
Workspot Offers Free Web-based Linux Accounts 83
medicthree writes, "Workspot is offering free Linux accounts to anyone who wants one. These accounts are accessible through a normal Web browser, and let anyone install and run whatever (free) software they want to on the accounts. KDE is the window-manager (as I'm still on the waiting list I'm not sure if this can be changed). The system lets one keep up to two different desktops alive 'infinitely,' and they plan on charging later for additional features (more desktops, renting 'high-end' software to use on your account, more disk space, more CPU usage, etc.) One of [Workspot's] angles is that the system lets people 'try' Linux without installing anything on their actual computers. "
What is so special about this? (Score:1)
I've always used mindterm [mindbright.se]when i'm not at home and if I really need to I can login through sshvnc.
This i'snt new or anything special.
Psycot|X forgot his password
Been using it since last November (Score:1)
I haven't really needed that because I'm more interested in being able to use this as access to my desktop from anybody's web browser. Anyway, the system works rather well for using VNC. It's not really sluggish at all and I have enjoyed using it.
The actual hardware you connect up to appears to be some Pentium III boxes running at 450Mhz with 256 Megs of RAM with a 12gig
Now I just need to set one of these up to my own linux box at home and I'll be really set.
I don't know what the backlog on accounts is currently at, but if anyone has questions, I'll be happy to test them out on the system.
Slashdot Favoritism (Score:1)
Re:I like this idea (Score:1)
web apps (Score:1)
but this (workspot.com) requires no d/l (at least not yet), making it more useful [for me].
and w/ more powerful apps included (not just a notebook or calendar or whatever), I could see getting some real work done (given bandwidth). I can't wait to investigate this a bit further ;)
Re:Umm (Score:1)
Re:I like this idea (Score:1)
Windows port of GIMP. I've used it a bit, and while I can't compare it to the native Linux version of GIMP, I can say I like it much better than Photoshop.
Re:VNC is cool for this sort of app (Score:1)
Re:Also try lastfoot.com (Score:1)
Re:I like this idea (Score:1)
Re:slashdot code flawed (Score:1)
Re:SSH and VNC can be done (Score:1)
Something really bizarre happened to your URL there. You did of course Preview and check it before posting ... ? :-)
In any case, I know it's easy to install an ssh client in your Workspot workspace, because it's just like doing it on any other Unix. What I wanted to know is whether the machines come with the ssh server installed - which a user can't do for themselves at all.
I'm suprised it took this long... (Score:1)
As a student in an NT school, i'll often set IE to full screen and code away on some perl scripts.
The coolest thing about workspot is the fact that it offers the whole free storage thing too. Now some of you may think this is old news (X drive [xdrive.com], etc), but to all the geeks out there, you can access this storage space via a Palm VII app! Basically, Its a wireless storage space like that.
And you also get free web hosting @ http://www.workspot.net/~username. With CGI! Mmmmm...
O ya, and the KDE kiks ass too. But don't try to run it in Netscape/MacOS. *crash*.
The only constraint has been bandwidth. The coolness loses its touch when the menu's are jerkin around on a 56k.
All in all, a perfect OS gateway for those with network access to the internet.
Re:Web site (Score:1)
Of course, if that's abused, I'm sure they'll turn off some of that
They are already offering free accounts to anyone, so why bother about such abuse possibility. No sane person would ever use that kind of account for anything important. If those cgi-bins are run with user's own account it should not lead into root-compromise either.
Re:Win2K from a browser (Score:1)
Actually, it's possible (With Citrix MetaServer) Just very expensive to implement.
-jerdenn
Re:Using the Service (Score:1)
I remember back in the day when there were a lot of free Linux systems around, and a lot of problems with people bringing over Eggdrop bots. I'm wondering if they'll address this issue. Because to be honest, I think they'll get a lot of people who will have no desire other than set up IRC bots.
And on an even more important note. What's really stopping people from using this site as a launchpad for DoS attacks?
Other then the few foreseeable problems with people abusing this company's generosity, I think this is a really cool project. I think for myself, it could be a great teaching tool. I mean, imagine if you could hop onto Windows 2000 from a web browser, and learn it. Would be a lot cheaper then attending a class.
Computing on the go. (Score:1)
Now when I'm staying round at a friend's place, I can still do all my coding etc. and keep uptodate on all my email, without needing to change any of his settings.
Also means I can play Unreal Tournament and then not need to reboot.
lastfoot.com info (Score:1)
they've got a Genuine Intel PII 450MHz
with approx. 500MB RAM? (or is that total virtual memory?)
They're service was VERY slow. The demand for this kind of service must be pretty high then.
Dilbert: I have become one with my computer. It is a feeling of ecstacy... the blend of logic and emotion. I have reached...
Re:Also try lastfoot.com (Score:1)
The mouse pointer was dragging by about 5 seconds!!
Cool service thou... they default to KDE but you can do GNOME or AfterStep if that's your thing, I didn't bother.
cool
Dilbert: I have become one with my computer. It is a feeling of ecstacy... the blend of logic and emotion. I have reached...
Re:Thoughts: SSH support, overloading, funding (Score:1)
Get Crackin' (Score:1)
I've got an account now - it's good (Score:1)
But it's memory footprint is about 4Mb.
Is that a lot of resources?
When I close my VNC connection cpu utilisation drops to 0% and my memory gets swapped out. (or it would do if I ever used 128Mb of ram for ANYTHING!).
Saving state is great because you can start a compile, close it down and when you come back to it later it's like you never left. Helps when you're doing the usual 10000 things at once on 10 machines from one terminal.
When you manage ten or so servers in NT, Win2k and a couple of Nix's remote access like this is great fun.
VNC also has a clipboard feature so you can cut and paste between machines.
With X you can choose the window manager globally for all your sessions.
You also get to specify the screen size for each server so depending which machine I'm on I can get the correct size screen - (useful as I have a laptop with only 640x480 and scrolling becomes a pain).
You can have it full screen or even choose a zoom level(as a fraction!)
Re:SSH and VNC can be done (Score:1)
Er, no - read this from w3c.org (Score:1)
By default, SGML requires that all attribute values be delimited using either double quotation marks (ASCII decimal 34) or single quotation marks (ASCII decimal 39). Single quote marks can be included within the attribute value when the value is delimited by double quote marks, and vice versa. Authors may also use numeric character referencesto represent double quotes (") and single quotes ('). For double quotes authors can also use the character entity reference".
In certain cases, authors may specify the value of an attribute without any quotation marks. The attribute value may only contain letters (a-z and A-Z), digits (0-9), hyphens (ASCII decimal 45), periods (ASCII decimal 46), underscores (ASCII decimal 95), and colons (ASCII decimal 58).
seehttp://www.w3.org/TR/html4/intro/sgmltut.html#att
section - 3.2.2 Attributes
VNC is platform neutral (Score:1)
To change window managers just edit your
~/.vnc/xstartup file and change the window manager.
I use iceWm on my FreeBSD box.
SSH and VNC can be done (Score:1)
slashdot code flawed (Score:1)
Slashdot turns href='http://url' into href="'http://url'" !!
That URL again (Score:1)
Slashdot code turns ' into "' in hrefs!
Redundant gimme a break (Score:1)
VMWare (Score:1)
I suspect the speed of this service will be much the same as MyWebOS. [mywebos.com] For those that have not used the service, it leaves much to be desired.
With VMWare, Linux newbies don't have to repartition, etc, and ifthey get freaked out, they're just a Cntrl+Alt+Esc away from returning to Windows. This also makes it a lot easier to Linux Newbies to setup their Internet connections, as they can easily switch into windows and search through Linux.com or LinuxNewbie.org.
This is definitely a nifty site though:)
signature smigmature
Re:I like this idea (Score:1)
I have one thing to say to you: Anti-Aliasing.
signature smigmature
Re:I like this idea (Score:1)
I'm sure they'd be so many more truely kickass themes if all the Photoshoppers themed for E !! :)
Oh .. ahh .. forget playing games through this right ?
Xserver? (Score:1)
And I would really like to see them offer twm instead of kde, I like it simple
Grtz, Jeroen
Re:Xserver? (Score:1)
Grtz, Jeroen
Re:Thoughts: SSH support, overloading, funding (Score:1)
They say they are going to rent applications to you, so you probably will get only the very basic for free... But still nice
Grtz, Jeroen
Re:Using the Service (Score:1)
My experience... let's just say that I uploaded one of my websites [workspot.net] with only two commands: unzip and chmod. The work that would have got me silly walking for half the morning done in 30 seconds. Gotta love it. The GIMP, the mahjonng solitaire and the CGI bin are my three other reasons to sign in.
--Hikari
Re:Delayed Registration (Score:1)
It is a bit slow, but what can one expect?
Ryan Stultz
Web site (Score:1)
Delayed Registration (Score:1)
Well now that it's been posted on Slashdot, we can probably expect that number to increase somewhat...
LiVE sessions with VMWARE (Score:1)
The problem with free linux machines on the net (as has been pointed out) is to avoid having them used for DoS attacks, spam, etc.
The LiVE (Linux Virtually Everwhere) approach is to use VMWARE to provide a sandbox to play in. Hopefully, this sandbox is secure & spam/DoS, etc, will not be a problem.
We are looking for people to point out security problems with LiVE & the VMWare sandbox!
Using VMWare for your sandbox has some problems, e.g., performance (not as bad as some people think), but also advantages. e.g., you can use VMWare on your local machine, get it set up to your liking, etc., then put it on the net via a single FTP for when you are on the road.
Cool (Score:1)
Re:Xserver? (Score:2)
Or if they could get a (low-bandwidth) X server in a Java applet; though that'd be one big applet...
short comment (Score:2)
Bit of info (Score:2)
Here's How To Do Something Similar (Score:2)
Re:One Question... (Score:2)
But really. How many folks actually install their own operating system, except for maybe BSD and Be? Most folks (WinDoze, Mac, and anything bigger) get their 'puters preinstalled, and an increasing number of Linuxites show up at an install party and get the gurus to set it up for them...
You and I and anyone reading this works in a rarified atmosphere of ubergeeks, where recompiling the kernel is a daily occurrence. We're way beyond Six Sigma here...
Welcome to the Real World, where Everyone Else just turns on their computer and expects it to Just Work.
--
warpeightbot, GaTech ICS '90 gus Baird (RIP)
Linux: The Choice of a GNU Generation
Don't forget the palm. :-) (Score:2)
See,
http://www.icsi.berkeley.edu/~minenko/PalmVNC/
Delayed (Score:2)
I like this idea (Score:2)
Re:I like this idea (Score:2)
Oh, and I'm also going to try Nethack.
I just hope they activate my account soon...
Thoughts: SSH support, overloading, funding (Score:2)
I know plenty of people who'd love to have a free Unix account like this. A lot of them wouldn't want to have to access it through these bizarre VNC clients. The web site seemed curiously silent on this, but I'd like to know if they support ssh logins. If they don't, there's something seriously missing.
I wonder what their load is like? (And whether it'll increase after being slashdotted...) Last time I heard of a free-Unix-account setup, it was ludicrously overloaded. If it's not worth logging in because you won't be able to do anything once you get there, why bother?
And where are they getting their money from, if the major service is free? I didn't even see any adverts on the site. How are they going to stay around?
Technical FAQ (Score:2)
Uh. Pretty lame. No technical detail. Deep questions like "What does Bill Gates think of this?". I want to try the service but sheesh.
r/
Dave
Privacy? (Score:2)
However, whenever I see some 'desktop over the web' or 'backup over the web' or 'write-your-bestseller-over-the-web' ad, my hairs stand straight up. When I hear that an ISP had to disclose his user DB to *** because of transmission of copyrighted material or that some would-be McCarthy in Elbonia (sorry, Dilbert) demands access to user's home directories, I definitely have mixed feelings about storing anything vaguely personal on some server somewhere in the Wild West Web.
Call me paranoid if you like (yes I do ssl transactions), but who guarantees you that you won't get sued over some 'foo.doc' where you wrote that B.C. or J.K. or R.M. or L.T. or C.T. was an idiot/nerd/redneck/sex maniac/DUIer... (properties and characters do not necessarily match here, and surely not in the featured sequence)
VNC is cool...but *not* for this app (Score:2)
You might be able to kludge something together, most of the parts are certainely there. But VNC is designed more for network control of a centralized server than allowing generic graphical X logins.
Also VNC *can* be very resource heavy on the server system, even w/o the overhead of one instance of X to login...which is killer if you are serving *lots*. Using a Java XServer has the advantage that it adds no more overhead than is minimally necessary (I mean, you have to run multiple instances of your WM/Desktop and Apps, but other than that).
-nullity-
I am nothing.
VNC is cool for this sort of app (Score:2)
Clients available for all sorts of platforms
Linux 2.x for x86
Solaris 2.5 (SPARC)
Windows 9x/2000/NT (Intel Win32)
Macintosh
- 68K processor
- PPC processor
DEC Alpha OSF1 3.2
Windows CE 2.x
- SH3 processor
- MIPS processor
An of course a Java app in a browser window
I use it on my network at home and also have vnc servers running on my FreeBSD server at work so I can work from home or wherever I am!
Using VNC means that Workspot don't have to care about Video drivers or anything which makes it much easier for them.
Re:LiVE sessions with VMWARE (Score:2)
How are these any different from something like shellyeah.org or VERY low cost shell's that you can afford potentially a high number of and obtain a lot of bandwidth for relatively little cash.
Isn't this like Sun's focus??? (Score:2)
Re:VNC is cool...but *not* for this app (Score:3)
Um, and the problem would be?
I havn't got a whole lot of Linux experiance, but I assume that just like any other modern Unix-like system it can swap out unused processes, so when you are not using your graphical enviroment the data area for that X server (Xvnc) will be paged out to disk, and the text (code) area will be shared by all the other running copies.
More over, if they want you to be able to have graphical desktops that save state, how else would it be done? ICCCM and XSM (or whatever the session managment was named after ICCCM's session managment was declared a failure) has been around for years and still doesn't work for everything (or really much of anything!). It has to be somewhere. If it can't be on the client, it has to be on the server.
From VNC's web pages [att.com] they say it was orignally designed for a ATM baised lightweight "Network Computer". In other words allowing X (windows/mac) graphical logins.
The Java XServer is fairly "resource easy" on the central server. But it doesn't let you save state from session to session. It also deals with lack o' bandwidth in a very diffrent way from VNC. For example a Xserver without enough bandwidth scrolling a single xterm will scroll it slowly, and become unresponsave to the user. VNC will appear to skip chunks of the text (like seeing still-frames of a movie), but will remain fairly responsave to the mouse and keybord.
I run VNC (over SSH) on my home machine, and access it from work, from my windows box (it has the monitor, for my wife's convenence), from other places. It's pretty nice. I keep three sessions running (three Xvnc's).
If my only concern was resource use I would probbably put an X server on my other machines at home (well, not the palm pilot), and do it that way. But the "never ending X session" is an extreamly handy feature. I gladly pay the small price VNC forces from me. It ain't a bad choice here either.
Re:I like this idea... but what is demand? (Score:3)
a) Just let it bog down until the lag balances with the demand?
b) Limit user accounts to an amount the allocated resources can support?
c) Just keep adding new machines, indefinitely?
One Question... (Score:3)
From the FAQ:
Q: Can I install my own software?
A: Sure, if it is free software or if you have a licence for it and it doesn't require root privileges to install.
That has already totally turned me off. This website at best will prepare people for using linux in an environment that will have a systems administrator who will do all the difficult stuff, like setup PPPoE (so that one's DSL connection can be accessed) without any support from your ISP. The only people I can see being attracted to this site are Windows users who are about to be forced to use Linux as a desktop environment and need to quickly familiarize themselves with the linux desktop environment.
Setup your own! (Score:3)
 
In any case you can easily setup your own similar installation. I've been setting one up for our LUG. It'll give us an URL to refer people to when they want to know what Linux "looks like". I'm using the WiredX java applet, a fine piece of software (it even performs well!!!). You can download it from http://www.wiredx.net [wiredx.net].
 
If nothing else, it demonstrates the flexibility of X right off the bat
-nullity-
I am nothing.
vnc (Score:3)
(I am sure someone is wondering, since I was
http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/
Also try lastfoot.com (Score:4)
They use a vnc based solution.
--
Re:I like this idea (Score:4)
live.amirix.com [amirix.com]
This uses VMWare, to give you a virtual box, which has some advantages (and disadvantages).
Using the Service (Score:5)
Here are my experiences to date:
To those that expect to install something on their computers: There is nothing to install, they use the java version of vnc and the desktop is presented in your browser. In reality, the entire desktop is like a remote screenshot and looks EXACTLY like a debian KDE typical desktop. They let you customize it but I haven't got that far yet! If not for anything else, use this for shock value on a doze machine and have a debian desktop inside an IE window!
They are true to their word on the two business day waiting period.
Since th VNC client is GPLed, you can actually download their changes from workspot.org [workspot.org]; this is my next weekend project...
I don't know how this works through firewalls, but if it does, geeks in doze offices all over the world have just been liberated!
The site is neat but has very very little tech info. There is a faq which adds little value and repeated searches on Google don't lead to any other pages about this service, so it looks like a well kept secret... till now!
On a side note, there was a previous article [slashdot.org]here about wireless ebay on a palm VII using debian and workspot. I never really understood that one and since I haven't figured out how to list archived article comments by score all I can tell is that the trolls haven't changed much! I think it talks about workspot using debian to provide wireless access to ebay on palm vII!!!
The other cool thing about this service: If you have a license or the software is free and does not require root, you can install it! Can't wait to get the emacs JDE [sunsite.auc.dk]from installed and running so that I can use this site for (*new buzzword alert*) 'remote coding'.
If this site is really for linux newbies to try it out, more info 'bout how to get started would definetely help...currently the site only lets you escape the hassle of installing linux ( not that much of a hassle anyway ) but does not serve as an intro to linux.
Whats with the bannerless CGI enabled apparently limitless web space (faq says don't use _too_ much diskspace, open to interpretation...)? These people seem to have all the goodies on one site.
I tried to ftp out of the box to move my website in but sadly nothing happened! I realized how helpless I was without having the box at my feet: there was none of that reassuring hum from the drive as you clicked on something and waited. How about a flashing [processing command sire]...? Now that would have geek value!