Previously, I have written about eyeOS which is an open source cloud computing platform. I’ve been using it for close to a year. It has some nice features, but it has been frustrating that is doesn’t have full support for my preferred web browser (Opera).

I’m concerned about the future of this project. First, their version numbers are insane. They’ve made some small version updates and increated the tenths place of their version number, for example going from 1.7 to 1.8. However, they just made some very significant changes and only changed the version to 1.8.5. Sadly, that version was not working, so in rapid succession, they created 1.8.5.0.1, 1.8.5.0.2 and finally, 1.8.5.0.3. Unfortunately, the current version is not working for me. I had to revert to version 1.8.0.4 and I think I’ll probably count this as my last version of eyeOS. I wish them luck, but it’s just not meeting my needs. Not their fault. I don’t think I was looking for a complete cloud solution anyway.

OpenGoo Logo

What I’ve started using now is OpenGoo. It’s kind of like Google Apps, kind of like Microsoft SharePoint, and kind of like eyeOS. It doesn’t have add-ins/plug-ins. So, that’s a negative as compared to eyeOS. But out of the box, it does what I want. I just need a cloud to store my important files that I might want to access from anywhere in the world. For my personal file needs, I use OpenOffice.org and OpenGoo is great in that it allows me to store any file types I want, to check them out for editing (like SharePoint) and to allow me to check back in the new version (while keeping the old version), all through a clean and efficient web interface.

In addition to using it as a file repository (which is organized into workspaces), one may also create some files natively using the built-in document editor. Soon, they plan to add a spreadsheet as well. It also has calendar functions, time tracking, contact management, and a primitive (and buggy beta) email client.

Right now, it’s serving my needs better than eyeOS did and it should get even better as new features are introduced. Like eyeOS, it’s open source, and free.