Since the launch of the Pre-Beta release of Jolicloud, we have been busy finding the best way to enhance the experience of our forthcoming and final Robby release.
First off the final Robby will be made publicly available later on this month. Thanks to all the feedback you sent us via Twitter, Facebook, and Get Satisfaction, we have been able to improve a lot of things that will make using Jolicloud even easier and more fun.
Switching web app platform from Prism to Google Chrome
Until now, we have been using Mozilla Prism for the rendering of web apps. After evaluating the different technologies and opportunities, we have decided to switch our entire web application platform to a Chrome foundation. All our 600+ web apps in the App Center will be automatically converted to Chrome.
As a user, you won’t need to do anything manually, everything will be done automatically via the update manager.
This switch will bring the following benefits:
- Faster browsing experience on older netbooks thanks to the V8 JavaScript engine
- More efficient use of the memory
- Chrome extensions support within all web apps
- Perfect support of Facebook Connect, Twitter Connect, and Google Authentication
- Support of HTML5 features such as offline support and Web Sockets used by the Jolicloud platform
- Ability to render iPhone and Android HTML5 apps natively
- Good performance on ARM netbooks and tablets
Keeping our commitment to Firefox
This switch to Chrome for our web apps does not affect our commitment to Firefox. Firefox will still be our default browser of choice and we will always do our best to provide the latest version. In the final release we will upgrade to Firefox 3.6. By the way, the Firefox you use on Jolicloud is generally 10% faster than on any other Linux distribution. This is because we have tailored the compiler flags around the Intel Atom processor constraints and adjusted default preferences to optimize cache usage.
A new desktop mode: use Jolicloud with your nettop and a larger screen
We will introduce a new desktop mode adapted for all screens larger than 11 inches. This will be ideal for nettops which use the same technology as netbooks but with a larger screen. In this new mode you will be able to enjoy all your web and native apps and organize them in a way that fits your screen.
An improved Jolicloud Express
With the new Jolicloud Express, we have worked hard to extend support to all versions of Windows XP and Windows 7. This new version will be available in several languages. It will be distributed using BitTorrent so you will always get faster download times and the latest ISO.
Now compatible with 100% of Intel based netbooks
We are happy to announce that Jolicloud will now run on 100% of Intel based netbooks. All generations are supported out-of-the-box from the oldest right up to the brand new Pine Trail platform including the Diamondville and Menlow platforms, as well as NVIDIA ION and Broadcom Crystal HD graphic cards. Jolicloud will unlock the full power of Pine Trail netbooks by supporting 1080p Full HD, unlike Windows which requires a specific piece of software to be purchased.
Netbooks with the VIA C7-M processor and Chrome 9 graphic cards are joining the Intel based netbooks in our compatible devices list.
For more details on these new features and specific launch dates be sure to tune into our CEO Tariq Krim’s keynote at the Plugg Conference in Brussels on March 11th.
We hope you are as excited as we are about this announcement, and would love to get your feedback on Facebook and on Twitter!
Yay! :D Looking forward to it