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please see workspot.

Cheers.

Kilgore T.

Does anyone beyond me remember Workspot?

(From )
        Workspot ?

Workspot gives you a Linux desktop outside your network, from which you can browse, ftp, or ssh. It lets you form a kind of instant VPN. It lets you share a desktop and applications, real-time, with someone on the other side of the globe, or with many people simultaneously. It lets you cut and paste across platforms. It's an invaluable tool.

Yours computationally,
Kilgore Trout

Linux fans might want to check out this online OS:

http://www.workspot.com/

It's a full version of RedHat 8 that you can access through a Java applet!

There is a qualitative difference between Unix-like systems and Windows on the issues I mentioned. Details are below...

1. 1. Boot without a GUI.

   That's too easy. Ever heard of the Recovery Console?

Not counting GUI intensive applications, Windows does not work completely when the Recovery Console is enabled. Except for limited functions, Windows is crippled without a GUI and most programs (utility, server, and applications) require a GUI for proper functioning or for configuration at a minimum.

Unix/Linux/BSD/... don't need a local display or graphics at all. If you want to run without a graphics card, you can and either skip graphics or export the display buffer to another computer. Most server apps can be monitored remotely and can use either a shell or web page for control.

1. 1. Change libraries that are currently in use while the system is running.

   That is impossible. Even to the extent that it is possible on Windows (you can do it if you try hard enough), it's a very bad idea. If a process doesn't load all of its libraries at startup, you can end up with mismatched binaries. That's a great recipe for data loss and other really bad things.

Windows locks files on use. Unix/Linux/BSD/... use inodes to allow different processes to see the file system in a different way. (Search for inodes if this sounds interesting to you.)

For example, if I'm editing file 'index.html' in one program I can delete it in another program. The editor neither cares nor knows that the file has been deleted...because to the editor index.html has not been deleted! You can even download files in one program and while the file is being transfered move it to another directory.

I regularly replace system libraries, application libraries, whole applications, the GUI and system tools and the kernel while using the system. Rarely is it an issue, though with the kernel if the whole thing has been replaced, a reboot is required to enable any new program to use it. If only a module is added or removed, no reboot is needed is usually required.

For example, if I update the desktop (KDE or Gnome) or the graphics subsystem (X), I usually don't bother shutting anything down or logging off right away. After a few hours *if* I encounter any oddities (say, when opening up a new application) I might be annoyed enough to log out and log back in to correct the problem...though it's such a trivial thing that I usually don't bother till I notice a few graphical glitches. The same can be done with a running server process...because the upgrades understand how to handle a running process safely and they do the right thing such as restarting the service after the files have been updated.

1. 1. So, given any hardware you wish, how many different and unique users can use 1 NT 3.x or 4.x system at the same time?

   I believe only one GUI session can be active at a time, but processes from any number of users can be running. (in fact, you can have processes running as different users on the same GUI session, but I would assume that's the same "physical user") You can play solitaire on a web server. Presumably not as the same user. I'm not the OP, and I don't really know much about this, so I'm not really gonna try to defend it properly.

No problem.

Unix/... supports as many users at the same time as both system resources and the configuration allows. By default, pressing Ctrl-Alt-F1/F2/... switched virtual terminals on Linux. Each one can allow a different user to login. Running nested X allows you to login as another user in another X session. Logging in remotely to a Unix system allows you to view the system as if it were your local one. It is all built in and depends only on if it is enabled or disabled in the configuration -- no special server software like terminal services is required.

Take a look here for one example of this.

I seem to recall there are already web-based office suites available - Hyperoffice comes to mind as one...

Microsoft announced they were going to provide Office through the Internet back in 1999 . I think it was called "Microsoft Office Online", but MS seems to have decided to use that name for a simple homepage about Office. I actually recall inadvertently running into a web page that was a web-based version of Outlook that ran through Internet Explorer years ago. It was sluggish, using DHTML for the GUI, although it looked identical to the desktop version.

I think Microsoft was doing this as a response to websites like HyperOffice that were cropping up at the time. I remember these sites were referred to as "Application Service Providers", although the definition of that term seems to have changed. I recall several but the sites don't seem to be up anymore. They were websites that provided a window manager within a browser. One was Desktop.com and another was Blox.com. Yahoo has a list of web-based desktop sites. There are some like GraphOn.com and WorkSpot.com that allow you to run remote desktops of actual operating systems through the web. WorkSpot seems sluggish, but Linux users might find it interesting to be able to access a Linux desktop through a Java Applet. There is a demo page that lets you try it out for 10 minutes.

Remember Workspot?

Debian GNU/Linux powers eBay's wireless application server . . . just another example that companies really need Linux.

Ha!

The GNU/Linux Desktop Service once provided by
Workspot?

Thank you and have a nice weekend.

there's a mirror located here

(only it's /.'d as well!)

Heh, I tried to preview my comment by actually running the applet recursively, but the site was too plugged up. I'll try again later, this will be really demented :-)

Now this is a stunt that's only practical with Java. Oh by the way, after you've played with Nautilus you'll see why Microsoft id doomed.
--

Could someone take a stab at comparing and contrasting this effort with what WorkSpot is offering?

We need to make sure any poor saps who are stuck with such a system are aware of things like Workspot and Linux4Windows (see your friendly neighborhood Mandrake distribution for details), then.

I also got an account a couple days ago (before the massive crowds hit!)

Please check out my review which I have posted here.

AC

Uh. Pretty lame. No technical detail. Deep questions like "What does Bill Gates think of this?". I want to try the service but sheesh.

r/

Dave

Uh. Pretty lame. No technical detail. Deep questions like "What does Bill Gates think of this?". I want to try the service but sheesh.

r/

Dave

I'm sure lots of companies are considering using Linux for ASP now, I wonder if Marc Andreessen's new company, Loudcloud, will be using it. Other than those efforts that we don't know about yet, there are already a couple of companies that offer Linux desktops that you can use on the Web-a "personal ASP" a la Desktop.com. You might want to check out WorkSpot, which allows you to have your own Linux desktop via VNC-they will offer various productivity sofware, so I guess that makes it an example of ASP with Linux.

Seems like public knowledge to me.