Announcing support for PHP and other languages on Windows Azure

The Azure Services Platform team is delivering on its commitment to providing an interoperable, comprehensive and flexible cloud platform.

Windows Azure

At MIX09, the Windows Azure team is updating its CTP to include feature updates which will allow developers to take advantage of:

• FastCGI: allows developers to deploy and run web applications written with 3rd party programming languages such as PHP. This provides developers using non-Microsoft languages the ability to take advantage of scalability on Windows Azure. (Read more here: Using 3rd Party Programming Languages via FastCGI)
• .NET Full Trust: provides developers with a level of flexibility in Windows Azure that removes limitations on .NET Libraries which require full trust (including .NET Services) .NET Full Trust, via spawning process and p/invoke, also allows developers to utilize existing investments in native code or legacy components that they will now be able to invoke on Windows Azure. (Read more here: .NET Full Trust)
• Geolocation: provides developers with the ability to specify a location for their applications and data to build responsive services with lower network latency as well as the capability to meet location-based regulatory and legal requirements. This feature will be available a few weeks after MIX 2009. (Read more here: Geo Location Enables Developers To Choose Data Centers and Group Applications & Storage)

A new version of the developer SDK and Tools for Visual Studio will be available for download to enable developers to take advantage of the new features. The SDK update will include:

• Managed Full Trust support (including Native Code support via P/Invoke and spawning native code processes)
• Support for FastCGI applications.
• Support for rewrite rules via the URL Rewrite Module. Creates URLs so developers can lead users to shorter, search engine friendly, and easier to remember URLs.
• Support for SQL Server as the data store for Development Storage – move from SQL Express to full SQL Server for backend developer store.

In addition to supporting the latest Windows Azure SDK, the Tools for Visual Studio will offer:

• Native debugging of roles called via PInvoke running on the Development Fabric
• FastCGI starter template
• Chained install of both the Tools and SDK (one install)
• Update notification for newer releases

To summarize, this is what Windows Azure entails as of today:

Computation Services

• Ability to run Microsoft ASP.NET Web applications or .NET code in the cloud
• Service hosting environment that includes Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 and Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1
• Security supported by flexible Code Access Security policies
• Small runtime API that supports logging and local scratch storage
• Web portal that helps you deploy, scale, and upgrade your services quickly and easily
• FastCGI, a protocol for interfacing applications to web servers, which will allow customers to deploy and run web applications written with non-Microsoft programming languages such as PHP (Developers will be responsible for including the relevant runtime libraries for these languages when deploying applications.)
• .NET Full Trust to allow usage of additional .NET features such as Windows Communication Foundation (WCF).
• From Full Trust .NET, developers can call into unmanaged DLLs

Simple data storage services

• Blobs, tables, and queues hosted in the cloud, close to your computation
• Authenticated access and triple replication to help keep your data safe
• Easy access to data with simple REST interfaces, available remotely and from the data center

Development Tools

• Complete offline development environment, including computation and storage services
• Complete command-line SDK tools and samples
• Visual Studio add-in that enables local debugging
• New SDK Download: a new version of the Windows Azure SDK will be available for download at a time to coincide with the MIX09 conference, which will enable developers to take advantage of the new features offered by Windows Azure, as well as an update to the Visual Studio add-ins.

The SDK and the Tools for VS addin is now available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/azure/sdk.mspx.

SQL Data Services

You may recall seeing this when Azure was first announced:

The SQL Data Services (SDS) team (the 3rd block above Windows Azure in the image above) publicly shared the evolving capabilities in SDS to provide customers with the ability to utilize a RDBMS data model in a cloud-based environment supporting Transact-SQL (T-SQL) over TDS (Tabular Data Stream) protocol (read more here: What’s Next for SQL Data Services…) SQL Data Services is on track to deliver a public CTP mid-calendar year 2009 and be commercially available in the second half of calendar year 2009. At MIX, the SDS team has announced the evolution of SDS capabilities to provide traditional relational database service with T-SQL compatibility over protocols that support data access APIs such as ADO.NET, ODBC and OLE DB.

Jailbreak iPhone 3.0.1 with redsn0w 0.8

Apple release the new Firmware OS 3.0.1 for the iPhone that takes care of an SMS vulnerability. It’s a fairly important patch, and usually when Apple updates the iPhone OS, jailbreakers have to wait until the Dev Team comes out with a new version of jailbreaking software before they can update. But It has been confirmed by iPhone Dev team that Redsn0w will works on iPhone OS 3.0.1 and iPhone 3GS. So now you can Jailbreak your Phone with redsn0w.

How to Jailbreak iPhone 3.0.1

1. After updating to iPhone 3.0.1 download and install iPhone 3.0 firmware.

Download iPhone firmware 3.0 (filename: iPhone1,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw)

Download iPhone 3G firmware 3.0 (filename: iPhone1,2_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw)

Download iPhone 3GS firmware 3.0 (filename: iPhone2,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw )

2. Download

• redsn0w 0.8 Windows Download (Direct Download)
• redsn0w 0.8 Mac Download (Direct Download)
• redsn0w0.8  Linux Download (Direct Download)

3. Follow the isntstustion on the Screen, When you select the firmware, choose the 3.0 firmware instead of the 3.0.1 firmware. This is safe and it works!

Update: If your iPhone 3GS is stuck on “Waiting for reboot” unplug your USB cable and plug it back in.

iPhone OS 3.1 Download Now Free

Windows Azure

         Windows® Azure is a cloud services operating system that serves as the development, service hosting and service management environment for the Windows Azure Platform. Windows Azure provides developers with on-demand compute and storage to host, scale, and manage Web applications on the Internet through Microsoft® data centers.

Windows Azure is currently in Community Technology Preview. Commercial availability for Windows Azure will likely be at the end of calendar year 2009.

Windows Azure is an open platform that will support both Microsoft and non-Microsoft languages and environments. To build applications and services on Windows Azure, developers can use their existing Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2008 expertise. In addition, Windows Azure supports popular standards and protocols including SOAP, REST, XML, and PHP.

Use Windows Azure to:

• Add Web service capabilities to existing packaged applications
• Build, modify, and distribute applications to the Web with minimal on-premises resources
• Perform services (large-volume storage, batch processing, intense or large-volume computations, etc.) off premises
• Create, test, debug, and distribute Web services quickly and inexpensively
• Reduce costs of building and extending on-premises resources
• Reduce the effort and costs of IT management

The Windows Azure Platform is designed to help developers easily create applications for the web and connected devices. The services platform offers the greatest flexibility, choice, and control in reaching users and customers while using existing skills.

Easy developer on-ramp to the cloud - Millions of developers worldwide already use the .NET Framework and the Visual Studio development environment. Utilize those same skills to create cloud-enabled applications that can be written, tested, and deployed all from Visual Studio. In the near future developers will be able to deploy applications written on Rubyon Rails and Python as well.

Enables Agile & Rapid Results - Applications can be deployed to the Windows Azure Platform with the click of a button. Changes can be made quickly and without downtime, making it an ideal platform for affordably experimenting and trying new ideas.

Imagine and Create New User Experiences - The Windows Azure Platform enables you to create web, mobile, or hybrid-applications that use the cloud with on-premises applications. Combined with Live Services ability to reach over 400 million Live users, new opportunities exist to interact and reach users in new ways.

Standards-Based Compatibility - The services platform supports industry-standard protocols, including HTTP, REST, SOAP, RSS, and AtomPub, for consuming, exposing, and integrating with third-party services. You can easily integrate applications built on a variety of different technologies and operating systems.

Benefits for Business

The Windows Azure Platform offers a range of businesses flexibility, control, and an affordable solution for running Web-scale applications. The services reduce tedious and expensive infrastructure management and planning and are built with security and reliability in mind, along with the option of a pay-as-you-go model.

Whether you’re a software vendor, corporate IT group, or a start-up, by using the services platform you can focus on your business and the needs of your customers.

Simplify Capacity Planning – Additional computing and services capacity can be available for your needs, eliminating the need for planning, purchasing, and provisioning expensive hardware to meet unpredictable spikes in usage.

Simple Infrastructure Management – The services platform manages critical operating system updates and management tasks, giving you control of the environment while letting you focus on the needs of your users.

Give New Life To Existing Investments - The services platform can be used to provide new capabilities to existing on-premises and Web applications. The Windows Azure Platform can be integrated into existing applications or used to expose on-premises application services to consumers, business partners, or other organizations.

Development Tools

• Complete offline development environment, including computation and storage services
• Complete command-line SDK tools and samples
• Visual Studio add-in that enables local debugging
• New SDK Download: a new version of the Windows Azure SDK will be available for download at a time to coincide with the MIX09 conference, which will enable developers to take advantage of the new features offered by Windows Azure, as well as an update to the Visual Studio add-ins.

 

Cloud Computing with Microsoft Azure SDS

Introduction

This article will introduce the Microsoft Azure service and explore the SQL Data Services (SDS).

In general terms, Cloud Computing means interacting with a service or operating system whose physical location is somewhere in the internet cloud. This is one of the main benefits of Cloud Computing, that your application can leverage someone else’s infrastructure. In the case of Azure, it means running on a very vast array of machines hosted by Microsoft. As a DBA or developer, this translates into the opportunity to use a very stable and a performance oriented infrastructure without the management issues and problems of maintaining it.

The Azure cloud consists of many computers linked together to form a networking fabric. Microsoft manages the entire machine cloud fabric and these management tasks are hidden from our consuming application. Our applications will sit on top of this fabric, but not be aware of them. This is similar to how a traditional ASPX web application sits on top of IIS but doesn’t concern itself with the details of how the web server interacts with the operating system.

In Cloud computing, we’re either utilizing a virtual server system hosted in the cloud, or interacting with a service hosted in the cloud. Azure is a cloud hosted service. We interact with it by writing applications with SOAP or REST along with HTML and XML.

Azure is the foundation of Microsoft’s cloud solution. We can think of it as the base operating system or service that we interact with. The Azure provides a platform for hosting applications or services and storing any user or system data required by it. We usually create Azure applications with Visual Studio, but Ruby and Python can also be used.

There are additional add-ons available to develop with that sit on top of Azure, such as Live Services, Dot Net Services, CRM Services, Share Point, and SQL Data Services. Live Services exposes applications such as Live ID and Live Messenger. The Dot Net Services layer provides an interface for access control and workflow. Share Point and CRM Services are used to create collaborative applications. SQL Data Services (SDS) exposes SQL Server like data organization in the cloud. Pricing is not yet available for either Azure or the add-on products mentioned.

SQL Data Services (SDS)

SQL Data Services sit on top of Azure and provide database features. SDS is very much a work in progress. According to Microsoft, the final product will be release sometime in the second half of 2009. With that said, TSQL is not currently supported; instead, a version of LINQ is used to create queries. However, TSQL should be available soon.

SQL Data Services supports several common data types, including String, Date Time, Boolean, Numeric, and Binary. There is also a timestamp applied to each data change. These data types hold our data called “Entities”. The Entities reside in a table structure called a “Container”. Containers are created inside a database system called an “Authority”. A single Authority (database) can hold a maximum of 1000 Containers (tables). Each Container can hold a maximum of 100 MB of non BLOB entities, or 1 GB of BLOB data. Maximum data Entity size is 2 MB for non BLOB and 100 MB for a BLOB. Keep in mind that SDS is under construction at the time of this writing, and these values are subject to change. These objects are created and managed by writing code to call either SOAP or REST web services.

Getting Started

To get started with Microsoft Azure and SQL Data Service, Register for a CTP (Community Technology Preview, meaning BETA) login at http://www.microsoft.com/azure/register.mspx . Once you have a login, download the Visual Studio Tool Kit and SDK (Software Development Kit).

The Tool Kit requires a database so it can mimic the Azure fabric on your desktop. This allows for local application development and debugging. By default, the tool kit will install SQL Express, if you already have the full SQL product installed, it can be used instead by calling “DSInit.exe /sqlinstance: <SQL Server instance>” from the Windows Azure SDK command prompt. The Command Prompt is one of the tools installed with the SQL Server Data Services SDK. Another tool, SSDS Explorer, is a lightweight graphical tool for creating objects and generating the XML code used to create them.

SSDS Explorer

The SSDS Explorer can be found under the Microsoft SQL Data Services SDK program files folder once the SDK is installed. Starting the tool will prompt for your Azure login and password. Pressing the Authority button will generate the code needed to create an Authority (database).

I’ve entered “mycloud1” as my database name. Next click POST and the Authority will be created. We can verify the creation by clicking the Query button. The following code will be returned showing our newly created authority:

  <s:Authority>
    <s:Id>mycloud1</s:Id>
    <s:Version>132957344</s:Version>

To work with our new database, change the Address from https://data.database.windows.net/v1/ tohttps://mycloud1.data.database.windows.net/v1/ . We’re now working inside the mycloud1 space.

To create a new Container (Table) inside mycloud1, click the Container button. I’ve created a new table called “mycontainer1” with the following code and pressed the POST button.

  <s:Id>mycontainer1</s:Id>
</s:Container>

To create Entities (data) inside the new Container, change the Address fromhttps://mycloud1.data.database.windows.net/v1/ to https://mycloud1.data.database.windows.net/v1/mycontainer1. We’re now working inside the “mycontainer1” space. Think of the Address bar as the “name space” that has focus.

REST and SOAP

The Explorer is handy, but SSDS is really meant to be managed by writing code using either REST or SOAP. In overly simple terms, REST is lightweight but will perform most needed functions. SOAP is more complex but feature rich. An example of creating a “Container” using REST is available from the following Microsoft web site:http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc512400.aspx . In general terms, the Container code generated by the explorer is defined as a sting:

const string ContainerTemplate = @"<s:Container ='http://schemas.microsoft.com/sitka/2008/03/'>
    <s:Id>{0}</s:Id>
 </s:Container>";

Next, we define a POST event, which is what the POST button in the Explorer did for us previously:

request.Method = HttpPostMethod;
UTF8Encoding encoding = new UTF8Encoding();
request.ContentLength = encoding.GetByteCount(requestPayload);
request.ContentType = ssdsContentType;

Lastly we send the request:

using (Stream reqStm = request.GetRequestStream()) {
	reqStm.Write(encoding.GetBytes(requestPayload), 0,
    	encoding.GetByteCount(requestPayload)); }

On the MSDN site there are examples for C#, Java, Ruby, and VB performing data UPDATES, DELETES, and other queries.

Conclusion

Microsoft SQL Server Data Services sits on top of Azure and provides structured data storage in the cloud. Several common data types are supported and a version of TSQL will soon be available. We work with SDS by writing SOAP or REST code.

 

In Chrome, Hints of a Real Rival to Windows

Sundar Pichai, vice president for product management, said that Google’s free Chrome operating system would be fast and get users onto the Web in a few seconds.

SAN FRANCISCO — If at times you’re frustrated with your PC — and who isn’t? — Google says it is working on a solution.

Many people easily lose patience with PCs that are slow to start up and prone to crashing, vulnerable to virus attacks and constantly in need of fiddly updates. Hoping to turn that irritation to its advantage, Google is developing an operating system — the underlying software that handles the most basic functions of a computer.

With the software, Google is mounting a blunt challenge to the dominance of Microsoft, whose Windows operating system runs about 95 percent of PCs. Google promises that its Chrome operating system, which will be available on computers in the second half of next year, will put an emphasis on speed, simplicity and security.

Google faces enormous hurdles. Computing giants likeI.B.M. and Sun Microsystems have spent years trying to dethrone Microsoft, with little to show for it.

But if it gains traction, Google’s plan could undermine not only Windows but also Microsoft’s other multibillion-dollar franchise, Office. Google is trying to put the Web browser at the center of people’s digital lives, relegating complicated operating systems like Windows to a secondary role.

“I’m not saying the shareholders should take their money and run, but this is the beginning of the end of Microsoft as we knew it,” said Jean-Louis Gassée, a venture capitalist who has battled Microsoft in posts at Apple and his own computer company, Be.

A spokesman for Microsoft, Frank Shaw, declined to comment on Google’s announcement or the competitive threat.

The new software’s primary mission will be to run Google’s Chrome browser, which will serve as a quick on-ramp to Web sites and online applications like Gmail and Facebook.

“We’re designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the Web in a few seconds,” Sundar Pichai, a vice president for product management, and Linus Upson, an engineering director, said in a blog post announcing the project late Tuesday. “We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better.”

The plan is part of Google’s bet that a huge shift in computing is under way. In Google’s view, Web connections will become so fast and browsers so powerful that most of the programs that currently run on PCs will be replaced by online applications. That would eliminate the need to install, upgrade and back up software.

Analysts say advances in technology make that vision more realistic today than when the browser company Netscape unsuccessfully championed it a decade ago.

But Microsoft still has many advantages. It has been able to keep its software partners churning out games, media software, tax preparation software and other applications that rely on Windows. And it puts time and money into making sure that a vast array of devices like printers and cameras work well with its software.

While Google’s new software will be free, other free products have failed to dent Microsoft’s armor. A handful of companies offer the free Linux operating system as an alternative to Windows, but Linux has not gained enough market share to weaken Microsoft. (The Chrome operating system will have Linux at its core, and like Linux it will be open source, meaning outside programmers will be able to modify it.)

What’s more, Google’s operating system remains in its earliest stages of development, and there is no guarantee that the company can deliver on its promises. Other software projects from Google, like its Android operating system for mobile phones, have had only limited success in the market so far.

Yet with Google’s latest effort, some argue that the right company has hit on the right idea at the right time.

“Google has a reasonable stab at redefining the desktop,” said Mark Shuttleworth, the chief executive of Canonical, which makes a version of Linux called Ubuntu.

Rather than buying bulky desktop computers, consumers have been turning recently toward small, low-cost laptops known as netbooks, which serve as little more than gateways to the Web. Google says its operating system will be initially aimed at netbooks, which are generally not powerful enough to handle the latest version of Windows.

Google’s fundamental business model, too, may play to its advantage. The company says it believes that making Chrome free to PC makers will be worthwhile because more people will spend more time online, using Google’s search service and its other Web-based applications like Google Docs, a Web rival to Microsoft Office. That will help Google make more money from advertising, which accounts for nearly all of its $22 billion in annual revenue.

That approach essentially reverses some of the dynamics used by Microsoft to crush Netscape. At the time, Netscape charged $50 for its Web browser, and Microsoft undermined its leadership by making its own browser, Internet Explorer, free. Now it is Microsoft that faces free rivals to both Windows and Office, its two biggest cash cows.

Under its model, Google could even afford to pay computer makers to install its software on their machines, essentially subsidizing their cost.

“If hardware is free and software is free, the only way you make money is off of services, and that is Google,” said Jim Zemlin, the executive director of the Linux Foundation.

Microsoft, while slow to act, has not stood still. It is in the process of creating many of the same online applications as Google, although it has been less willing to make them free.

In addition, Microsoft has blunted the popularity of Linux on netbooks. When they first appeared two years ago, the vast majority of netbooks came with Linux. Today, Microsoft’s older Windows XP software sits on more than 90 percent of netbooks in the United States, according to NPD, a market research firm.

But neither of those efforts can deliver the level of profits that Microsoft has enjoyed as it dominated the world of computing for the last two decades.

“There are answers for Microsoft, but all of them entail a significantly less profitable business model,” said David B. Yoffie, a professor at Harvard Business School.

via:NYT.COM

 

Google’s Chrome OS: Reaching for the Cloud

You probably can’t live without your PC. But do you love it?

PCs can be clunky and difficult to maintain. They’re slow to start up and prone to crashing, wiping out precious files and photographs. They are perennially vulnerable to virus attacks and require frequent upgrades. And if you lose your laptop, or worse, it’s stolen, you lose not only your machine but everything stored in its circuitry that’s not backed up — those files, contacts, e-mail messages, pictures and videos.

But what if a computer were nothing more than an Internet browser — a digital window pane onto the Web? You could forget about all the software that now powers your computer and everything it does. All of those functions would be done through the Web. And none of the information that’s now inside your computer would be there anymore. Instead, it would all be on the cloud of connected computers that is the Internet.

This has been the tantalizing but elusive vision of technology luminaries since the Web emerged in the mid-1990s. Google is the latest technology company to try to bridge the gap between vision and reality. Last week, the Internet search and advertising giant said it was working on a new operating system, the software that controls the basic functions of your computer, that will link users to the cloud. But unlike traditional operating systems like Microsoft’s Windows, which run all sorts of additional software, Google’s Chrome OS will do nothing more than ensure that its Web browser runs well and fast on your machine.

Whether Chrome OS succeeds may not matter. Much of the computer world is inexorably moving toward “cloud computing,” in a shift that could greatly simplify the way we access and process digital information.

There would be no more pesky software installations, no more trudging through menu after menu to configure programs, no more backups or upgrades. E-mailing bulky attachments would be a thing of the past, as people could allow others to access their files online, making collaboration easier.

Any device, anywhere — from a desktop PC to a mobile phone — could give users instant access to all their files and programs so long as it had a Web browser. At the same time, new kinds of devices would be possible, from portable computers that are even lighter than today’s thinnest PCs, to, say, a Web-connected screen in a hotel room that would give guests full access to their digital lives.

Cloud computing is not new. People have been using Web e-mail services like Hotmail for a dozen years. They interact with Web services like Facebook or Twitter, which live on the Internet, from their PCs at home and work or from their mobile phones. Google and others already offer online versions of word processing and spreadsheet programs.

The idea’s full potential, however, has not come close to being realized. But as technological obstacles to running most software inside a Web browser fall, the possibility of a big step forward is real.

In the past few years, phones have started to act more like computers, and devices like theiPhone have whetted consumers’ appetite for a combination of power and simplicity. Now that power and simplicity could migrate from the phone to the PC.

“The experience that we have on our iPhones and smart phones prefigures what the PC will become,” said Nicholas Carr, the author of “The Big Switch,” a book about cloud computing.

That’s not to say that the old PC-computing world will disappear soon. Microsoft’s Windows still powers 90 percent of the world’s personal computers. The company’s Office software is used by more than 450 million paying customers. Many corporations have resisted shifting e-mail, accounting or customer tracking software to the Web, for fear of losing control over vital business functions. And some software like 3-D games or graphics editing require so much computing power that they are still not suited to running inside a Web browser.

What’s more, without clear policies or regulations governing the privacy and ownership of data in the cloud, some consumers might resist putting the most personal details of their digital lives there.

For millions of consumers, though, the possibility of trading their old PCs for a slick, simple device that uses a Web browser to do just about everything they would want is increasingly close. “We are waiting for someone to put together the right combination of hardware and software,” said Paul Saffo, the veteran Silicon Valley technology forecaster.

That’s what Google is hoping to do with Chrome OS, which will be available next year.

“Everyone wants to be in the cloud,” Mr. Saffo said. “It is visible on the horizon.”

via:NYT.com

 

Jolicloud

Jolicloud is a new operating system for netbooks. The OS provides a beautiful interface, an application directory and a set of social features that make it easy and fun to use.

STORY:The idea of Jolicloud started in summer 2008 when Tariq KRIM started thinking about the possibility to build an "organic" laptop, a combination of the greenest technologies and a fair trade production. This device would run an Internet operating system and replace existing costly software with their web alternatives.

After travelling around the world to meet manufacturers, designers and industry friends, Tariq decided to drop the hardware to focus only on building the Internet OS. He was later joined by Romain Huet and Tristan Groléat, two young developers who shared his vision. They spent a few days drafting the blueprint of what an Internet OS should be. They decided to buy a few netbooks, refresh their knowledge of Linux and rented some office space in the Montorgeuil area of Paris.

Thanks to the help of a network of developers, kernel hackers and designers, they worked hard to release their alpha version.

Jolicloud is always looking for smart and talented developers, designers or evangelists. If you like what we do and want to join the team, contact us.

TEAM: 

Tariq KRIM    

Founder CEO

Romain HuetCo-Founder Lead Developer

Tristan GroléatIntern, Developer

The Jolicloud Manifesto

At Jolicloud we believe a movement has started. A movement that will change the computer industry forever: a world where computers are inexpensive, where operating systems are free and software is online. This is the world we dreamed of when we first discovered computers and the Internet. And this is why we wanted to build an operating system (OS) around a platform that gives everyone the opportunity to be part of this movement and access a whole new range of possibilities.

Jolicloud is an Internet operating system. It combines the two driving forces of the modern computing industry: the open source and the open web.

Jolicloud transforms your netbook into a sophisticated web device that taps into the cloud to expand your computing possibilities. The web already hosts a significant part of our lives: mails, photos, videos, and friends are already somewhere online. Jolicloud was built to make the computer and web part of the same experience.

The online world is taking processing power away from our computers, so we won't need expensive machines in the future. The web improves itself, so we don't need to replace machines all the time to be able to run newer versions of operating systems or office suites.

But the real catalyst of change has been the arrival of the netbooks: they started as an experimental low cost laptop for kids and they now radically change our views on how much we are willing to pay for personal computers. Think about it: computers are now becoming cheaper than mobile phones and MP3 players.

We feel privileged to witness this rebirth of the computer culture and are very excited about the world changes it can foster: More affordable means more people around the world connecting with knowledge, more communication between people and more balanced access to computing power with less cost, format or geographical limitations.

We come from the web, so we built our user interface mostly using its core technologies (HTML, JavaScript, CSS). We have integrated our web DNA into the OS to make it modular, social and personal. Our developer platform relies on the web and will let anyone or any service join in no time. With our API, developers will have the ability to let their website communicate with the computer directly with no need to code specific native applications.

Of course it's just the beginning. Netbooks are very new. They are still bulky, but they are making progress with better keyboards, better screens and battery time.

No one has yet entirely switched his or her life online, but everyday larger parts of our personal and business lives are relayed and stored via the web. Online connectivity is still expensive but prices are dropping as operators can't resist the global needs of the always on generation.

Legendary computer inventor Alan Kay once said, the best way to predict the future is to invent it. This is why we created Jolicloud. Like every project we can't do it by ourselves. We need your help and support to make this project a success. Together let's change the status quo and build the coolest OS for netbooks.

Compatible with Linux, Windows, AIR and web applications that support Flash and Gears for offline web.

Transform your netbook into a cool surfing platform.

Windows and Linux applications are designed to be full screen and use optimal space too.

Bring Your Applications To Jolicloud

Google Plans a PC Operating System

I saw an article in NYT, it really wonder'd me, but still i want to conform it.So i went to the google blog and saw an article posted by Sundar Pichai, the brain behind Google Chrome. I m sure that this will rock the cyberspace. But there is a headach to Steve Ballmer's Microsoft.Inc. There is a question that will this Google Chrome OS will take the market of Microsoft Windows. This is like throwing a nuclear bomb on Microsoft. The rivalery business of Microsoft vs Apple is now turn'd to Google vs Microsoft.      

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/technology/companies/08operate.html?ref=technology

this article was posted from GOOGLE Blog  on 7/07/2009 09:37:00 PM

Posted by Sundar Pichai, VP Product Management and Linus Upson, Engineering Director

It's been an exciting nine months since we launched the Google Chrome browser. Already, over 30 million people use it regularly. We designed Google Chrome for people who live on the web — searching for information, checking email, catching up on the news, shopping or just staying in touch with friends. However, the operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web. So today, we're announcing a new project that's a natural extension of Google Chrome — the Google Chrome Operating System. It's our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be.

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Because we're already talking to partners about the project, and we'll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.

Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.

Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android. Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.

We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don't want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.

We have a lot of work to do, and we're definitely going to need a lot of help from the open source community to accomplish this vision. We're excited for what's to come and we hope you are too. Stay tuned for more updates in the fall and have a great summer.

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