Dan Gilmore has the first brief explanation of what knownow.com is doing (they've been in super stealth mode until yesterday.)"I didn't know this before today, but it turns out that a Web browser can hold
open the connection to the server. Normally, a browser sends a request for
information, which is delivered by the server. The connection ends.
KnowNow holds the connection open. Then it adds some JavaScript and,
voila, you have a mini-server inside the browser. You're not necessarily
using lots of bandwidth, but you are pretending, in effect, that you're
downloading a very, very long document while the browser keeps
communicating with the server." I don't know. This sounds sort of like just refreshing the page ever second. Must be more than that. Still, this is the sort of thing I am looking for. We need some kind of server (not just browser) on the desktop. For this site it would mean that instead of users (re)loading the main page to see what new messages have been posted since their last visit, those notices would just show up on everyone's desktop every time something new was posted (assuming you had the site open on your desktop.) Like a cross between the web and instant messaging. For those who remember the old days (a few years ago,) this is basically "push" technology revisited. Push was a huge dud, but now the market is ready I think. Just don't call it push.
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- jim 2-15-2001 5:26 pm