June 15, 1998
Does MySpace offer a Windows desktop alternative?
By Bob O'Donnell
Now that Microsoft is under the microscope of the U.S. Justice Department, there's been
lots of talk and a few minor efforts by individual companies to do things with the Windows
desktop that might have previously drawn the wrath of Redmond. Gateway and NEC, for
example, announced that they would be bundling Netscape Communicator with their Windows
98-equipped machines, and several other companies have also discussed making Navigator
their default browser.
A potentially more interesting way to take ownership of at least a portion of the
typical Windows user's desktop is a forthcoming software product called MySpace from a
Seattle-based start-up called The Pixel Company. Initially, MySpace will only be available
on new Packard Bell computer systems, but the company plans to offer a free downloadable
version for all PCs sometime in September. It is also apparently working on Mac and Unix
versions for release in 1999.
What MySpace does is load a small control bar into the normally unused overscan area of
a typical computer monitor (you know -- the black space all around the edge of the
monitor's visible area that extends to the plastic casing). Inside the 30-pixel-high
navigation bar, which sits underneath the Windows Taskbar outside of the normal desktop
resolution (click here
to see an example), are a set of buttons, or, as the company calls them,
"cartridges." These cartridges can launch files, give you one-click access to
certain Web sites, display rolling ticker-style messages, control CD or digital video disc
(DVD) players, and more.
The idea behind the product is to create a platform-independent tool that could be used
to deliver "push content," to simplify access to files or sites, or for any of a
host of possible applications. The company's initial PR materials even suggest it could be
used as a launchpad to jump into a completely separate, Java-based OS.
As lofty as some of these goals sound (and are), however, MySpace's initial incarnation
is much more limited. This first version is a Windows-based application that uses some
clever video driver tricks to get access to the overscan area without affecting the
standard Windows desktop. Because it is a Windows app, however, it's only available during
a Windows session, and its functionality is essentially that of a launcher utility (albeit
one that is always visible and available).
MySpace's initial version is also problematic for any LCD monitors, such as those found
in notebooks and flat-panel displays, because they don't have an overscan area. Similarly,
if your desktop CRT doesn't offer an overscan area, either because of your video card or
because of the settings you have made on the monitor, you may not be able to see MySpace.
The company says it has solutions to these problems already and will have viable options
for notebook users when the product is released in the fall.
One other potential concern is that according to the company's press materials, the
initial version links directly to Packard Bell's site and to PlanetOasis, which is a Web site run by Ark
Interface II, the company that started The Pixel Company. In theory, the MySpace links
could go to any Web site, and The Pixel Company is apparently working on a variety of
agreements with major content providers. But, in some ways, it seems like MySpace is a
ploy to build up its own site's traffic.
Ultimately, I think the concept and ideas behind MySpace are attractive and could be
put to good use. In the meantime, however, I certainly don't think Microsoft has to worry
about losing control of its desktop -- for most people, it's still going to be Microsoft's
space.
©
Copyright 1998, by InfoWorld Publishing Corp., a
subsidiary of IDG Communications, Inc. Reprinted from InfoWorld,
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