Demo Great Webapps with Yahoo! BrowserPlus

Web-based tools are becoming increasingly popular as the division between the desktop and the internet begins to blur. Adobe Air brings webapp functionality to the desktop. Now what about desktop functionality within a browser? Well, it seems as if Yahoo wants to get in the game by introducing BrowserPlus.

BrowserPlus allows developers to create dynamic web apps that mirror the functionality of desktop programs. As of now, community developers do not have access to the code, but everyone gets a sneak peek into three useable Yahoo BrowserPlus demos and what it can offer.

1. BrowserPlus PhotoDrop

The first app that you can demo is PhotoDrop, which is basically a Flickr upload tool. It does everything that you expect, such as batch editing of tags, simple photo editing tools, and effects. However, what’s great about using BrowserPlus for an app like this is the ability for you to drag and drop photos from your desktop straight into your browser. This added functionality really adds to the ease of use of the app, and is just one of the many services BrowerPlus offers (you can check the API of some of the services offered by BrowserPlus here http://browserplus.yahoo.com/services/).

2. IRC Client

The next one you can demo is an IRC client. This IRC client is fast, easy to use and looks great running in your browser, as the UI is purely AJAX. Another great feature that BrowserPlus shows off through this IRC client is built-in text-to-speech as well as desktop notifications.

3. JSON Inspector

The last app that you can demo would be more useful to developers, rather than the average internet user. It’s a browser-based JSON inspector, which is useful for cross-platform developers as they are in the processing of accepting web standards.

Well everyone, there you have it. Yahoo BrowserPlus seems promising, with its variety of useful services and tools. I’ll be excited to see what powerful and functional webapps gets created when developers get their hands on the code.

(By) David is a creative individual trying to find his place in this world. Visit his tech blog, Beta Cubed - B^3