The Experience Mashup: Mash-up the Desktop with the Web

Mash-up is a word that one hears frequently these days. Definitions of the word are still evolving - there are data mash-ups, consumer mash-ups and business mash-ups. that are beginning to be understood by a small population of developers and vendors.

I think that we are at the beginning of the evolution of the word mash-up, and what it means. Basically, mash-up is a mixture. One can mix data from different sources - as done in data mash-ups, one can present in novel intriguing ways - as done in consumer mash-ups, and one can present it in unique way to bring out some aspect of the data which is now visually easier to recognize - as done in business mash-ups. But those are only the early mash-ups, the first-borns, if one may say so, of a species that will soon thrive and multiply.

One mash-up, that I think is just on the horizon, is the mashup of user experience. A mash-up that will enable users to experience information where they want it, regardless of where they are at this time. Whether on their desktop, or on a web site.

Experience web news when on Word. Or experience a Excel table, when viewing stock news on a financial news and stock movements. Mash-up information interfaces and tools and enable a seamless user experience of information where they want it, without worrying about which interface tool they should pick up. Not just about data, but about user experience. A mash-up that merges our private desktop world, with the outside web world, and in a manner that puts us in control.

-Sangeeta

A Seamless Desktop: No More "Cntrl C" and 'Cntrl V"

The desktop of the future - or even the one available in the immediate future - will be one which would not need Cntrl-C and Cntrl-V keys. Information will be available, within ones context, within ones application, within ones document and spreadsheet, with a single click, allowing one to work with an uninterrupted thought flow.

And it will be happen sooner, than later. The time for the Future Desktop, the one they call by different names - Desktop 2.0, Business mash-ups etc - the desktop user interface that has no boundaries for an information seeker, is NOW.

There are already glimpses of it from the technology world. There are several I have looked at and liked, such as the Google Desktop. Some I have seen a sneak preview/screenshot of - such as Windows Vista Sidebar and gadgets. Some of these technolgies have been around for some time - though they did not have the "Desktop 2.0" tag with them, such as Answers.com desktop assistant, and even our own, Extensio Desktop Extender.

Clearly, the seamless desktop, a need long felt, is now upon us. It is early days yet to say how it would look and whether it would finally meet the "information on finger tip" promise, but it sure promises to be an exciting time.

- Sangeeta

Things Vendors do - Hope that does not happen with Duet

Check out this link for a strip from Dilbert Comic. What a take on vendors and lock-ins!

Let us see the product road map for Duet. Value packs to be delivered in the future, Development tools to be delivered in the future, Excel connectivity to be delivered in the future...Hmmmmm, Makes one uncomfortable, does it not?

- Sangeeta