A web desktop or webtop is a

desktop environment In computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphica ...

embedded in a

web browser A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used on ...

or similar

client application In computing, a client is a piece of computer hardware or software that accesses a service made available by a server as part of the client–server model of computer networks. The server is often (but not always) on another computer system, in ...

. A webtop integrates

web application A web application (or web app) is application software that is accessed using a web browser. Web applications are delivered on the World Wide Web to users with an active network connection. History In earlier computing models like client-serve ...

s, web services, client–server applications,

application server An application server is a server that hosts applications or software that delivers a business application through a communication protocol. An application server framework is a service layer model. It includes software components available to a ...

s, and applications on the local client into a desktop environment using the

desktop metaphor In computing, the desktop metaphor is an interface metaphor which is a set of unifying concepts used by graphical user interfaces to help users interact more easily with the computer. The desktop metaphor treats the computer monitor as if it is t ...

. Web desktops provide an environment similar to that of

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

, Mac, or a

graphical user interface The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

on Unix and Linux systems. It is a virtual desktop running in a web browser. In a webtop the applications, data, files, configuration, settings, and access privileges reside remotely over the network. Much of the computing takes place remotely. The browser is primarily used for display and input purposes. The terms "web desktop" and "webtop" are distinct from web operating system, a network

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

such as

TinyOS TinyOS is an embedded, component-based operating system and platform for low-power wireless devices, such as those used in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), smartdust, ubiquitous computing, personal area networks, building automation, and smart me ...

distributed Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

operating system such as

Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * Inferno (1973 fi ...

. In popular use, web desktops are sometimes referred to incorrectly as web operating systems or simply WebOS.

History

In the context of a web desktop, the term Webtop was first introduced by the

Santa Cruz Operation The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. (usually known as SCO, pronounced either as individual letters or as a word) was an American software company, based in Santa Cruz, California, that was best known for selling three Unix operating system variants ...

(SCO) in 1994 for a web-based interface to their

Unix Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...

operating system. This application was based on the provisional application entitled "The Adaptive Internet Protocol System" filed Nov. 13, 1997, serial number 60/065,521 and is the U.S. patent for the technology used in the Tarantella Webtop. Andy Bovingdon and Ronald Joe Record, who both explored the concepts in different directions, are often credited as the inventors. The initial SCO Webtop, developed by Record, utilized a Netscape Navigator plugin to display applications in a browser window via

TightVNC TightVNC is a free and open-source remote desktop software server and client application for Linux and Windows. A server for macOS is available under a commercial source code license only, without SDK or binary version provided. Constantin Kapl ...

. A trademark application for "SCO Webtop" was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on November 8, 1996. In order to avoid confusion with the more complex technology incorporated into the Tarantella Webtop it was abandoned on December 24, 1997 by The Santa Cruz Operation. Bovingdon's three tiered architecture (TTA) concept was launched as the

Tarantella () is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Puglia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the mo ...

Webtop. This technology originated from early commercial use of web server technology by SCO. the first OS vendor to include a commercial web server,

NCSA HTTPd NCSA HTTPd is an early, now discontinued, web server originally developed at the NCSA at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign by Robert McCool and others. First released in 1993, it was among the earliest web servers developed, follo ...

, and commercial

, NCSA Mosaic. Their

X.desktop X.desktopSee X.desktop 3 details provided by SCO at was an early desktop environment graphical user interface built on the X Window System. It was developed and sold during the late 1980s and early 1990s by IXI Limited, a British software house ba ...

product line, obtained when they acquired

IXI Limited IXI Limited was a British software company that developed and marketed windowing products for Unix, supporting all the popular Unix platforms of the time. Founded in 1987, it was based in Cambridge. The product it was most known for was X.desktop ...

in the UK, was the first to have icons for URLs (controlled via the Deskshell scripting language) and an HTML-based help system, called DeskHelp, which extended the NCSA Mosaic

to include APIs and scripting linked to the

product for interactive control. The

scripting language based on

Python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

was later replaced with

JavaScript JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language that is one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. As of 2022, 98% of Website, websites use JavaScript on the Client (computing), client side ...

allowed real UNIX and

applications to be displayed within a web browser through the use of Java to form a true web based desktop or Webtop. The first SCO Webtop releases were part of

SCO Skunkware SCO Skunkware, often referred to as simply "Skunkware", is a collection of open-source software projects ported, compiled, and packaged for free redistribution on SCO operating environments. SCO Skunkware packaged components exist for SCO Xe ...

SCO Skunkware Release Notes
/ref> before being integrated into

SCO OpenServer Xinuos OpenServer, previously SCO UNIX and SCO Open Desktop (SCO ODT), is a closed source computer operating system developed by Santa Cruz Operation (SCO), later acquired by SCO Group, and now owned by Xinuos. Early versions of OpenServer we ...

version 5 and UnixWare 7. Tarantella was subsequently purchased by

Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, the ...

and integrated into their Sun Secure Global Desktop. Byte magazine referred to the Webtop as a NUI (Network User Interface). More recently,

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

released an operating system for web connection called

ChromeOS ChromeOS, sometimes stylized as chromeOS and formerly styled as Chrome OS, is a Linux-based operating system designed by Google. It is derived from the open-source ChromiumOS and uses the Google Chrome web browser as its principal user interfac ...

and several 11-12" netbooks from Acer and Samsung have implemented the system. It is thought to represent a useful fraction (~10%) of the current (2012) netbook sales.

Advantages

; Convenience: A personalized desktop on every supported client device ; Mobility: Access your desktop anywhere there is a supported client device ; Session management: Server-side session management allows roaming users to access restored sessions from anywhere ; Software management: * Ensures all users are running the same current versions of all applications * Updates and patches need only be applied to the server - no need to update multiple clients * No need for software to distribute software over the network ; Security: * Less prone to typical attacks, viruses, worms, unpatched clients, vulnerabilities * Sensitive data stored on secure servers rather than scattered across multiple potentially unprotected and vulnerable clients (e.g. smart phones and laptops) * Encrypted transmission of all data between server and clients (e.g.

) * Software Management features (above) accommodate quick and easy application of security advisories on server side * Webtop administrator can control which applications and data each user is allowed to access ; High availability: * From a single device access Windows, UNIX, Linux, and Mainframe applications, all at the same time * Minimal hardware requirements for client devices (except for rendered technologies such as Flash/Flex/SilverLight) * Less downtime - robust server system more easily protected and less likely to fail than multiple client desktops * Fault tolerance - if a client device fails for any reason simply replace it with any other supported client device without loss of data, configuration, preferences, or application access

Drawbacks

; Security: Because all data is transferred over the internet, it might be possible for a cracker to intercept the connection and read data. Although with the use of

256-bit encryption and

access control list In computer security, an access-control list (ACL) is a list of permissions associated with a system resource (object). An ACL specifies which users or system processes are granted access to objects, as well as what operations are allowed on giv ...

s, this can be safe-guarded. ; Speed: When using a web desktop the whole code used for visualization (.js/.css files, Flash player files, etc.) needs to be transferred to the local computer, so that it can be displayed. Further, network latency or congestion can intermittently slow webtop activity. Offline application storage can mitigate this issue.How offline application cache works
/ref> ; Application features: Some webtop-delivered applications may not contain the full feature set of their traditional desktop counterparts. ; Network Access: Web desktops require access to a network. If the client device is misconfigured or the network is unreachable then the web desktop is unavailable. ; Controlled access: In some webtop implementations and deployments a user's access to some applications and data can be restricted. This is also considered an advantage of webtops but can be viewed as a drawback from the user's perspective. ; Central control: The normal webtop user is not able to install additional applications or update existing applications. Updates typically must be performed by an administrator on the server side. Webtop users are dependent upon the webtop administrator whereas in the traditional desktop environment the user can fix and/or break the system by installing new software or updates. This can also be seen as an advantage for webtops.

Comparison of web desktops

The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of web desktops.

Notes

References

SCO Tarantella Offers New Twist On an Old Thin-Client Dance
"Network Computing Magazine", Mark Andrew Seltzer, January 24, 2000

PC World ''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. Since 2013, it has been an online only publication. It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal tech ...