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Workspot Offers Free Web-based Linux Accounts
medicthree writes, "Workspot is offering free Linux accounts to anyone who wants one. These accounts are accessible through a normal Web browser, and let anyone install and run whatever (free) software they want to on the accounts. KDE is the window-manager (as I'm still on the waiting list I'm not sure if this can be changed). The system lets one keep up to two different desktops alive 'infinitely,' and they plan on charging later for additional features (more desktops, renting 'high-end' software to use on your account, more disk space, more CPU usage, etc.) One of [Workspot's] angles is that the system lets people 'try' Linux without installing anything on their actual computers. "
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
cypherpunk/cypherpunk is already set up. Makes me wonder about some of you people =)
And the current versions of the GIMP don't?
While I really like the gimp (and it's windows version), I really feel that photoshop feels much more polished and crashed far less. The gimp does have some innovative features though (like the scripting interface). Cheers
I am writing this from my new free account on lastfoot.net
I have used linux for quite some time on my desktop machine, yet have never had access to a net connection. This is my first taste of networked linux and it is great, even if a bit slow by the remote access. This only makes me crave a fully suped up linux box, net connection and all, even more.
I look forward to the day...
How would one replicate this on their own box? They have already given out their modifications to VNC java code, only thing you'd need now is a linux box to run apache and vnc server on.. Does the login script simply sudo to user and launch a vnc server? If so, do they randomly pick a port to run it on or what? It doesn't seem to be overly complicated thing to do; You could really do this to any of your linux boxes and have nice remote gui access to them when you're at work, etc.
Screenshots? Nice try, but not my idea of a demo...
I usually don't comment on moderation, but the comment this is parented to is really a troll, and should be moderated down as such
there is a vnc server for winnt (not sure about 2k) that can let you do exactly that.
good job! thats what we need, to insult our linux bretheren! keep up the good work! you do of course realise that linux was writen largely by the people who write "dwarf", and that the only thing it was missing was the kernel? that linus has really only been a poster boy who steals the credit from people like richard stallman? and that linus didn't even write all of the kernel, infact he wrote a unix emulator for his home computer, he didn't even write the OS like everybody seems to think, and that we have the people who back and write gnome to thank for this? http://www.gnu.org read this and i hope you choke.
I think a big turn off for Non-linux users is
the installation, which this bypasses.
V. cool.
*golf clap*
Yeh man ! "I haven't ever tried Linux, what's it like ?" "Here play around on my account for a while, http://blah.com/log.cgi?, it's running XMMS and Gimp atm" Pretty neat, you could get a Photoshop user to try Gimp for example ! - Mleko
VNC works through a web browser.
Where is the point? Sure it's great if you're travelling a lot and all that, but hey.
Just install Linux and off you go. That's it. It's a hell of a lot faster too.
If you're worried about not being able to run Windows apps or something or are unsure about partitioning, then get a second computer or another harddisk.
I would like to see a free & open system such as LiVE at every ISP. Since cost could be very close to $0.00 for the ISP, & it drives demand for bandwidth, ISP's could ramp up on this very quickly.
Since you are 1 or 2 hops away from your linux machine "on the net", performance should be ok except for high performance graphics (that will have to wait until we get fiber to the home!).
Heh, word processors and other crap like that are cool for biz types, but I like to write code. Can I write C code and compile it with this "free account"? If so, I AM IN LOVE!
Yeah... one reason I went back to Unix was that netpbm did antialiasing, and nothing I had on Winduhs would. (Yeah, that dumb ol' commandline-based utility outdid the fancyass GUIfied stuff... plus netpbm had much better GIF compression, although that's likely a patent issue.) If that situation has changed, it's only High Fucking Time. Another shiny example of the "leadership" and "innovation" endemic of Winduhs software.
Easy, simple steps -- yes, even you could do it:-
1. Moderate DOWN all posts questioning or saying negative things about Open Source, no matter how reasonable or accurate they may be.
2. Moderate UP all pro Open Source posts, no matter how stupid or inaccurate.
3. Moderate UP all posts from people saying nice things about VA Linux/Andover/Malda.
4. Watch VA/Andover/Slashdot stock $$$$ rise
and have a really good laugh at all those suckers who let them get away with it.
I've always used mindterm when i'm not at home and if I really need to I can login through sshvnc.
This i'snt new or anything special.
Psycot|X forgot his password
It uses a modified VNC Java client (Source available at www.workspot.org) to connect up to your "desktop". It allows outbound SSH to other systems, but inbound doesn't appear to be allowed. I tried plain password authentication, but apparently my acutal linux password is different than my workspot.com password. I'll try uploading an authorized_keys for some RSA authentication later.
/dev/hda. Home filesystems are remotely mounted.
I haven't really needed that because I'm more interested in being able to use this as access to my desktop from anybody's web browser. Anyway, the system works rather well for using VNC. It's not really sluggish at all and I have enjoyed using it.
The actual hardware you connect up to appears to be some Pentium III boxes running at 450Mhz with 256 Megs of RAM with a 12gig
Now I just need to set one of these up to my own linux box at home and I'll be really set.
I don't know what the backlog on accounts is currently at, but if anyone has questions, I'll be happy to test them out on the system.
I really wonder how slashdot picks submissions. I posted this well over a week ago, and now it shows up a week later accrediting someone else. Interesting. It amazing me why VA Linux would pay 1Billion for Slashdot (Yes, Slashdot, thats all the Andover.Net holds that is worth something. May Freshmeat.)
Jeff Knox
The windows port is pretty much like the linux version. I must admit I love that theres a windows verison because after spending so much time in gimp and then trying to go and use photoshop I have to readapt ause IM use to all my little tricks in the gimp so its nice to have a awsome cross platform program
but this (workspot.com) requires no d/l (at least not yet), making it more useful [for me].
and w/ more powerful apps included (not just a notebook or calendar or whatever), I could see getting some real work done (given bandwidth). I can't wait to investigate this a bit further ;)
You could also have them try the
Windows port of GIMP. I've used it a bit, and while I can't compare it to the native Linux version of GIMP, I can say I like it much better than Photoshop.
Missed a platform that can run VNC client: PalmOS(!). Yes, you have to do a bit of scrolling on a 160x160 (I think it's 150x150 actual usuable area - rest is scrollbars etc) screen, but you can run the client on it (Don't know how long it would be before you give up on a B&W/16grey screen [unsure if color version out yet]).
have they been /.ed already?? Has anybody been able to create an account here?
I've tried the GIMP on the same machine that I use Photoshop, a Yosemite G3 PowerMac. The Gimp is very good, for a free application. But it's a loooong way to go before you can even approach the feature set of Photoshop. At Linuxworld NY, I ran into an old Amiga name now apparantly reincarnated into the Linux world... Photogenics . If this, or ImageFX makes it's way into PPC Linux, they'd both fly onto my desktop in an instant. I'm not sure I'd give up Photoshop for even these two, but I'd rather have a couple of more tools than I need than one less.
href='http://url' is not legal HTML. Check the spec. Netscape and Exploder may interpret a lot of near-but-not-quite HTML, but that doesn't make such code correct.
Something really bizarre happened to your URL there. You did of course Preview and check it before posting ... ? :-)
In any case, I know it's easy to install an ssh client in your Workspot workspace, because it's just like doing it on any other Unix. What I wanted to know is whether the machines come with the ssh server installed - which a user can't do for themselves at all.
I've been using Workspot for almost 3 months now, and its great.
/nutt
As a student in an NT school, i'll often set IE to full screen and code away on some perl scripts.
The coolest thing about workspot is the fact that it offers the whole free storage thing too. Now some of you may think this is old news (X drive, etc), but to all the geeks out there, you can access this storage space via a Palm VII app! Basically, Its a wireless storage space like that.
And you also get free web hosting @ http://www.workspot.net/~username. With CGI! Mmmmm...
O ya, and the KDE kiks ass too. But don't try to run it in Netscape/MacOS. *crash*.
The only constraint has been bandwidth. The coolness loses its touch when the menu's are jerkin around on a 56k.
All in all, a perfect OS gateway for those with network access to the internet.
Of course, if that's abused, I'm sure they'll turn off some of that
They are already offering free accounts to anyone, so why bother about such abuse possibility. No sane person would ever use that kind of account for anything important. If those cgi-bins are run with user's own account it should not lead into root-compromise either.
Actually, it's possible (With Citrix MetaServer) Just very expensive to implement.
-jerdenn
I remember back in the day when there were a lot of free Linux systems around, and a lot of problems with people bringing over Eggdrop bots. I'm wondering if they'll address this issue. Because to be honest, I think they'll get a lot of people who will have no desire other than set up IRC bots.
And on an even more important note. What's really stopping people from using this site as a launchpad for DoS attacks?
Other then the few foreseeable problems with people abusing this company's generosity, I think this is a really cool project. I think for myself, it could be a great teaching tool. I mean, imagine if you could hop onto Windows 2000 from a web browser, and learn it. Would be a lot cheaper then attending a class.
This is such a good idea.
Now when I'm staying round at a friend's place, I can still do all my coding etc. and keep uptodate on all my email, without needing to change any of his settings.
Also means I can play Unreal Tournament and then not need to reboot.
From the KDE information menu:
they've got a Genuine Intel PII 450MHz
with approx. 500MB RAM? (or is that total virtual memory?)
They're service was VERY slow. The demand for this kind of service must be pretty high then.
Dilbert: I have become one with my computer. It is a feeling of ecstacy... the blend of logic and emotion. I have reached...
I've just made a lastfoot account under the username 'zing'. :) Good luck finding it, they are very heavily loaded.
The mouse pointer was dragging by about 5 seconds!!
Cool service thou... they default to KDE but you can do GNOME or AfterStep if that's your thing, I didn't bother.
cool
Dilbert: I have become one with my computer. It is a feeling of ecstacy... the blend of logic and emotion. I have reached...
lovely now I can really get up to some anonymous mischief. Sadly when you create files in your public_html dir you need to chmod 644 them to make them appear in your webspace.
.oO0Oo.
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
firstly my celeron333 freeBSD server with 128Mb ram is at about 0.40% for my 800x600 vnc server.
.oO0Oo.
But it's memory footprint is about 4Mb.
Is that a lot of resources?
When I close my VNC connection cpu utilisation drops to 0% and my memory gets swapped out. (or it would do if I ever used 128Mb of ram for ANYTHING!).
Saving state is great because you can start a compile, close it down and when you come back to it later it's like you never left. Helps when you're doing the usual 10000 things at once on 10 machines from one terminal.
When you manage ten or so servers in NT, Win2k and a couple of Nix's remote access like this is great fun.
VNC also has a clipboard feature so you can cut and paste between machines.
With X you can choose the window manager globally for all your sessions.
You also get to specify the screen size for each server so depending which machine I'm on I can get the correct size screen - (useful as I have a laptop with only 640x480 and scrolling becomes a pain).
You can have it full screen or even choose a zoom level(as a fraction!)
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
Well I don't know. I've never needed to do it.
.oO0Oo.
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
By default, SGML requires that all attribute values be delimited using either double quotation marks (ASCII decimal 34) or single quotation marks (ASCII decimal 39). Single quote marks can be included within the attribute value when the value is delimited by double quote marks, and vice versa. Authors may also use numeric character referencesto represent double quotes (") and single quotes ('). For double quotes authors can also use the character entity reference".
In certain cases, authors may specify the value of an attribute without any quotation marks. The attribute value may only contain letters (a-z and A-Z), digits (0-9), hyphens (ASCII decimal 45), periods (ASCII decimal 46), underscores (ASCII decimal 95), and colons (ASCII decimal 58).
seehttp://www.w3.org/TR/html4/intro/sgmltut.html#att
section - 3.2.2 Attributes
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
vnc
.oO0Oo.
To change window managers just edit your
~/.vnc/xstartup file and change the window manager.
I use iceWm on my FreeBSD box.
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
Just takes two RPM's
.oO0Oo.
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
VNC Homepage
.oO0Oo.
Slashdot turns href='http://url' into href="'http://url'" !!
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
VNC under SSH homepage
.oO0Oo.
Slashdot code turns ' into "' in hrefs!
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
Where else does it say on this page what platforms VNC will run natively on!
.oO0Oo.
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
While this is a good idea, it seems to me that VMWare is probably a better option for those wanting to "try out" Linux.
I suspect the speed of this service will be much the same as MyWebOS. For those that have not used the service, it leaves much to be desired.
With VMWare, Linux newbies don't have to repartition, etc, and ifthey get freaked out, they're just a Cntrl+Alt+Esc away from returning to Windows. This also makes it a lot easier to Linux Newbies to setup their Internet connections, as they can easily switch into windows and search through Linux.com or LinuxNewbie.org.
This is definitely a nifty site though:)
signature smigmature
- James
But Photoshop is so much better than the original Gimp! The two are in *completely* seperate leagues!
I have one thing to say to you: Anti-Aliasing.
signature smigmature
- James
I'm sure they'd be so many more truely kickass themes if all the Photoshoppers themed for E !! :)
Oh .. ahh .. forget playing games through this right ?
And I would really like to see them offer twm instead of kde, I like it simple
Grtz, Jeroen
Secure messaging: http://quickmsg.vreeken.net/
They say they are going to rent applications to you, so you probably will get only the very basic for free... But still nice
Grtz, Jeroen
Secure messaging: http://quickmsg.vreeken.net/
Another happy Workspot customer here ^_^ (though I found it listed in Yahoo!, so erase that 'well kept secret' thing).
My experience... let's just say that I uploaded one of my websites with only two commands: unzip and chmod. The work that would have got me silly walking for half the morning done in 30 seconds. Gotta love it. The GIMP, the mahjonng solitaire and the CGI bin are my three other reasons to sign in.
--Hikari
--Hikari
"Long distance information/ Disconnect me if you can/ On Detonation Boulevard..."
It is a bit slow, but what can one expect?
Ryan Stultz
Interesting to note that they are allowing CGI and web sites for normal users (and correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there are any ads either). This could be a boon for people who aren't particularly interested in Linux but who do need CGI-enabled web space for whatever site they have. Of course, if that's abused, I'm sure they'll turn off some of that (or impose severe quotas) pretty quickly :)
Well now that it's been posted on Slashdot, we can probably expect that number to increase somewhat...
This sig is umop apisdn.
The problem with free linux machines on the net (as has been pointed out) is to avoid having them used for DoS attacks, spam, etc.
The LiVE (Linux Virtually Everwhere) approach is to use VMWARE to provide a sandbox to play in. Hopefully, this sandbox is secure & spam/DoS, etc, will not be a problem.
We are looking for people to point out security problems with LiVE & the VMWare sandbox!
Using VMWare for your sandbox has some problems, e.g., performance (not as bad as some people think), but also advantages. e.g., you can use VMWare on your local machine, get it set up to your liking, etc., then put it on the net via a single FTP for when you are on the road.
Sounds pretty cool to me, ive signed up but i havent recieved any mail about this, They said in a few days.... i dont know
One word: Bandwidth.
First off, this service has been going for a while. I've had an account for 2 months or more. Second, I was happy to find they are running Debian. It's a potato-based system (glibc 2.1 and all) with a ton of packages (but not quite all) installed. Lastly, when you log into the machine itself, you will notice it's ip is in the 10.*.*.* range. I.E., they have some firewall trickery going on. What this means is there is no way to directly connect to the box other than the methods they provide. So don't expect to run a Quake server or a big Napster client off this site.
http://news .tucows.com/ext2/99/07/networking/072399-networkin g1pf.shtml has an article about setting up something very similar with VNC and xdm. Very cool. Notice the comment at the bottom about anyone being able to take over a vnc session, anyone know if these servers do anything about that?
But really. How many folks actually install their own operating system, except for maybe BSD and Be? Most folks (WinDoze, Mac, and anything bigger) get their 'puters preinstalled, and an increasing number of Linuxites show up at an install party and get the gurus to set it up for them...
You and I and anyone reading this works in a rarified atmosphere of ubergeeks, where recompiling the kernel is a daily occurrence. We're way beyond Six Sigma here...
Welcome to the Real World, where Everyone Else just turns on their computer and expects it to Just Work.
--
warpeightbot, GaTech ICS '90 gus Baird (RIP)
Linux: The Choice of a GNU Generation
See,
http://www.icsi.berkeley.edu/~minenko/PalmVNC/
Due to high volume (wonder why) they're taking 2 days or so to set up accounts....
This thing could be quite benificial for the Linux movement. Now I could just give "regular" people a URL to go try Linux, instead of having to install it on their system first. And then if they like that browser experiance, then maybe they can install it on their own computer. Pretty damn cool if you ask me.
I know plenty of people who'd love to have a free Unix account like this. A lot of them wouldn't want to have to access it through these bizarre VNC clients. The web site seemed curiously silent on this, but I'd like to know if they support ssh logins. If they don't, there's something seriously missing.
I wonder what their load is like? (And whether it'll increase after being slashdotted...) Last time I heard of a free-Unix-account setup, it was ludicrously overloaded. If it's not worth logging in because you won't be able to do anything once you get there, why bother?
And where are they getting their money from, if the major service is free? I didn't even see any adverts on the site. How are they going to stay around?
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 have no reason to doubt the honest and serious motives of the crew over at Workspot, inc.
However, whenever I see some 'desktop over the web' or 'backup over the web' or 'write-your-bestseller-over-the-web' ad, my hairs stand straight up. When I hear that an ISP had to disclose his user DB to *** because of transmission of copyrighted material or that some would-be McCarthy in Elbonia (sorry, Dilbert) demands access to user's home directories, I definitely have mixed feelings about storing anything vaguely personal on some server somewhere in the Wild West Web.
Call me paranoid if you like (yes I do ssl transactions), but who guarantees you that you won't get sued over some 'foo.doc' where you wrote that B.C. or J.K. or R.M. or L.T. or C.T. was an idiot/nerd/redneck/sex maniac/DUIer... (properties and characters do not necessarily match here, and surely not in the featured sequence)
Use The Source, Luke!
Actually VNC probably wouldn't work very well for this sort of application, unless I understand it wrong (disclaimer: I've only used it for a week). VNC transmits state. Thus it really only handles one instance of X. I believe that for every graphical login you would have to have a copy of the XServer running... Very resource intensive!!!
You might be able to kludge something together, most of the parts are certainely there. But VNC is designed more for network control of a centralized server than allowing generic graphical X logins.
Also VNC *can* be very resource heavy on the server system, even w/o the overhead of one instance of X to login...which is killer if you are serving *lots*. Using a Java XServer has the advantage that it adds no more overhead than is minimally necessary (I mean, you have to run multiple instances of your WM/Desktop and Apps, but other than that).
-nullity-
I am nothing.
If it's vnc based then that's cool. :
.oO0Oo.
Clients available for all sorts of platforms
Linux 2.x for x86
Solaris 2.5 (SPARC)
Windows 9x/2000/NT (Intel Win32)
Macintosh
- 68K processor
- PPC processor
DEC Alpha OSF1 3.2
Windows CE 2.x
- SH3 processor
- MIPS processor
An of course a Java app in a browser window
I use it on my network at home and also have vnc servers running on my FreeBSD server at work so I can work from home or wherever I am!
Using VNC means that Workspot don't have to care about Video drivers or anything which makes it much easier for them.
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
Isn't this kindof like what Sun is trying to do, basically have a thin client access a desktop and apps via a browser to their application server?   I recall them wanting folks to run something like StarOffice 5.x over the net   --   all for a fee...
-- Win2k: "It's not so much that it's only 65,000 bugs, it's just that they stopped at 65,535 to prevent an overflow."
If the demand is high for this service (I'll bet it will be!), how will they keep up? Will they:
a) Just let it bog down until the lag balances with the demand?
b) Limit user accounts to an amount the allocated resources can support?
c) Just keep adding new machines, indefinitely?
Geeky modern art T-shirts
How is this preparing anyone for installing linux at their home or office?
From the FAQ:
Q: Can I install my own software?
A: Sure, if it is free software or if you have a licence for it and it doesn't require root privileges to install.
That has already totally turned me off. This website at best will prepare people for using linux in an environment that will have a systems administrator who will do all the difficult stuff, like setup PPPoE (so that one's DSL connection can be accessed) without any support from your ISP. The only people I can see being attracted to this site are Windows users who are about to be forced to use Linux as a desktop environment and need to quickly familiarize themselves with the linux desktop environment.
Those intrepid enough / with spare cycles to throw away may consider setting like this up themselves. It is almost garunteed that workspot will try to stay behind the development curve. While this is good...because it makes for a consistent environment with little change...it doesn't demo Linux's "flashier" side very well. Not to flame, but KDE doesn't make a stunning impression. Yes, its useful, but it isn't very grabbing. :) I have gotten so used to it that I was surprised to find a friend shocked when I showed him that I could do this! One easily forgets why one uses *nix, hehe.
 
In any case you can easily setup your own similar installation. I've been setting one up for our LUG. It'll give us an URL to refer people to when they want to know what Linux "looks like". I'm using the WiredX java applet, a fine piece of software (it even performs well!!!). You can download it from http://www.wiredx.net.
 
If nothing else, it demonstrates the flexibility of X right off the bat
-nullity-
I am nothing.
here is an url for that mystic vnc :)
(I am sure someone is wondering, since I was
http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/
http://www.lastfoot.com has the same service, and they are accepting accounts right now.
They use a vnc based solution.
--
Pretend there is some witty statement here.
I am so glad I got that account last week! With the slashdot crowd heading there the two business day rule may change!
Here are my experiences to date:
To those that expect to install something on their computers: There is nothing to install, they use the java version of vnc and the desktop is presented in your browser. In reality, the entire desktop is like a remote screenshot and looks EXACTLY like a debian KDE typical desktop. They let you customize it but I haven't got that far yet! If not for anything else, use this for shock value on a doze machine and have a debian desktop inside an IE window!
They are true to their word on the two business day waiting period.
Since th VNC client is GPLed, you can actually download their changes from workspot.org; this is my next weekend project...
I don't know how this works through firewalls, but if it does, geeks in doze offices all over the world have just been liberated!
The site is neat but has very very little tech info. There is a faq which adds little value and repeated searches on Google don't lead to any other pages about this service, so it looks like a well kept secret... till now!
On a side note, there was a previous article here about wireless ebay on a palm VII using debian and workspot. I never really understood that one and since I haven't figured out how to list archived article comments by score all I can tell is that the trolls haven't changed much! I think it talks about workspot using debian to provide wireless access to ebay on palm vII!!!
The other cool thing about this service: If you have a license or the software is free and does not require root, you can install it! Can't wait to get the emacs JDE from installed and running so that I can use this site for (*new buzzword alert*) 'remote coding'.
If this site is really for linux newbies to try it out, more info 'bout how to get started would definetely help...currently the site only lets you escape the hassle of installing linux ( not that much of a hassle anyway ) but does not serve as an intro to linux.
Whats with the bannerless CGI enabled apparently limitless web space (faq says don't use _too_ much diskspace, open to interpretation...)? These people seem to have all the goodies on one site.
I tried to ftp out of the box to move my website in but sadly nothing happened! I realized how helpless I was without having the box at my feet: there was none of that reassuring hum from the drive as you clicked on something and waited. How about a flashing [processing command sire]...? Now that would have geek value!