WebOS ( Web Operating System )
Table of Contents:
- WebOS ( Web Operating System )
- How to Start with Web OS
- Developing a Web OS
- Features & Applications
- Features & Applications Contd..
It has been termed as “Web Operating System” because they are present on the web and not on the computer of the user, all the data is being stored on the servers of the Web OS provider. Recently there was big roar on internet about the word “iCloud”. It was an introduction of one more operating system in the category of web operating systems. Web Operating systems (webOS) was introduced as a thought that one might be able to play with application, store data, and share it on the internet from anywhere in the world. So does a web OS do. Today web OS are capable of storing large amount of user data as large as 50 GB providing a very simplified and user friendly interface. One can share files, listen to music, read news and can do many other stuff depending upon the diversity and richness of the web OS used by the user. In one line, “We have internet on computer. So, web OS is computer on the internet”.
Myths about WebOS
As the entropy of earth is increasing day by day, so is with the confusion in technology. Here are some of the many confusions or misunderstanding in the word “web OS”. One of the basic myths is- “Are OS and Web OS are same thing?” The answer is “NO”, not at all. Operating systems were built to communicate between the application and the hardware stuff of the computer. It deals with the internal operations running inside the computer. It includes scheduling of tasks, multi-tasking, utilization of resources etc. But on the other hand, WebOS are the operating systems that are composed of rich user interface which tries to mimic appearance of an operating system. Another myth related to web OS is its confusion with another word “webOS”. The webOS is actually an operating system developed under Linux for palm mobile devices.
How Do Web OS Works?
Before going to servers and cloud computing details let us first start locally. Consider the case of computers we have. The computer consists of many applications to work with such as one can use calculator to calculate, calendar to be scheduled, clock, games, and many other applications. Apart from these apps we also have diverse data like movies, memories, music, and files etc which we store in computer hard disk. We communicate with the computer through the user interface which is right now before your eyes (if you are viewing this page on a computer). If we want to share any data, internet is engaged. Sharing can be done through many websites available on the web. So this is how a local computer with a normal user works. Now consider yourself as a computer user right now working at office. Suddenly your boss calls you to show some random file to him (sometimes they like people feeling inconvenient). But you forgot to bring it. The file is in the hard disk of your home PC and it could not be teleport from there to your office computer in air. This is the situation when most brain thinks if there could be any method by which they could access their local content anywhere. This problem was resolved by the programmers by introducing the concept of “Web OS”.
WebOS are the dynamic computers. The applications, hard disk, operating systems are all present at the servers from where they are operated. The web OS service provider has different spaces for application access and database. The user is provided with a graphical user interface which feels like the one at your PC. This operating system consists of application section like calendar, clock, calculator, document editors etc then there is a section for data storage where user can store data, and there are many other sections depending upon the web OS. Whatever content user wants to store is stored at the hard disk at servers. As the terminology itself says, the web OS make use of the web to connect and upload files to the client server.
As the files are now been stored at the server, user can now utilize them remotely anywhere on the earth. It just needs internet and a computer and everything is done. User has to switch on computer, start the internet and go to respective web OS website or download the web OS application (in case it is not on the remote computer), and browse the data. Simple!