Pramati makes Web meet desktop at Dekoh

Usha Prasad

BANGALORE: With the growing collection of personal media and increase in social networking among online communities, connectivity and sharing of information will become much simpler.

Pramati Technologies, an end-to-end enterprise Java platform vendor, has announced its plan to launch Dekoh, a new Web 2.0 platform for applications that gives the end user an integrated experience of the web and the desktop.

Applications on Dekoh Desktop are automatically enabled for Web 2.0 functions like tagging, sharing, commenting and rating.

Dekoh is a complete standards based web apps platform, managed centrally across network. One can share information/content off your desktop. Dekoh Desktop is a cross-OS desktop RIA platform that brings several key J2EE, database and Web services modules together, in a compact, footprint package ready for end consumer use, with zero-administration and desktop platform.

Through Dekoh, users can build desktop solutions that can “mashup” Web resources and also build private networks and communities.

“Dekoh bridges the big divide between the desktop and the Web," Jay Pullur, CEO of Pramati said. "Its applications have a rich interface, where a user can share his desktop, organize personal content, and enjoy the Web and the desktop simultaneously.”

The current applications include Dekoh Photos, Dekoh Music and Dekoh Books. Applications can be run from different PCs and laptops, Pullur said.

Applications deployed on Dekoh Desktop are automatically enabled for Web 2.0 functions like tagging, sharing, commenting, rating, etc.

In addition to these full-fledged applications, a lot of publicly available applications will be showcased on the Dekoh platform enabling easy accessibility to the end user including the developers’ community.

Pramati also plans to bring in a video sharing mechanism, different from other similar applications.

Through this open source platform, users can develop and run the application and at the same time, share it. According to Pullar, one can even try and enhance the application.

Dekoh has not been made publicly downloadable and is presently being run on a private beta. It will be made publicly downloadable in April 2007, once it is rolled out globally at the Web 2.0 Expo, to be held in San Francisco.

Expressing his views on Dekoh, Prof. Sadagopan said it combines the power of the Web without losing the advantage of the desktop. “It will be as earth shaking as the Orkuts of the world,” he added.

The portal framework has been designed for organizing, managing and sharing personal digital assets; thereby enabling to organize the data into collections.

User friendly application: Dekoh Desktop is a small footprint download that can be installed on a user’s desktop with a single click. Dekoh Desktop includes a Web server on which applications written using open standards like JSP, Ajax, DHTML and Flash can be deployed and accessed through a Web browser.

Dekoh solution: It would be possible to build a complete Java based solution that runs on the desktop. Users can access any resource/web service directly from desktop. The application remains standards based.

The initial process can be triggered by a mail sent to the users, who would have to register at Dekoh.Com. Next, they would be required to download and install the Dekoh Desktop. Click on the email link to verify account, and the Dekoh Desktop is now ready.

The Web application can be run locally, offline. Users can use Dekoh Desktop offline when not

logged in to Dekoh Central. If the user tries to share something, he/she is prompted to ‘Go Online’ (login).

Sharing a locally running web-app with a non-Dekoh user is possible as well. The non-Dekoh user clicks on the email link in the share invite. He/she is asked to login to publisher’s online portal. All further requests from viewer redirected to publisher’s Dekoh Desktop. The viewer is able to work with publisher’s application from a browser.

Besides, these, there is the instance of sharing with a user on Dekoh network. A network user receives RSS notification on his/her desktop, and clicks on the RSS link to view share. The user would be asked to login, if not already, in a new browser window. All further requests from viewer redirected to publisher’s Dekoh Desktop.

Dekoh allows caching so as to provide access to shared content when a user is offline. It is also possible to synchronize the offline data with a central application. If the desktop application is an offline version of a central hosted application, data would also need to be synchronized. The user needs to only trigger the synchronization.

For ISVs, Pramati and Dekoh can help add value to their solutions, provided the ISVs’ solutions are J2EE based. Some user cases include: wide deploy – auto manage install and versions;

light weight desktop platform; run J2EE apps on desktops; demo and sales scenarios – ease of install and setup; offline versions; rich internet/Web 2.0 collaboration; and P2P collaboration.

Dekoh software will be free and open sourced. It will be available at http://www.dekoh.com

CIOL Bureau