joe Schmoe can use well; but unfortunately adding programs to it is a hassle which makes it unsuitable for my (admittedly fairly specific) needs. Their "online desktop" has other apps besides just OO.org- I think it's just the exact same set of applications that are available in the Virtual Desktop.
Some of you may be interested in trying it out.

I'm going to have to look into their "application balls" -- the applications I have now are all effete and neutered.

Their application balls just don't appeal to me. Personally, their system tray vagina sounds like something I'd prefer, even if it's not all that pretty.

That sir, is the most disturbing thing I've heard today. My hat is off to you.

Tough act to follow, but my first thought (after I'd recovered the errant coffee all over my moneitor) was:

"But it's virtualized, so isn't it more like a system tray fleshlight than a system tray vagina?"

I'm not sure what's more disturbing. The thought itself, or the fact that I actually thought that. Oh well. Might as well share my pain with the rest of y'all.

I thought you were making a joke about all the great linux games that could be run on Windows using this software.

(there is OS virtualization going on though http://www.ulteo.com/home/en/virtualdesktop?autolang=en )

I'm going to have to look into their "application balls" -- the applications I have now are all effete and neutered.

How long before systems built around concepts like OpenOffice.org Online become serious competition to Google Apps? I'd think this would be more the way to go for many businesses, as such a platform would grant them more direct control over the application environment and permit easier development of in-house extensions.

For those who want the link... http://www.ulteo.com/home/en/ooo?autolang=en

So you're saying a multi user version of Windws Terminal Server is free now? Where do I sign up?

And WTF is with not posting a link to the actual app in the summary - http://www.ulteo.com/home/connectme

Nor the arstechnica article, nor the slashdot entry has a link to Online OpenOffice, so I am posting it here: oOOo.

Maybe we should instruct journalists that linking to external pages won't hurt they business and is actually the building block of the www.

Since neither the article or the summary provide links:

The company:http://www.ulteo.com/
Online OOO:http://www.ulteo.com/home/ooo

And if you dont want to register just to see it. Bug me not works for now.

Since neither the article or the summary provide links:

The company:http://www.ulteo.com/
Online OOO:http://www.ulteo.com/home/ooo

And if you dont want to register just to see it. Bug me not works for now.

Whatever happened to linking straight to the source instead of someone's lame blog? http://www.ulteo.com/main/

Go on, try to quickly navigate the submenus of their site here.

Make me feel bitter about their "easiest linux ever" statement, especially the part about "easiest".

Personally, I don't think many (if any) of us on /. are good judges of "easy to use" on computers. We're too involved in the technical end and know too much to judge what would be easy for someone without a lot of experience.

I agree. Also, it is difficult for anybody (including usability experts) to judge anything from a static screenshot, even if you can already have some hints by looking at the crowded menus or at the buttons available in the applications. It would be easier to comment on a movie (screencast). Or just by trying it or watching other users try it.

I have serious doubts about the usability of Ulteo when I look at the navigation on their web site. Just try accessing the items in the second-level menu bar and you should see the problem quickly: if you do not move your mouse exactly as the site designer expected, you will have a hard time selecting the item that you want. As an exercise, try selecting UlteOS/Screenshots or Docs/Documentation and see how frustrating it can be if you move your mouse a bit too far up or down. And this site is supposed to promote the "easiest Linux"?

Also, the only screenshot available so far does not look like something that would be really easy to use.

There are more screenshots available on Go2Linux, describing the installation steps. It is not a surprise that it is almost identical to the current GTK+ Ubuntu installer, except for the Ulteo logo. Also, the initial boot screen has been changed to look a bit more similar to the SUSE boot splash (with the blue curves) but otherwise this is very similar to the current Ubuntu installation steps.

this screenshot looks a bit closer to the default Windows XP interface, so maybe he does really think that "easiest" means "easiest for experienced Windows users"

Indeed, this seems to be the case. I do not see anything in this distribution that would convince an average user to switch to it instead of using Ubuntu (or Kubuntu for those who prefer KDE).

The article summary is slightly incorrect: Ulteo is based on Kubuntu, not on Ubuntu. This means that it used KDE instead of GNOME as its default desktop environment.

This is not a surprise, considering that Gael Duval is a big fan of KDE and started Mandrake by adding KDE packages to a base Red Hat distribution. But this announcement of a new Linux distribution started as a fork of an existing one sounds a bit like an ego fight. Also, I have serious doubts about using KDE for the "World's Easiest Linux". Either Gael Duval plans to dumb down KDE and hide most of its options, or his definition of "easiest" is rather biased (maybe "easiest for those with a solid experience of Windows"?). Neither seems to be obvious by looking at the Ulteo web site.

Also, the only screenshot available so far does not look like something that would be really easy to use. Compared to a default KDE 3.5 installation, this screenshot looks a bit closer to the default Windows XP interface, so maybe he does really think that "easiest" means "easiest for experienced Windows users". However, Firefox looks rather standard (it is interesting to note that he does not use Konq for browsing) and there does not seem to be anything special about the Konqueror window either.

So after looking at the various articles on the Ulteo web site claiming that it started with a study of "users with limited knowledge in computers", I am still wondering what is so special about this new fork of an existing distribution, and what it really means by "easiest".

The article summary is slightly incorrect: Ulteo is based on Kubuntu, not on Ubuntu. This means that it used KDE instead of GNOME as its default desktop environment.

This is not a surprise, considering that Gael Duval is a big fan of KDE and started Mandrake by adding KDE packages to a base Red Hat distribution. But this announcement of a new Linux distribution started as a fork of an existing one sounds a bit like an ego fight. Also, I have serious doubts about using KDE for the "World's Easiest Linux". Either Gael Duval plans to dumb down KDE and hide most of its options, or his definition of "easiest" is rather biased (maybe "easiest for those with a solid experience of Windows"?). Neither seems to be obvious by looking at the Ulteo web site.

Also, the only screenshot available so far does not look like something that would be really easy to use. Compared to a default KDE 3.5 installation, this screenshot looks a bit closer to the default Windows XP interface, so maybe he does really think that "easiest" means "easiest for experienced Windows users". However, Firefox looks rather standard (it is interesting to note that he does not use Konq for browsing) and there does not seem to be anything special about the Konqueror window either.

So after looking at the various articles on the Ulteo web site claiming that it started with a study of "users with limited knowledge in computers", I am still wondering what is so special about this new fork of an existing distribution, and what it really means by "easiest".

1- always provide the most up to date stable features and self-upgrade automatically
2- require no, or very little, administration by the user
3- open users horizon to potentially every application which exists, the simple way

For this release of Ulteo Sirius Alpha1, we have focused on the first point. This means that after the first installation, Ulteo will try to check for any new versions available if a network connection is available, and self-upgrade by using an incremental upgrade mechanism.

1- always provide the most up to date stable features and self-upgrade automatically
2- require no, or very little, administration by the user
3- open users horizon to potentially every application which exists, the simple way

For this release of Ulteo Sirius Alpha1, we have focused on the first point. This means that after the first installation, Ulteo will try to check for any new versions available if a network connection is available, and self-upgrade by using an incremental upgrade mechanism.

1- always provide the most up to date stable features and self-upgrade automatically
2- require no, or very little, administration by the user
3- open users horizon to potentially every application which exists, the simple way

For this release of Ulteo Sirius Alpha1, we have focused on the first point. This means that after the first installation, Ulteo will try to check for any new versions available if a network connection is available, and self-upgrade by using an incremental upgrade mechanism.

By the time their final release is ready we will have Ulteo to play with. http://www.ulteo.com/main/

There has been quite of buzz and speculation on ulteo.org and #ulteo (freenode.com) about the new OS project "Ulteo" http://www.ulteo.com/ started by Mandrake Linux creator Gaël Duval.

As far as I have understood, Ulteo could be strongly related to Internet, so may be an Internet OS.

I'll check the website often in the coming weeks...

It seems that Gaël has started to work on a mysterious new OSS OS project called Ulteo

Duval's future plans -- in addition to the lawsuit -- involve a new open source project called Ulteo.

Ulteo seem to have ripped off Mozilla.org's web design. They even use the same class names. If you view their stylesheets, you'll see:

/* mozilla.org Base Styles
* maintained by fantasai
* (classes defined in the Markup Guide - http://mozilla.org/contribute/writing/markup )
*/

If you read the Mozilla.org site licensing policies, you'll see:

The rights in the trademarks, logos, service marks of the Mozilla Foundation, as well as the look and feel of this web site, are not licensed under the Creative Commons license, and to the extent they are works of authorship (like logos and graphic design), they are not included in the work that is licensed under those terms.

Seems to me that Mozilla.org want their text copied, but not their site design, which is the exact opposite of what Ulteo have done.

Duval's future plans -- in addition to the lawsuit -- involve a new open source project called Ulteo.

Ulteo seem to have ripped off Mozilla.org's web design. They even use the same class names. If you view their stylesheets, you'll see:

/* mozilla.org Base Styles
* maintained by fantasai
* (classes defined in the Markup Guide - http://mozilla.org/contribute/writing/markup )
*/

If you read the Mozilla.org site licensing policies, you'll see:

The rights in the trademarks, logos, service marks of the Mozilla Foundation, as well as the look and feel of this web site, are not licensed under the Creative Commons license, and to the extent they are works of authorship (like logos and graphic design), they are not included in the work that is licensed under those terms.

Seems to me that Mozilla.org want their text copied, but not their site design, which is the exact opposite of what Ulteo have done.

Duval's future plans -- in addition to the lawsuit -- involve a new open source project called Ulteo.

Ulteo seem to have ripped off Mozilla.org's web design. They even use the same class names. If you view their stylesheets, you'll see:

/* mozilla.org Base Styles
* maintained by fantasai
* (classes defined in the Markup Guide - http://mozilla.org/contribute/writing/markup )
*/

If you read the Mozilla.org site licensing policies, you'll see:

The rights in the trademarks, logos, service marks of the Mozilla Foundation, as well as the look and feel of this web site, are not licensed under the Creative Commons license, and to the extent they are works of authorship (like logos and graphic design), they are not included in the work that is licensed under those terms.

Seems to me that Mozilla.org want their text copied, but not their site design, which is the exact opposite of what Ulteo have done.