Yesterday, Google announced an early release of Native Client, a plug-in for Web Browsers that lets you run native code like C or C++ in the browser. The main goal is to provide native performance and to let C/C++ developers start creating Web applications. They have got a couple of cool examples, including Quake running in the browser, on their developer site.

Not to be outdone by Google, Adobe announced a similar initiative called Alchemy for their ubiquitous Flash Player.

To my mind, it is increasingly starting to become obvious that web browsers as they exist today just aren't cutting it and hence we will see many more of such "extensions" going forward.  

In continuation to my earlier blog post on Single Page Applications, readers might want to consider using a database embedded inside a Web page. Here are a couple of such pure Javascript based databases that I came across:-

1. TaffyDB: http://taffydb.com/
2. Javascript DB: http://jsdb.sourceforge.net/

Both the above projects are Open Source and allow a Web developer to embed the power of a database inside any web page/application. Now if the actual data can be appended into the DOM (say inside a hidden iFrame), then developers also get the power of data persistence. A project combining such Javascript Databases along-with the SPA approach outlined in my earlier post could become an extremely potent technology for delivering rich applications that work both online and offline.

Besides being pure Javascript, the user does not need to download and install any additional components.

Traditionally, Javascript (via AJAX) has been used more for adding interactivity to Web pages, but with such emerging technologies, SPA's can usher in a new paradigm of online/offline applications. Try it out

I came across this trend of so-called Single Page Applications (SPA) that have application functionality in one single HTML file (with embedded Javascript code). Such an approach is extremely powerful way to create offline applications and by far easier than using Google Gears or Adobe AIR. A great example of such an SPA is TiddlyWiki that I covered in greater details in my earlier blog.

Such serverless applications work inside the familiar Browser environment and can optionally connect with a server for additional functionality or for synchronization of data.

The reader can also visit AppPad (http://apppad.com/) for an API that allows developers to build SPA's using HTML + Javascript + AJAX.

If this trend catches on, we will soon have a "Take Offline" feature in every page that we visit on the Internet. Imagine taking Rediffmail offline composing a long email and then sync'ing that with the Rediffmail servers the next time you are online. That would be really cool !!

Very rarely do you come across a small utility or tool that completely blows you away and TiddlyWiki did just that the first time I stumbled upon it yesterday. TiddlyWiki is a single html file which has all the characteristics of a Wiki - including all of the content, the functionality (including editing, saving, tagging and searching). I have highlighted the word "single" in the earlier sentence to draw the reader's attention to the fact that this is a highly compact solution for personal To-Do's, Projects, Tasks and Collaboration with colleagues. Being completely self-contained in one single HTML file, you can email it, put that on a Web server, or share it via a USB stick. And you can easily synchronize multiple files using the "backstage" menu within the tool.

The entire application is developed in Javascript and hence can operate solely inside a Browser. Besides the code is highly portable and runs within all popular Web Browsers including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and more.

There are several flavors (see below) of TiddlyWiki's around and you can chose the one that works best for you and also extend that if you are technically inclined (using plugins):

1. MonkeyGTD (http://monkeygtd.tiddlyspot.com/)
2. TeamTasks (http://getteamtasks.com/)
3. GTDTiddlyWiki (http://nathanbowers.com/gtdtw/)
4. RippleRap (http://www.ripplerap.com/)
5. TiddlyDu2 (http://www.giffmex.org/tiddlydu2.html)
6. Twab (http://www.tiddly-twab.com/)
7. BibblyWiki (http://www.giffmex.org/bibblywiki.html)
8. TiddlySticky (http://www.maloninc.com/cgi-bin/fswiki/wiki.cgi?page=TiddlySticky+-+Sticky+Notes+for+Web+Browser+-)

For a nice beginners tutorial on getting the best out of this nifty tool, check http://www.giffmex.org/twfortherestofus.html

In a world of bloated software, TiddlyWiki really shines as a lean & simple application.

You have a business travel coming up and (yawn !!) get up at an ungodly hour to catch a flight balancing your bulky laptop computer on one hand and baggage on the other. Boy ! I can think of heaps of things that are more fun.

I particularly detest lugging my heavy laptop bag around. Well, in reality, my laptop is not all that heavy, but over time I tend to accumulate junk (proposal copies, expense reports, bills, credit card statements, etc) that collects in my bag adding to its weight. Until, I discovered Portable Apps

A portable app is a computer program that you can carry around with you on a portable device such as a USB flash disk, portable hard drive and use on any Windows computer. When your USB flash drive, or portable hard drive is plugged in, you have access to your software and personal data just as you would on your own PC. And when you unplug the device, none of your personal data is left behind. Really cool !

The Portable Apps Suite is an Open Source and FREE collection of software applications such as:-

1. Web Browser
2. Email Client
3. Office Suite
4. Calendar
5. Instant Messaging
6. Anti Virus
7. Audio Player
8. Games
9. PDF Reader
10. Backup utility
11. And an integrated menu to use these applications

The download sizes for the entire suite is 113 MB (and 35 for the Lite version).

Ever since I discovered this gem, all that I carry during my business travel is my 8 GB USB Flash Disk that you can buy from Rediff.com for just Rs. 999. And my spine is sure thanking me for this

A quick backgrounder for those who have not heard of OpenGoo. OpenGoo (http://www.opengoo.org) is a first-class, Open Source Web Office Productivity Suite complete with Word processor, Spreadsheet and Presentation Graphics (besides Project Management, Email and Contacts). In other words, it is an equivalent to Google Docs and other such commercial solutions (ThinkFree Office, Zoho, etc). OpenGoo is developed in PHP, AJAX and open technologies and you can freely download and install it on your own server. This is particularly an important point as many businesses dislike having their data residing on the "cloud". Another great capability of OpenGoo is that it is completely Web based, so there is nothing to install on the end-user's desktop (unlike traditional Office Suites such as Microsoft Office or Open Office). Having said that, Microsoft recently announced their intent to also jump into the Web Office bandwagon (see this Gartner report).

Large Enterprises will like the server-based capability as it reduces desktop deployment and compliance issues (no files that users can take away or modify without access rights).

While OpenGoo is now in RC 1, over time this is going to mature into a really complete application and business both Enterprise and SMB should monitor this development.

I came across Dan Bricklin's new wikiCalc ' a wiki based online spreadsheet. For those who don't know their computing history, Dan Bricklin was one of the original authors of VisiCalc, the world's first spreadsheet program. VisiCalc is often credited to be the single software application that turned the microcomputer from a hobbyist tool to a tool for serious business users. VisiCalc was not patented by Dan Bricklin and soon several clones came to market, notably Lotus 1-2-3 and Microsoft Excel and went on to change business computing forever. But I digress, so back to wikiCalc. Simply put wikiCalc is a combination of a wiki and a spreadsheet. A powerful idea, as it allows multiple users to create spreadsheets and collaborate on that wiki-style. Suddenly no longer are collaborative tasks such as Sales planning, Financial budgeting, Revenue forecasting, and MIS reporting a chore. And users don't need to send spreadsheet attachments back and forth anymore. A wiki has traditionally been a simple way for people to collaborate on unstructured information (typically documents) and wikiCalc adds structured data to wikis leveraging the familiar spreadsheet metaphor. Does look like Dan is about to reinvent the spreadsheet all over again for the Web 2.0 era.

By now, Google’s launch of the Chrome Browser is old news, but I still wanted to blog about the “why did Google enter the Browser market?” topic. I mean, Google has been supporting FireFox and that should have been enough to counter-balance any threat from Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser. So here is my take on why Google is thrown its hat into the browser market ring:-

1. Google’s future is inexorably tied to web based applications. And Google might have been a tad disappointed with the slow progress (on new features and capabilities such as offline usage) from existing browser vendors be it Microsoft, Opera or the Mozilla Foundation.
2. With Adobe Flash and more recently Microsoft’s Sliverlight taking center stage for the more advanced applications (so-called Rich Internet Applications), Google might have felt threatened and decided that it is best to push their JavaScript based applications (Gmail, etc) to the next level by way of a new powerful JavaScript engine.
3. Google is betting that the Browser is the new Operating System for most users. And anybody who controls the browser can potentially be the next Microsoft.
4. With Chrome available on multiple operating systems soon (Mac and Linux), Google is making the traditional desktop operating system irrelavant (and with their hosted offerings, also making server OS and on-site data centers redundant).  

Your feedback welcome as always…

Google seems quite invincible at its numero uno position as the preferred way to search for information on the web. Then Wikipedia came along with tons of community edited "articles" that is in many ways more comprehensive and concise that visiting several Google links on any subject. Similar in spirit to Wikipedia is Freebase - Freebase is an open database of the world's information. Freebase is also maintained by a community.  The difference lies in the way FreeBase stores information. Wikipedia arranges information in the form of articles. Freebase lists facts and statistics. Freebase's list form is good not only for people who like to glance at facts, but also for people who want to use the data to build other web sites and software (via an API).

And Parallax, is an interface on top of Freebase that makes it easy to navigate through a lot of data to arrive at information sets (related information). This video on Parallax is very illuminating and a must see. With Parallax, the promise of the semantic web is coming closer.

Search based user experience is rapidly becoming the norm. This is validated by Microsoft's new release of "Search Commands" for Microsoft Office 2007.

In the 2007 version, Microsoft replaced the aging "menu" navigation system with a new "Ribbon" (or Fluent) interface. I quite liked the Fluent interface and think it is a great step in the right direction towards making information workers more productive. Now, Microsoft Office Labs has provided a "search" interface in-built into the Office 2007 Ribbon. So you can find commands, options, wizards, and galleries in Microsoft Office 2007 Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Just type what you're looking for in your own words and click the command you need. Great tool for keyboard junkies.