Jolicloud: the ultimate operating system for netbooks and cloud computing

If you translate Joli from French to English, you get the following definition:

joli - pretty, nice, lovely, nice-looking, fine-looking, good, bonny, precious, tidy

This is a perfect description for this extremely promising new OS for netbooks. From founder of Netvibes Tariq Krim, Jolicloud is a new operating system that focus on improving the experince of using web applications.

Based on Ubuntu Remix, Jolicloud has a "virtual OS" (see screenshot above) where you can look for new applications (both client softwares or web applications), update your system or, like in Twitter, follow other Jolicloud users.

The installation process couldn't be easier. You simply chose the software, click on install, wait a few seconds... and done! The same process apply for uninstalling and updating each software. Once your software is installed, you need to access the launcher from Remix and locate it under the correspondent category. I don't have any inside information, but it would make sense that the OS will evolve to a point where Ubuntu's interface will be totally replaced by the Jolicloud Dashboard.

To create the installable web applications, Jolicloud uses Mozilla Prizm to trigger streamlined Firefox windows that run without any superflual browser menubars, just the thin funtional black bar at the top. Another nice touch is the usage of small icons to show the apps/windows that are running, maximizing the usage of tiny screens.

As for the ability to follow other users, I believe this would be a much usefull feature if it were integrate to Twitter and Facebook, similar to what Moblin offers. Maybe that's another feature that might be under development. By the way, it is important to say that Jolicloud is currently at Alpha stage, despite the fact that it already has a lot to offer.

The installation was almost seamless using a pen drive. In my first attempt, I tried to install it directly without booting the system. For some reason, the process got stuck at 99% and I had to re-start the whole process. I tried, then, to boot the OS and start the installation from within. That worked perfectly.

As for hardware integration, almost everything worked out of the box on my Eee PC 901. Wi-fi connection works perfectly, volume and brightness funtions integrated nicely, and battery life seems to be very in line with the one provided by the original Xandros distribution.

The only tweaks I had to make were accessing the BIOS to enable Bluetooth and the integrated Webcam, which could be done very easily. I also disabled the defauld passwords required by Ubuntu when connecting through Wi-Fi or getting back from Suspend mode.

Overall, the experience have been great. Boot time is very short, navigating through different windows is done very easily and, as I said earlier, it just looks nice. Icons, colors, fonts, everything renders very smoothly and show a well-thought yet simple interface.

If you are half as excited about Jolicloud as I got when I first read about it, I need to warn you that you'll not be able to install it right away. You'll have to access jolicloud.com, provide your e-mail address and wait until you get your invitation. It might take a few weeks, but it's certainly worth the wait.

One thing I have decided: I will not get back to my Xandros Linux distribution. Jolicloud is now my preferred OS and I'm looking forward to the enhancements that are certainly on the way.

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