Free Online OS is a web operating system that gives you access to all the Google sites like Gmail, Google Spreadsheets or Google Finance. The application, still in Beta, opens up in a new pop up window, which is a bit annoying if you have tabs open in your browser. The Google sites are conveniently organized according to theme (Office, Personal, Online Tools, Network, Search) in a left sided menu bar. When you click on one of the elements it will open up in a new tab in the pop up window.
The idea makes sense when you know that Google has created all sorts of online tools that replace your desktop applications. However Free Online OS, still feels a bit just like a pop up page with links to the Google services. In this sense, it kinds of remind us of Simply Google, already a web page linking to all the Google services, blogs and downloads.
You can still find proper web OSs, with their own desktops, text editors, MP3 players and many other applications you would normally install on your computer. FranticIndustries has two great posts, here and here, with a run down of 20 web OSs, including some that might make you seriously consider using them in place of your current operating system.
