Desktoptwo: It could be the next big thing : Texxors.com

Desktoptwo: It could be the next big thing

July 30, 2007 Posted by Bryan in : New Products, Reviews , trackback, Email this post

Online desktops have the potential to change the way we use computers as much as or more than any other technology that has recently emerged. What, you’ve never used one? I’m not surprised. The basic idea behind them is very sound, but so far their real world implementations haven’t been.

Online desktops provide internet-based services that allow you to do all the things you could do while you are at home sitting in front of your desktop, from any computer connected the the ‘net. Specifics vary from product to product, but generally there’s some sort of online storage, a few applications, and an interface that emulates an operating system.

Sounds like a great idea, but in general online desktops have suffered from all of the problems you would expect them to: there’s not enough storage space, they’re too slow, and they’re missing basic features you would find on your real (i.e. local) machine.

But Desktoptwo might be the service that will bring online desktops into mass use.

I’ve been testing DT2 for about a month and I’m very impressed. First of all, it looks great. The service is in Beta so they are still tweaking the interface, but the icons and menus are attractive and functional. On the surface this may sound like a minor issue, but a clean interface that gives a good first impression is key to getting more users.

Some highlights of the service:

An integrated IM client, E-mail client, RSS reader, HTML editor, MP3 player, and OpenOffice installation.
1GB of online storage space.
A live chat client for communicating with other DT2 users.
Blogspace that you can easily post to from DT2.

And all of this is free.

I was most impressed with the MP3 player feature. I like being able to listen to my own music wherever I am working without draining precious battery life from my iPod or phone. However, some people will probably find the Email client very helpful. No more checking 18 different webmail sites to check all of your accounts - just set the DT2 client to check them all.

I recommend you check out Desktoptwo; it may make your life easier.