Jolicloud Releases Jolibook

I have been tracking the inventive Jolicloud Operating System — a social Linux — for some time. Now it appears that the company has developed its own netbook. I guess they felt compelled to do it, but I don’t see how they can compete with low cost offerings like Asus, or top quality from Apple.

However, their O/S innovation continues to presage where we will be headed, as Apple and others build social into the O/S:

Joanna Stern, Jolicloud Jolibook review

Ah, the operating system. The Jolicloud! The major differentiator between the Jolibook and the other Windows 7 Starter netbooks out there. Yep, it’s the center of the experience here, and those that have used Jolicloud 1.0 or 1.1 before will be right at home, but if you’re new to the Ubuntu-based, web app-centric operating system there’s quite a bit to explore.

In essence, the OS is the antithesis of Windows or a “desktop” based OS — all the applications you need live on the first tab of the main menu, what the company calls its Dashboard or “App Launcher.” As you can see above, it looks a lot like iOS in the sense that its a grid of applications and you can add as many pages of apps as your heart desires. (The netbook comes with most of the apps you’ll want right off the bat pre-installed, including Gmail, Chromium, Twitter, OpenOffice, Skype, etc. You can install more from the app store, but we will get to that soon.) When you launch a web app or program, it lives on the top of the screen and you can toggle between them up there or by hitting Alt + Tab. Pressing the Jolicloud button on the keyboard always lets you return to the main menu.

The second tab on the main menu is what the company calls its “Social Stream,” and it’s really the feature that differentiates the OS from any of the other custom netbook Linux builds (i.e. Ubuntu Netbook Remix, Meego, Easy Peasy, etc.) out there. When you first get the netbook or use Jolicloud on any other computer, you’re required to sign up for an account using your e-mail address. You are also able to log in using your Facebook username, but that’s only after you’ve had a Jolicloud account setup. The reasoning behind all this is two-fold. Firstly, it lets Jolicloud store information about “your Jolicloud” — what apps you have, your settings, etc. — on its servers so you can log into the OS on any computer. They don’t call it the “Anywhere OS” for nothing! Secondly, it lets you connect with friends that also may be Joliclouders. Once you “follow” or friend those individuals, the Social Stream pulls in information about them — what apps they like or they’ve downloaded, etc. You can follow them and they can follow you back. You see, it’s a social OS — not just an OS built around social networks.

This is what Apple should build into Lion.

related articles

• Jolicloud Jolibook review (engadget.com)
• Jolibook - Jolicloud’s very own netbook (omgubuntu.co.uk)
• Jolicloud Jolibook netbook shipping this month (geek.com)
• Jolicloud’s Jolibook Netbook Hitting Stores (linuxjournal.com)