Sunnyvale, California-based Internet pioneer Yahoo has launched a test version of a platform that brings more  computer desktop powers to Web browser programs, with a developer program called BrowserPlus the company announced Tuesday. At the time of Tuesday's test launch BrowserPlus was not open source, although Yahoo said it expects to work "to incrementally open the platform for developers to use and extend." Bringing Some Desktop Features To The Browser Yahoo said that BrowserPlus, which end-users install as a browser add-on and which developers program for increased dynamic interaction with the computer desktop, will help extend the Web. The platform test was launched for developers, and Yahoo said that it expects BrowserPlus to eventually reach consumers, although it did not release details about when the test may end. Yahoo said that a team of its programmers had spent a year working to prepare the platform for Tuesday's "sneak peek" test release. BrowserPlus is intended to take functions that traditionally operate only in the realm of the computer desktop and bring them into powerful online applications, sometimes called rich Internet applications, or RIAs, accessed through a Web browser. Tool For Photo-sharing Site Flickr Available Instead of using keyboard or menu commands to cut and paste images or documents into a Web browser, BrowserPlus has given users the ability to drag and drop desktop  content directly into the Web space, and to perform such manipulations as re-sizing and rotating images before uploading them to a Web site such as photo-sharing site Flickr. One of several demonstration applications Yahoo made available with Tuesday's test launch was a Flickr photo uploading utility created using the new BrowserPlus platform, along with an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) application and a tool for programmers. By integrating the ability to drag and drop from the desktop to the browser, Yahoo said its BrowserPlus will lead to easier file uploading and sharing. Rival platforms from Google, with its Google Gears product recently re-branded as simply Gears, Microsoft with its Silverlight, the Mozilla Foundation with its Prism framework, and Adobe with its Adobe Integrated Runtime, or AIR, all present features intended to woo prospective developers, a playing field Yahoo appears to have chosen to enter earlier rather than later with the test release of BrowserPlus. Test Limited To Yahoo And Partner Properties "Getting this platform outside the walls of Yahoo and into the developer community is extremely important to us," noted Lloyd Hilaiel of Yahoo's BrowserPlus team, writing on the company's developer blog. "We hope that through use and input from the community we can build a platform that matters," Hilaiel added. Yahoo's BrowserPlus operates within the Web browser, at launch time supporting Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 and Mozilla's Firefox version 2 or greater under Microsoft Windows XP or Vista operating systems, and Safari 3 or Firefox under Apple's Mac OS X versions 10.4 or 10.5, Yahoo said. BrowserPlus differs from some of its rivals in calling Web services only as needed and running within its own memory process space, Yahoo said, although the test was limited at launch time to working only with Yahoo's own Web sites. Yahoo said it expects BrowserPlus to eventually work with the entire Web, however to minimize security risks it has limited the test to its own online properties and those of its partners. Yahoo Brings Desktop Powers To Web Browser In BrowserPlus Test The new Yahoo developer platform also differs from some of its rivals in its ability to perform updates and to extend itself with new services without having to either reload a Web page or restart the browser, Yahoo said. "For users, this means no more interruptions or installers to run," Hilaiel wrote in the Tuesday blog announcement. When BrowserPlus becomes available to consumers as a browser add-on, users will have control over how their data and computer resources are used by the platform, Yahoo said, and developers will access its features using JavaScript. "BrowserPlus is dynamic, allowing us to implement the standards of tomorrow while enabling fun and playful web applications along the way," Hilaiel added. Related Links:
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