Desktop.com
| Industry | Application service provider |
|---|---|
| Fate | Shut down [1] |
| Founded | December, 1998[2] |
| Defunct | 2001[1] |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California |
Key people | Katie Burke Mitic, Larry Drebes, and Karen Drebes; Founders |
Desktop.com was an Application Service Provider founded by Katie Burke Mitic, Larry Drebes, and Karen Drebes. They created a Web application compatible with the Internet Explorer 4 browser (and announced compatibility with Netscape Navigator 4) that effectively simulates a user's desktop over the World Wide Web, so that it is accessible from anywhere.
A full window management and application launching system existed, controlled by JavaScript code. Much of this code was downloaded during the login process, which made the first access very long (e.g. a few minutes) but the resulting user experience was like that one of desktop applications and not what would have been expected from traditional web applications.
Desktop.com may be characterized as a predecessor to the later concepts of Ajax, rich Internet applications, web desktop, etc.
References
- 1 2 Shayesteh, Abdi. "Start-Ups that Flopped in 2001; What Twenty-Four Financially Distressed Start-Ups Did to Attempt to Save Their Company". Retrieved 2007-10-07.
- ↑ Festa, Paul (1999-06-30). "Desktop.com joining Web-based applications market". Retrieved 2007-10-07.
- Desktop.com Secures $29M in First-Round Financing - August 29, 1999 news on internetnews.com.