Hank [BS/MSEE,
MSM $$$, Ph.D. Mgmt] teaches 
In past blogs I have addressed the coming of Cloud Computing. Tools to support this concept such as widgets, Adobe AIR, and now Mozilla’s Prism are becoming generally available and ready for prime time. Prism is a simple XULRunner- based browser that hosts web applications without the normal web browser user interface. Prism is based on a concept called Site Specific Browsers (SSB). An SSB is an application with an embedded browser designed to work exclusively with a single web application. It doesn’t have the menus, toolbars and accoutrements of a normal web browser. Some people have called it a “distraction free browser” because none of the typical browser chrome is used. An SSB also has a tighter integration with the OS and desktop than a typical web application running through a web browser. The latest Windoz version is available here:
What Prism does for you, the heavy-handed user, is provide a direct link to Cloud Computer components, such as Gmail, Meebo, or Pandora without going through your “normal” sequence of browser actions, resulting in a very fast, efficient, interface. When you fill in the Prism panel below, an icon may be placed on your desktop, and clicking the icon takes you very quickly and directly to the application. The Prism link above provides many links preprogrammed for the challenged. SSBs - the future. Get on board. Hank
Sounds interesting, I would like to see it in action.
I think that the idea sounds innovative but, like Jen said, I think that this is something I would want to see in action to fully comprehend the potential for this application.
I too think this would make navigating the web quicker and more time efficient. Sounds like cloud computing is starting to pick up more and more, and I would be interested in giving it a try and comparing it to how I browse the internet now.
Its a bit confusing but I could see where this could be beneficial.
I would agree that it could be beneficial. I would be interested in trying out the product to see if it was worth running the program necessary to launch the applications all the time or if just simply using my web page bookmarks would be faster. I’m sure the new technology will catch on though.
What I would like to know is what is the difference between this and just using my bookmarks in my web browser?
I think this is the first time that you(Hank) have mentioned an up-and-coming technology that I am actually quite interested in. I’ve never gotten into widgets or most of the sites that you’ve posted before, but for some reason I can’t wait to install this on my computer. I think running the application portions of the websites without having to actually navigate to the website and having a browser opened is a fantastic idea. I love listening to Pandora, but at the moment, Firefox has a memory leak problem which when left open, can make my computer lag at times.
I think that it looks very interesting and unique!!!!
I will definitely DL that and give it a try, I am not pleased with any web browser I have tried thus far. I have the same issues with Pandora, even in the labs on campus and would like to try this out.
It sounds like a cool concept. I’d like to try it out and see what it’s like. I wonder how long it will be before this type of thing is the norm (if it will be).
wow surprisingly I have never heard of this. I’m very excited to explore it and learn more about. I’m sure in my field it will become a big deal really fast.
[Hank says: I see many uses for this. Consider this scenario - you are setting up a locked down app for a business and only want certain apps to be available via your new cloud - SSB enables this. Say you are setting up a grandma to access your Flickr pictures - Prism to the rescue, and on and on. See my comment in Jim Hardy's comment for more about less load on resources.]
i think that it looks pretty interesting and i would like to see how it works.. but i dont know if i would really use it.
So I downloaded it and am using it. This isn’t something people are going to flip-out for initially, but in this age of Blackberry’s and other devices that allow us to “go faster” I see the value. The only thing I don’t like about it is that I have to type in the URL and name, and wait for it to create an icon, then close out that window and restart the program all over again. It’s somewhat tedious but for the time that it may save, doing it now is worth it. But I agree with some of the comments above that this is just like a bookmark, what is cool though is I wonder if this would eliminate the need for an internet browser altogether?
[Hank says: Prism is a stand alone browser that has a much smaller footprint than full browsers such as Firefox or Internet Explorer. It puts much less demand on a computer's resources also. Try running the blog with say Firefox via your bookmark. Do a CTRl-ALT-DEL, and look at the CPU load and Page File size. Then do the same via your new custom SSB-blog. You will find the CPU load to be much much less, and also the page file size to be smaller. All of this results is less load on your computer, and often faster rendering of pages. There's much more here than meets the eye.]
It’s interesting how everyone says “Oh, sounds interesting!” and “I’d like to see it in action!”
Well then download it! Hank isn’t posting these for you to mull over, they are for you to use!
[Hank says: Couldn't have said it better myself :-)]
Seems pretty neat to have that application right at your fingertips.
I understand what this is, but I feel that it’s kind of like bookmarks, and I think that people can just use the bookmarks. It’s not the inventive, but I think that people can use it anyway.
This is pretty cool but before I jump on board I would like to wait to see what the adobe air does and compare the two of them side by side to see which one I like better. Both seem really cool and I can’t wait to start using them.
On another note like I said about the Adobe Air, it is available on Adobe’s website if anyone wants to take a look at the other option.
Sounds like a very innovative thing for people who get distracted easily while surfing the web, aka me. Haha, I am currently downloading to check out how well it works.
I really think that I’m not the target market here. At first I really thought this might be innovation just for the sake of it, but the point about you setting it up for your grandmother was a good one. Also I understand that making things more efficient is always good, but is a traditional browser’s load on your computer really that much if you’re running anything from this millenium. Besides how many of us are editing video while accessing the internet.
This is a great idea. Many sites today, many that I work on at my job, would really benefit from being able to be used more like a desktop app. Ill be very interested to present this at work. Mozilla is definitely staying on top of the web.
So my understanding is that this is a shortcut to all of you applications. Pretty interesting. ~John Fodor
This is a really cool thing! I would love to have my browsers right at my finger tips!
I’ve heard of Prism before, and it seems like a very interesting new idea. I now have to decide if I want to download it myself, but I would have to look in to checking if it would cause a bandwidth spike, because I get penalized for high enough spikes where I live.
i downloaded the application, its great. so simple with no BS. its great if you know the URL and can avoid the normal browser
Looks like a pretty cool tool. It sounds kind of similar to having bookmarks but I guess it takes it to the next level in a way
I have a mac, so I will be sitting this one out for now… I guess I could try to do it on VMware, but I see myself being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the cloud computing world… There is a lot of information that I do not want on the internet at all times. If my computer is off, or is not connected to the internet or a file simply is not in use (using FileVault, all of my files are encrypted so long as they are not being used or in RAM) there is no way someone can get access to it unless they steal my computer, even then they would need my password to decrypt my hard drive. In a cloud world all of your information is on a disk (probably backed up in a few other places) that makes your data always available to you, and hackers….
I also don’t like the idea of always having to pay for an internet connection no matter where I am to get my data, I want it in my computer… I am sure someday this will become seamless and everyone will have nationwide internet access, but I don’t and im not about to pay for home internet and wireless internet that puts a bandwidth cap on.
There will be a day when I will use cloud computing, and it will be when it is seamless, and only if I can still edit sensitive docs without uploading them to a server.
This is a really innovative approach to the whole set-up of the web browser. It kind of reminds me of the dock of the Apple computers, but with each icon linking to a specific webpage (i.e. facebook, email, etc.) I love all of these shortcuts because they really save on the time it takes to type a specific address in each time you want to get to a page. A lot of people have mentioned that this is like having bookmarks, but, as Hank mentioned in class, it is much more than that - faster and more convenient, among other things.
So I just found and installed it, checked it out. It seems to be hit or miss. Some sites that I commonly check out (Macnn, LeftlaneNews) consumed 72% of my processor. Which was about 20% MORE than Safari. However, for thinkbeta.com it pulled a meger 1.2% verses Safari’s 50%. However, it is also still a memory hog. It pulls down a Gig of Virtual Memory (on par with Safari), but does only take 50mb of Real Memory vs. Safari with 150mb. I just want to know what the hell they are doing with a gig of virtual memory? Although Safari has been having some stability problems, it is the most standards complient browser around, which I like. (and WebKit, what Safari is based on, recently scored a 100/100 on the Acid3 standards test, vs. Firefox (prism) at 53ish%. IE was even worse.). However, The efficiency, even though not all that much better in some cases, calls to me because I hate bloatware!
It is but a beta, so we will see!
@benzmacx -
If you’re a mac user, why don’t you try Fluid app which is a nicer SSB.
http://fluidapp.com/