Noriyasu Vontin
Diploma Thesis Student
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I'm was diploma thesis student under supervision of Jonathan Diehl.
WIDE: Workstation Independent Desktop Environment
The convergence of the web and the desktop led to web applications that can be considered almost on par with desktop applications. While many systems have emerged in the field of web applications and remote computing, none of them succeeds in creating a single information space for web applications.
WIDE, a Workstation Independent Desktop Environment, is a framework for web applications that connects the user, his data, and his applications. It poses as a single information space that allows sharing of data across applications.
To gain further insight of the user's behaviour and concerns when interacting with online information and applications, we conducted a survey. The results of the survey and literature in the field of online trust highlight that trust in web applications is likely to be lower than in desktop applications. Therefore, to strengthen trust and ensure privacy of the user's data, WIDE uses a request-based access control mechanism. To minimize bothersome interruptions in the work flow it also provides a single sign-on mechanism that allows users to seamlessly move between web applications, similar to changing from one application to another on desktop systems.
Through different client prototypes of potential web applications for WIDE, we reconsidered the design resulting in adding support for Flash and JavaScript-based applications. Adding support for these application effectively enhanced their functionality and improved the range of applications.
Another aspect of refinement considers the integration of existing applications. A review of alternative approaches highlighted benefits and deficits of each a method. A method for external integration of existing web application was developed and is demonstrated successfully by working prototypes.
Further, we critique our design decision’s in a design rationale and criticize our explore context, expected problem, and unsolved obstacles that should be addressed in future designs.
Download Final Talk (Fly Presentation) Download Thesis
Publications
- Noriyasu Vontin. WIDE - Workstation Independent Desktop Environment. Master's Thesis, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, August 2008.
