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Nov
28
Mozilla Labs recently released the Prism prototype for Linux. What is Prism? From the site:
“Prism is an application that lets users split web applications out of their browser and run them directly on their desktop.” The site holds a lot more detail, here. If you are familiar with Webrunner, it is now this. Oversimplifying it, Prism gives you a web browser without all the “browseriness”. You click an icon and it looks just like an app on your desktop. You get a title bar and browser window and the web app itself. The concept is to turn web applications into desktop apps.
Initial reaction to Prism itself has included excitement, yawns, typical “Opera has been capable of this for years!” comments and controversy. I figured I would try it out on my Mandriva 2008 system and write about my experience.
Installation was very simple:
1. Download Prism
2. Extract with “tar -xvjf prism-0.8-linux.tar.bz2 -C /opt ”
3. From the terminal type “/opt/prism/prism”
4. Done
You can create a shortcut on your desktop to the executable for convenience sake. I simply dowloaded and extracted it to my home folder and run it from there. I’m sure there are a variety of ways you can install and run it.
Running Prism:
A box opens up, showing you this:
You then put in the URL of the web application or site and give it a name. You can decide if you want to show the location bar, show status notifications and progress, and enable navigation keys. You are also given a choice to create a shortcut to the desktop. Windows users can also create a shortcut to the start menu and quick launch bar. Windows users also can choose an icon and have a mysterious “Advanced” button. The Linux client lacks these options but we can make any of that happen ourselves, with the exception of “Advanced”, which I cannot tell you about until I have the patience to boot into Windows.
Using Prism:
For something billed as a “prototype”, it has worked very well for me. Here is a breakdown of my limited use.
Apps that worked perfectly:
Google Apps (Gmail, Google Maps, Google Calendar, Google Docs & Spreadsheets)
Zoho
30boxes (which always makes me think of the “Weeds” theme song”)
37signal’s Backpack (I am a calendar app whore)
Problematic but workable:
Gmail worked fine, except when I tried to compose a message. I had to switch to “Plain Text” in order to write an email.
Yahoo Mail gave me trouble, when I switched to Yahoo Mail Classic I had no problem.
Once I got flashplayer running, I was able to use YouTube.
Not working:
Buzzwords, the online word processor.
Pandora. I read someone has it working, I don’t know if it is on Linux though. No worky for me.
Since this isn’t billed as a final version, my complaints about what works or didn’t work are better filed as bug reports. I will say I was surprised at the success I had. It was pretty smooth sailing.
Thoughts:
I like Prism. It has become part of my daily routine. It seems counter intuitive, but I like the idea of stripping the web apps out of my web browser. Running four fat apps at once in different tabs has always bugged me. Now I can use my browser for web surfing, Prism for accessing web apps. People that have been screaming about what a memory hog Firefox is, this is one way to combat it. Not ideal, but it is one solution. It is nice to click an icon on my desktop and be brought to 30boxes. It makes it feel like I am using a program. Typing this and reading it, I realize it makes absolutely no sense, but it is the way it feels.
Using Prism is like using a toaster oven as opposed to using the whole oven, Firefox. A one cup coffee maker instead of making a whole pot… you see where I am going with this. As much as I like it and think others will, it isn’t even what is important about Prism to me. What is important about Prism to you, then? Glad you asked.
*Distributions can use Prism to make their own “Newbie Edition” ala gOS. The initial success of gOS is undeniable. Prism is the same idea behind gOS’s icons, only executed better. The mythical grandmother that we are all trying to convert to Linux can just click the MySpace button or Google Maps button and so on and so forth. A big barrier to Linux adoption then no longer exists. They see things they are familiar with. Lets just hope grandma’s webcam works with Linux! Granny Hotornot will be good to go. Kidding aside, as I’ve argued in the past, it isn’t the grandmas we should be chasing. It is the YouTube generation. Customized Prism launchers to their favorite sites will help pull in the less technically savvy of their ranks.
* Distributions can make money from Prism. Prism allows you to drop a “GMail” or “Facebook” or whatever icon right on the desktop. This could turn into a revenue stream for the distributions. It might be worth it for Zoho to get a leg up on the other online office suites by buying some real estate on Mandriva One, for instance. Mandriva then benefits by saving space on the One disc, keeping OpenOffice.org off but available as a download after installation. Google would be hard to beat here. If I were starting out, like Buzzwords, I’d jump in before Google gets in. I can think of a bunch of online apps that would benefit in this way.
* Making your cross-platform web app just got easier. It seems like it would be fairly trivial to bundle prism with your own .app link. Distribute it and you are good to go.
Overall I am happy with Prism. I do find myself using it regularly. Obviously, if you prefer to have these apps running in a browser then you won’t find it compelling. You could tweak your browser yourself to run like Prism. I think Prism has a bigger upside for Linux than Windows or OS X, for the reasons stated above. I’m glad to see Mozilla trying some new things. Some of the future ideas, like Firefox 3 integration and offline data storage and 3D graphics hardware access sound very interesting. Give it a try, you may find yourself surprised like me and using it daily.
Pictures below are Prism running YouTube and of the ugly default icon created.
Further Reading:
Alex Faaborg’s blog talks more about Prism.
Mark Finkle gets into further detail about Prism.
Nov
13
Linux Preloaded–an Insider’s View
Filed Under Editorial, Ubuntu, linux | 5 Comments
There is a story today that WalMart’s $200 Linux machine running Ubuntu with Enlightenment is sold out and selling like hotcakes. The article links to WalMart’s product page, where it is listed as sold out and filled with glowing reviews. It feels good to see that. I’ve always felt that Linux was ready for general consumption. At one point I got to put my money where my mouth was, but was burned by bad timing. Hopefully the story might interest you.
I managed a regional computer store in Metro Detroit. I had always loved the company, it was one of the few places you could go and actually see the product you were buying. Motherboards were open and available to handle. If you needed it, they carried it. The sales staff was always knowledgeable and helpful. I felt fortunate to work for them, and took over a store in a major regional mall.
I had always wanted to see Linux systems up and for sale. One day the owner and COO were in the store, so I stepped away and fired up Mandriva 2007 Spring on one of the machines. It looked fresh and impressive. Compiz definitely gave the OS a unique look and feel. Based on this, I was given the opportunity to sell Linux systems. The experience was an eye opener.
My initial thought was to go with an underdog. Since Mandriva had been the distro that helped me sell it to the bosses, I thought I would give them a try. I contacted them, they were very nice with a thought out plan. The costs were more than I could justify, though. This was a pilot program, and the costs had to be as close to zero as possible, initially, to justify the experiment. The major selling point was to be able to offer systems where hardware was the only cost. It became apparent that Mandriva would not work, initially at least.
I contacted Novell. I knew how the community felt about them, so I had hesitations. We were also potentially going after the business market, so it made sense. I found out right away that my pilot program was just not big or fancy enough for Novell. I suffered through a condescending phone call basically saying “How cute! When you become a player, let us know and we will work with you!†Never mind the fact that at the time my company was a major regional player that worked on a national scale. I was now 0 for 2.
PCLinuxOS was next. I have always loved PCLinuxOS. Some of my fondest Linux memories were the Mandrake days when Texstar would supply packages. I thought this would be a great opportunity to help the distribution get business cred, and would bring a lot of publicity to my company and PCLinuxOS. I got absolutely nowhere here. I never heard back from anyone. I’ve since read that Texstar is interested in making the distro, but does not care how popular it is. I can respect that, if it is true. It is a great OS. I was now 0 for 3. It was time to stop avoiding the inevitable, and go to Ubuntu.
Ubuntu is on their game. From the minute I first contacted them, they were all over it. The entire time I dealt with them I had a sense that whatever I needed (within reason) they would provide. Costs were going to be zero, initially. They offered a clear cut program that made sense. The only thing they ask in return for outstanding service is one key factor. You can ship Ubuntu, but only Ubuntu. They were very clear about this. It is brilliant, when you think about it. They give you everything you need, and one of the only conditions is that they lock other distributions out. That is good business for Ubuntu.
As the ball got rolling, I put a machine on display in the store. It got a lot of attention. I went high on the specs, thinking people would recognize the good deal the machine was. People responded well, but hesitated to drop $400 on an experiment. We were soon going to offer a full line of notebooks that were certified to run Linux. I decided to drop the specs of the display machine and managed to get it to under $200 without a big hit in performance.
At some point during the Ubuntu plan, I got cold feet and wanted to put Sabayon on the machines. I think what Fabio is doing is nothing short of revolutionary. I have to hand it to him. He was as good, maybe even better than Ubuntu in customer service. He was very clear that whatever I needed, I would get, even to the point of a customized distro. By this point it was too late in the game. Dell had launched the Ubuntu notebooks, and my boss wanted to capitalize on the publicity. My dream of a full line of Sabayon laptops died a quiet death.
I continued to be pleasantly surprised by Ubuntu. Every communication was positive. They were going to help in whatever way I needed. By this point it was a matter of waiting for the notebooks to come in, then there would be a launch with a lot of publicity. I was certain I had a home run on my hands. We finally received the notebooks. I loaded them with Ubuntu, customized the install so it ran Compiz-Fusion and threw a bunch of extras on the install. I was pumped. We had forty notebooks and I knew once the announcement was made, we would sell all forty in one day. I would be a hero.
As my ex father-in-law is fond of saying, “Timing is everything.†Just as I was finishing the notebooks, the effects of the dismal Michigan economy took its toll on my company. Just like that most of the stores closed. In the ensuing chaos, my pet project got buried. Soon I was out of a job. My grand experiment died just as it was being born.
So, I am glad to see WalMart having great success with its Linux desktops. It helps me to feel that I did know what I was talking about, and given different circumstances could have really made a go of my idea. I’m not done yet…