On Monday, a small startup company from Seattle named the Pixel Company announced that it was releasing a product that allows users to bypass the Windows user interface, of shell, in favor of a toolbar that sits outside the Windows desktop. Called "MySpace", this toolbar will exist in the 25-pixel space between the bottom of the Windows taskbar and the edge of the monitor. Unlike similar products, MySpace doesn't run "in" Windows (that is, you don't launch it as a Windows executable program) but rather it is launched simultaneously with Windows when the computer boots.
The Pixel Company says that MySpace is revolutionary in two ways: It makes new use of your monitor's real estate space and it's not Windows-dependent. That makes it possible to run two operating systems (like Windows and Java) independently, and simultaneously, according to the company.
Because MySpace is tied so closely to the hardware, the company must create its own display drivers for various video cards. The first computer company that will ship MySpace with its PCs is Packard Bell/NEC, and other PC makers are looking into it as well.
"Until now, the screen display was limited to the size of the VGA specification. For example, accessing applications, games or the Internet has been limited to the framework of the operating system and the desktop 'box'," said Tom O'Rourke, President and CEO of The Pixel Company. "We believe the entire computer monitor screen can display the technologies users want. With the MySpace control bar, consumers can access new technologies and Windows itself, in a straightforward, easy-to-use way."
For more details on MySpace, visit the Pixel Company homepage