Turn web applications into desktop applications with Bubbles

Posted on March 8, 2008 at 11:04 am

The extra advantage of a desktop application over a web application is that it will always be available at any time from the desktop via the system tray or the Windows taskbar. Unlike web applications that require a browser before you can start using it, desktop applications can proudly stand on their own. Therefore, they aremuch easier to access and manage than web applications.

Having said that, we can’t ignore the existence of web applications such as Gmail, Flickr or Yahoo! Mail which play essential roles in our life today. Thanks to Bubbles, you can now bring the power of web applications such as these to the Windows desktop, thus allowing one click access to your favorite web apps.

What Bubbles Does

Bubbles is a free desktop application that allows you to access your frequently used web applications from within your desktop. There are a couple of advantages to this method. First, you can avoid the clutter of a web browser and focus more on getting the best from a website. The other one is that Bubbles offers one click, anytime access to your web apps because you can right click on its icon from the system tray or Windows taskbar.

bubbles-apps-minimized-on-system-tray

Bubbles Features

Once you have downloaded Bubbles and installed it, it will automatically launche and provide you with several web applications that most users are familiar with on the Internet. This includes Google Calendar, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Flickr and SlimTimer. For example, you can launch Gmail on your desktop by clicking on the “Go” button next to the Gmail icon.

bubbles-startup-screen

gmail-bubbles-on-desktop

Bubbles will then open up the Gmail interface (minus the web browser) where you can insert details and log into your Gmail account. If you close the window, Bubbles will minimized your Gmail to the system tray. This way, your Gmail will always be accessible from the desktop, without the need for extra web browser clutter. You can enjoy the same web experience from a Bubbles window just like in a normal web browser session. Each launched Bubbles apps will have its own system tray icons and processes so you may not want to launch too many apps at once!

Here are some useful Bubble features:

  • Add any extra web applications to Bubbles list – I access my own Wordpress blog from the desktop!
  • Auto start Bubbles apps with Windows.
  • Automatic minimizing of Bubble windows during start up.
  • Taskbar support for those who dislikes system tray access.
  • Quick access menu for Flickr and Google Calendar. Cool!
  • Drag and drop picture upload support for Flickr.

flickr-bubbles-sub-menu-for-quick-access

  • Email notifications support for Yahoo! Mail and Gmail.

notifications-in-gmail

  • Reminder notification support for Google Calendar.
  • Tray icon changes to show current mailbox status for Yahoo! Mail and Gmail.

IMHO, Bubbles will be most useful when you need quick access to frequently web applications from the desktop while providing the same rich web experience enjoyed in a browser. Therefore, I use it most of the time to provide swift access to my Gmail mailbox and Google Calendar. To get the most out of Bubbles desktop applications, I recommend that you make Bubbles auto start with Windows. Try Bubbles today!

This is a guest post by Syahid A. from TechMalaya.com

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» Filed Under Free Software Downloads

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Comments

5 Responses to “Turn web applications into desktop applications with Bubbles”

  1. Swaroop said on : March 8th, 2008 at 12:51 pm

    It must be using some browser related code underneath.

    Mozilla Prism was there all this time – http://labs.mozilla.com/2007/10/prism/


  2. akishore said on : March 8th, 2008 at 1:06 pm

    Swaroop, what does Mozilla Prism allow you to do? Sounds very cool!


  3. Swaroop said on : March 9th, 2008 at 3:56 am

    Its the same thing. It gives us a different application like the one you wrote about.. If you want a Gmail window to be kept open all the time. Just create a prism short cut for that. It opens Gmails.. And its like a regular desktop application. From the inside.. It uses Firefox browser code !


  4. Ohad Eder Pressman said on : March 11th, 2008 at 7:28 pm

    Thank you for the warm review.
    We are working on the next version of Bubbles and some additional surprises, aiming at releasing them before April.

    @swaroop: Bubbles was released to the public on late 2005 and was the first Site-Specific-Browser ever to be released, and hence the application that defined this new area. Applications like Prism and Fluid, which are great applications in their own, were released in late 2007.

    best,
    Ohad Eder Pressman
    CEO, 3D3R Software Studio


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  1. Best posts on Online Tech Tips from March 2008 Says:

    [...] Turn web applications into desktop applications with Bubbles The extra advantage of a desktop application over a web application is that it will always be available at any time from the desktop via the system tray or the Windows taskbar. Unlike web applications that require a browser before you can start using it, desktop applications can proudly stand on their own. [...]

    April 3rd, 2008 at 5:25 am
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