HTML5, HTML5, HTML5 — it seems to be the only thing anyone wants to talk about these days. And that excitement could get kicked into overdrive next week when Facebook unveils Project Spartan, their platform for HTML5 apps. But why wait? A startup that launched at TechCrunch Disrupt has already built an entire HTML5-based OS: Carbyn.
The great thing about Carbyn is that there’s nothing to install. Because it’s HTML5, it works in the browser. Well, any “modern” browser, as Google often likes to say — that means essentially anything but the older versions of IE. You simply open a browser and log-in to Carbyn and you’re ready to go. The team showed it to me running on both an iPad and a BlackBerry PlayBook. Soon it will work on smartphones as well, they say. → Read More
JoliCloud, makers of an OS that can essentially resurrect old hardware by offering cloud-based services, have announced that they are changing the name of their software to Joli OS while their Internet-base component will remain JoliCloud. This doesn’t mean very much in the long run but it allows the company to refer to its OS portion and its web-based service separately. → Read More
I was just talking with Jolicloud founder Tariq Krim the other day at Mobile World Congress, and we discussed the fact that everyone seems to design their software to work just within the limits of the hardware we have. Programs are designed around the idea of having 4GB of RAM and hundreds of gigs of hard drive space, but for so many things this is total overkill. Can’t you do all this stuff with a tenth or hundredth of the resources?
Of course! → Read More
France-based Jolicloud‘s Jolibook will reportedly hit the (UK) market starting today at a £279 price point (roughly $380). I’m one of the first to have received a review unit, which runs the all-new version of the company’s eponymous Linux-based cloud OS, Jolicloud 1.1.
I’m not much of a hardware reviewer, unlike the CrunchGear team, but fortunately there isn’t all that much to review when it comes to the hardware. All in all, it’s a pretty standard package for a small-sized computer at a fairly steep price considering it doesn’t include Windows, which many, far cheaper netbooks with the same configuration do.
Still, Jolicloud 1.1 is the reason I’d recommend some people – not everyone, and mainly people who travel a lot and have made the switch to Web-based applications for most of their work-related or personal activities already – to purchase a Jolibook, over any netbook that comes with Windows in that – rumored – price range. → Read More
Is Jolicloud preparing to sell a netbook of its own? That’s what we wondered about last month, when the cloud OS maker’s founder and CEO Tariq Krim tweeted some interesting pictures of a customized netbook.
Well, yes, they are. I actually caught up with Krim in Dublin two weeks ago – he showed me the device in action but didn’t want me to take pictures or shoot videos. He also kept mum on pricing, possible launch date and specs of the portable computer.
Now, in an email sent out to users (see below), Jolicloud sheds – a bit – more light on things. → Read More
Is Jolicloud preparing to sell a netbook of its own? That’s what we wondered about last month, when the cloud OS maker’s founder and CEO Tariq Krim tweeted some interesting pictures of a customized netbook.
Well, yes, they are. I actually caught up with Krim in Dublin two weeks ago – he showed me the device in action but didn’t want me to take pictures or shoot videos. He also kept mum on pricing, possible launch date and specs of the portable computer.
Now, in an email sent out to users (see below), Jolicloud sheds – a bit – more light on things. → Read More
Jolicloud, which set out to build a cloud-based operating system for netbooks, appears to be preparing to build and sell its own line of actual netbooks, too.
Tariq Krim, founder and CEO of the French startup, earlier today tweeted links to two interesting pictures.
As others are speculating, these pictures suggest Jolicloud is working on a proper netbook rather than sticking with just building software to run them. → Read More
Jolicloud, which set out to build a cloud-based operating system for netbooks, appears to be preparing to build and sell its own line of actual netbooks, too.
Tariq Krim, founder and CEO of the French startup, earlier today tweeted links to two interesting pictures.
As others are speculating, these pictures suggest Jolicloud is working on a proper netbook rather than sticking with just building software to run them. → Read More
It’s been roughly a year since Jolicloud‘s alpha release and the company founded by Netvibes founder, Tariq Krim, has just launched Jolicloud 1.0 to the public.
The iPhonesque open source OS oriented towards netbooks has more than just an incredibly sexy interface, with an App Store-like selection of over 700 apps (going on 1,000 before the end of the year) – giving users access to everything from Spotify to DropBox in a simple click. Jolicloud has also blended in a bit of social, allowing users a practical way to discover the best applications out there according to what their friends download and rate. → Read More
Joilcloud, is a Linux-based operating system for small devices (e.g. netbooks and touchscreens). The new version 1.0 now supports a long list of touchscreen devices right out of the box. Check out the video of it in action showing off the new HTML 5 interface. Looks pretty cool. → Read More
Jolicloud, the French startup founded by well-known European entrepreneur Tariq Krim that produces a custom Linux-based operating system for netbooks, has just announced on its blog that it will be releasing a solid beta version of the OS later this month.
In a fairly surprising move, the company also announced that it is ditching Mozilla Prism in favor of Google Chrome to power the back-end of its app platform. All Web applications currently in the App Center – more than 600 by now – will automatically be converted to Chrome. → Read More
Only the truly adventurous are running Chrome OS on their computers today. But it’s the elephant in the room whenever Jolicloud, an ambitious netbook operating system startup, is discussed.
We first covered the startup in late 2008, when netbooks were mostly running Windows XP or Linux. In June, when the first invites to Jolicloud went out, it looked like a winner.
I caught up with CEO Tariq Krim and Director Partnerships Brenda O’Connell backstage at Le Web and asked them how Jolicloud would compete with Chrome OS. → Read More
Well-known European entrepreneur Tariq Krim just finished presenting the public beta release of Jolicloud, a new type of operating system for netbooks that we’ve covered a couple of times before, at Le Web.
As of today, you can install Jolicloud Express on most Windows netbooks out there easily by simply downloading the installation file and run it from the machine (when I installed the alpha release, I still needed to download it to a USB key and boot it from on there). → Read More
In a couple of hours, Google is going to share more details about its upcoming operating system Chrome OS at an event in Mountain View that will most likely be covered from start to finish by TechCrunch writers (and then some) as well as a slew of other media outlets. Jolicloud, that other OS for netbooks that is completely built for people who live and work on the Web from the ground up, has in the meantime been running fine on my own netbook for the past couple of months.
So in light of the upcoming GOOG buzz, Jolicloud founder Tariq Krim got in touch with me to share some of the things he and his team have been working on. Since the subject lies rather close to the premise of John Gruber’s great The OS Opportunity blog post, it’s worth reading that before continuation. → Read More
On the very same day that a certain search and Internet advertising giant based in Mountain View, California has made public its plans to soon bring to market an open-source operating system that it hopes will give Microsoft a run for its money when it comes to powering the netbooks of this world, a lone startup from Paris, France has raised millions in financing to do exactly the same thing. I’m talking about Jolicloud, Netvibes founder and former CEO Tariq Krim‘s new company, which has just raised $4.2 million in Series A funding from Atomico Ventures and Mangrove Capital Partners.
With the investment, Jolicloud not only gains capital from two of the most widely respected venture capital firms in Europe, Krim also wins two heavyweight entrepeneurs / investors on its board of directors as well as one experienced advisor. Atomico Ventures’ Niklas Zennström (of Kazaa, Skype and Joost fame) and Gilles Samoun (current fotopedia CEO) will both take seats on the startup’s board, and Michael Jackson – partner at Mangrove Capital Partners and former COO of Skype – will take up the role of advisor. → Read More
Founder and former CEO of Netvibes Tariq Krim is moving forward with his ambitious Jolicloud project, looking to build a better operating system for web workers with netbooks (or smartbooks or cloud computers, whichever term you prefer). A couple of days ago, we got a couple of exclusive screenshots from the team, and just a day after the startup started sending out a handful of invite codes for early adopters who wanted to get a peak at the alpha developer release. I also got hold of one and have been using Jolicloud on my Acer Aspire ONE for about four days now. These are my initial findings. → Read More
Jolicloud, the custom OS designed and built specifically for netbooks, is quietly launching later this month in private alpha for a select number of early testers and people who put themselves on the waiting list. I had a long chat with founder Tariq Krim (of Netvibes fame) about the current status of Jolicloud and came away pretty impressed. You’ll need patience before you can give it a whirl, but the good news is that we got hold of some exclusive screenshots of the operating system in action so you can see how spectacular it (still) looks, at least.
First, the skinny about the project. Krim has always been bullish on the (open) Web in general and open source technology in particular, and when netbooks started to make their way into the low-cost computer market right about the time that cloud computing was clearly maturing, he thought it was a shame that the user experience on the small-screen computers was often below par. In an effort to change that, he sought to develop a custom-built OS using open source technology and betting big on open standards, that would basically make using netbooks sexy in the same way that Apple showed the world how a mobile phone should function when it introduced the iPhone. → Read More
Check out this clear shot of the in-progress netbook OS Jolicloud. There’s more info on its history and usability over at TechCrunch, but this screenshot was just too sweet not to post.
Keep an eye on the Jolicloud Flickr page for more. → Read More
Netvibes founder Tariq Krim sent me a new screenshot of Jolicloud, the Linux-based Netbook-optimized operating system he’s building (we first covered Jolicloud last December).
The screen shot, which is significantly evolved from what we saw in Paris, shows a set of featured applications that mixes desktop and cloud software – Facebook, Skype, Meebo and Youtube, among others, are shown with large icons that make it easier on Netbook users, who have to make do with smallish screens.
Jolicloud will eventually support touchscreens, Krim told me. We’re trying to get a copy and install it on our CrunchPad prototype to see how it does, and share video. → Read More
Last month I wrote about why Netbooks, which are small, low end computers that are selling like crazy, just aren’t good enough for most users.
Small screens, small keyboards and underpowered hardware make for a less than stellar Netbook user experience. But Netvibes Founder Tariq Krim, who left Netvibes on a full time basis last May, thinks he can fix that.
His solution is a new software stack called Jolicloud – users will download Jolicloud to their Netbooks and then install it. Whatever operating system and software is on the computer will be wiped off, and replaced with a stripped down Linux operating system and custom browser. → Read More
