[size=85](Edit: moved to the Usage Scenarios section as this is a better fit for this topic.)[/size]
I’ve had good results using Fluid, a free app that creates site-specific browsers (SSB) from web sites. SSBs look and behave like OS X app packages and can be shared like any app.
Recently I tried it out on the local host site created by the DT server. Works like a charm. Just use one of the http:// links shown in the server tab in DT preferences. A Fluid SSB can be a menu extra (menu icon invokes the SSB app), stand alone (run the app like any app), or embedded (SSB is a dynamic desktop behind all windows).
A Fluid SSB app made from the DT server link can be easily distributed to anyone on your local network who needs to access the server.
I’ve also created a Daybook app that holds info, calendars, and other stuff I like to have ready access. It’s a Fluid menu-extra SSB, using a site published using Curio’s web publishing features, and incorporating document indexes and other DT material and material from other apps that I build using various indexing scripts in DT and elsewhere.
All in all, Fluid is a useful tool for DT junkies.
[size=85](I have no connection with Fluid or its authors. You can find Fluid here.)
[/size]
Thanks for the hint, I’ve just tried this and it’s indeed interesting.
But what’s the real advantage over a simple bookmark file (.url or .webloc)? Bookmarks open the default browser to which people are used to. And in case of browsers supporting ZeroConf/Bonjour (e.g. Safari or DEVONagent)) the web server is easily accessible anyway, even without bookmarks.
Actually, Fluid apps were meant encapsulate sites into a standalone app. In that sense, you’re right - Fluid is a solution in search of a reason. But, it’s also possible to prepare a site that locks-down certain features and then distribute that as an app.
I did not know of Fluid. And it does look like what I always wished could be done!
It’s not a solution looking for a problem. If it works, it’s a solution.
The problem is the reason Google pet mantra of “everything cloud” is not something I’m happy with. I’ve always had one big problem with “web 2.0” applications/sites. 37 signals tools. Twitter. G mail. And others like them. Problem being that, to me, they are not “pages”, they are applications. I hate not being able to cmd-tab to them. I hate not being able to assign them to a space in the “Exposé & Spaces” preferences. I hate if they crash when the browser crashes (Safari 4 on Snow Leopard and Click to Flash combined reduced this problem to almost nil, but it used to be a PITA). I hate that they work like applications but do not behave like applications. I stopped using G-Mail because of this problem combined with their nonstandard IMAP. I got Tweetie for Twitter. But Fluid seems to be the solution I was looking for all the others. I can even foresee using it for things like cplusplus.com/reference/
