Workspot was the first

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

desktop

Web Service A web service (WS) is either: * a service offered by an electronic device to another electronic device, communicating with each other via the Internet, or * a server running on a computer device, listening for requests at a particular port over a n ...

, i.e. it provided

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...

personal computing A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as word processing, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and gaming. Personal computers ar ...

without computer ownership. Founded by Greg Bryant, Gal Cohen, Kathy Giori, Curt Brune, Benny Soetarman, Bruce Robertson, and Asao Kamei, in 1999, it was the first application service to make use of

Virtual Network Computing VNC (Virtual Network Computing) is a graphical desktop-sharing system that uses the RFB protocol, Remote Frame Buffer protocol (RFB) to remotely control another computer. It transmits the computer keyboard, keyboard and computer mouse, mouse in ...

. Workspot also hosted a free Linux Desktop demo using VNC: 'one-click to Linux' It eventually began to charge for a remote, web-accessible, persistent desktop, and several desktop collaboration features. Workspot won ''

Linux Journal ''Linux Journal'' (''LJ'') is an American monthly technology magazine originally published by Specialized System Consultants, Inc. (SSC) in Seattle, Washington since 1994. In December 2006 the publisher changed to Belltown Media, Inc. in Hous ...

'''s Best Web Application award for 2000. Badly hit by the dotcom crash, it ceased activity by 2005. Workspot was based in downtown

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

during the

dotcom boom The dot-com bubble (or dot-com boom) was a stock market bubble that ballooned during the late-1990s and peaked on Friday, March 10, 2000. This period of market growth coincided with the widespread adoption of the World Wide Web and the Interne ...

, and funded its free desktop service through wireless contracting: they may have been the first mobile web app shop, involved in creating the first mobile apps for

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. The company operates approximately 600 retail stores across the United States. Barnes & Noble operates mainly through its B ...

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

Metro Traffic Metro Networks was a broadcasting outsourcing company based in Houston, Texas. It was a subsidiary of Westwood One until its sale to Clear Channel Communications in 2011. The company operated local and regional news and traffic operations that pr ...

etc., as well as client-server software for

OmniSky OmniSky was a dotcom-era Silicon Valley startup, focused on web-enabled, wireless, mobile touchscreen products and services. Their wireless connectivity was built on CDPD technology. The modems supported Palm V and Handspring, Inc. Visor handhel ...

and

Palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...

. Workspot released

AES encryption The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), also known by its original name Rijndael (), is a specification for the encryption of electronic data established by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2001. AES is a variant ...

patches for VNC. Workspot's domain and name was sold in 2013 to Workspot, Inc.

References

Virtual Network Computing {{Linux-stub