(Psuedo) WebOS Jooce launches from Paris… clearly has India on its radars
(Currently in private beta, Jooce has offered 15 test accounts to Webyantra’s readers. In case you are interested in trying it out, please leave behind your email ID in the comment area for this post)
Paris based startup Jooce has launched a free product that is aimed primarily at the millions of cyber cafe users in developing countries like India. This is like an online desktop (somewhat like your Windows desktop, though not in appearance) that can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection. You could think of it as a pseudo (unreal) operating system since it is essentially a Flash/Ajax shell inside the OS. Check out this writeup on their blog that explains how Jooce is not to be confused with a regular OS. The startup has venture backing from Mangrove Capital, which has backed Skype in the past.
With a Jooce account, users get preinstalled customized applications like instant messaging, storage, media player, email, widets etc. There are two versions of desktop for each user- one a private one and the other a public one (called Joocetop), which can also double up as a private sharing network among friends. The applications can be accessed from anywhere without having to install it on the native computer. And thats what makes it suited for access from public computers & cyber cafes. The entire GUI is written in Flash and has a stunningly beautiful graphic/visual design. You can upload videos, images, files etc onto your desktops. Currently editing of MS Office documents is not possible, but it is planned very soon. To reach out to the Indian masses, Jooce is exploring partnerships with Indian cybercafe owner associations, leading ISP providers and philanthropic IT initiatives such as Professor MS Swaminathan’s Mission 2007. Beyond India, Jooce is trying to partner with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and its Connect The World programme and the UN-sponsored One Laptop Per Child initiative.
I tried out Jooce and its responsiveness left me very surprised. Even on the 256 kbps broadband connection I have at home, the application was very zippy, once the initial Flash download got over. One feedback though- while the user interface is real eye-candy stuff and works fast, it lacks in intuitiveness. Some contextual help would probably come in handy.
Jooce desktop

Private desktop

A few weeks back, I wrote about Nivio, which is another online desktop/Web OS product from a Delhi based startup. Nivio’s positioning however, is very different from that of Jooce. Nivio tries to replicate your Windows desktop on the web; its user interface mimics Windows and it supports a much larger set of applications including MS Office, free IM clients like yahoo, Gtalk and other installable software (on a paid basis). Jooce does not try to replicate the regular desktop at all. It is like a shell within the desktop, but with its own UI and a lesser emphasis on regular desktop softwares. I must add that Jooce is much faster in usage than Nivio (by an order of magnitude) because of a couple of reasons- it is lightweight and its client is written in Flash (Novio’s client is Java applet based, if I remember correctly).


manish jain on Aug 24, 2007
i’d like one.
thanks,
mrj
amit on Aug 24, 2007
Manish,
I have emailed you the invite. can I request you to share your feedback in the comments here itself.
amit
Mahesh on Aug 24, 2007
Amit,
Can i have one.
Thank you.
-
Mahesh
Jace on Aug 24, 2007
Amit, another request here. I’m curious.
jeremy on Aug 24, 2007
Hi There,
I have invitation for another “WebOs” http://www.mybooo.com
pls send me mail to jd@lynxoft.com
@soon
ankush on Aug 24, 2007
Amit,
One for me please.
Thanks
Ankush
Rajeev on Aug 24, 2007
Yes am interested. Please add me.
Sujoy Neogi on Aug 24, 2007
Send me the invitation
Mahesh on Aug 24, 2007
Please send me one. Thanks for offering us one.
Manish on Aug 24, 2007
I’d like to test it as well.
Naresh on Aug 24, 2007
Hi,
Looks interesting. Pls give me a test id as well.
Thanks,
Naresh
Vishesh Bajaj on Aug 25, 2007
Looks interesting. I would like to try my hand at it. Amit, could you send me the invite.
Tarun on Aug 25, 2007
Hi Amit,
If you have any left, can you send me one.
Thanks
Tarun
sandeep on Aug 25, 2007
hi amit,
i would also like to try..
thanks
Vaibhav on Aug 27, 2007
Hi Amit,
I would love to try jooce. Can you please send me a user id.
Cheers,
Vaibhav
Don on Aug 27, 2007
Hi,
Would appreciate an invitation too…if you have any left…
Thanks in advance…
Ashutosh on Aug 27, 2007
Hi Amit
I would like to have an id too. My email id is ashutosh.agl3@gmail.com
Aditya Dhanuka on Aug 31, 2007
Hi,
Even I would like to try it.
It will be very nice of you if you can mail me the id.
Thanking you
Aditya Dhanuka
Michael on Sep 2, 2007
Hi Amit
I would like to try it. My email id is michaelmarona@gmail.com
thanks
StRiKeR on Oct 8, 2007
I need an invitation of Jooce. Can anybody send me please?
striker1972@gmail.com