Free Cloud Computing Environment Launches

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 04/15/09

Sweden-based Xcerion has launched icloud, an online service that provides free storage, applications, a virtual desktop, and backup accessible from any computer connected to the Internet. The icloud service, available in multiple languages, is based on the company's Internet Operating System/3 (XIOS/3), which requires no executable or plugin to be run on the computer where the work is being done. The data centers storing user data run Ubuntu Linux.

"With icloud, we put a virtual computer together with free storage and free applications in the hands of everybody in the world," said Daniel Arthursson, founder of the company. "It's the PC for everyone without a PC. Everybody can now access and share documents, photos, music, and their complete digital life from any computer."

According to the company's Web site, when there's no Internet connection for the user when saving or performing changes to a document, icloud will store all changes in a transaction buffer that will be sent and synchronized to the data center once an Internet connection has been reestablished.

The latest version, which came out of a closed beta program, includes 3 GB of storage space and 30 applications, such as office productivity programs, mail, music, video, instant messaging, sharing, games, collaboration, and development tools. The service runs on Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers, though Firefox support is in "early alpha" as of this writing.

A premium edition, expected soon, will increase the amount of storage space to 10 GB.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Three cubes of noticeably increasing sizes are arranged in a straight row on a subtle abstract background

    A Sense of Scale

    Gardner Campbell explores the notion of scale in education and shares some of his own experience "playing with scale" — scaling up and/or scaling down — in an English course at VCU.

  • abstract geometric pattern of glowing interconnected triangles, hexagons, and circles in blue, gold, and white, spread across a dark navy-to-black gradient background

    OpenAI Unveils 'Operator' AI for Performing Web Tasks

    OpenAI has launched "Operator," an AI agent designed to perform web-based tasks autonomously using its own browser. Currently available as a research preview for Pro users in the United States, the tool aims to automate everyday activities such as filling out forms, ordering groceries, and even creating memes.

  • Stock market graphs and candlesticks breaking apart with glass-like cracks

    Chinese Startup DeepSeek Disrupts AI Market

    A new low-cost Chinese artificial intelligence model is wreaking havoc in the technology sector, with tech stocks plummeting globally as concerns grow over the potential disruption it could cause.

  • abstract human figures stand on a glowing grid floor in a vibrant digital landscape with floating holographic buildings, luminous data orbs, and a neon blue and purple gradient sky

    Metaverse Org Declares the Technology Is Accelerating in Spite of Rise of AI

    A new report from the Metaverse Standards Forum (MSF) declares the technology initiative is alive and well, despite skyrocketing attention paid to artificial intelligence.