Behind the wall: Israeli-Palestinian start-up launches OS
Latest in News
On Facebook
Life & Style blogs
Online House Hunter: Rugby – a Dickens of a town
Charles Dickens didn't think much of the railway town of Rugby in Warwickshire, calling it Mugby. Bu...
Online House Hunter: Mortgage relief
Banks would appear to be finally relinquishing their stranglehold on mortgages. Our Online House Hun...
Online House Hunter: Hard sell
How much would you reduce the price of your house by to achieve a sale? Our Online House Hunter look...
In a rare show of cooperation, a team of Israeli and Palestinian software developers came together in the shadow of Israel's West Bank separation barrier to launch a product they hope will revolutionise personal computing and perhaps improve communication between the two conflicted sides.
Israeli entrepreneur Zvi Schreiber partnered with Palestinian engineers to launch G.ho.st Virtual Computer, a web-based operating system that recreates the attributes of a personal computer's desktop from any computer with an internet connection.
"Our idea is simply to use the internet to give people a computing environment that is not just stored on a physical device, but is available on a web page or any mobile device and gives you everything you need: your desktop, your files, your programs," G.ho.st CEO Schreiber said at the launch, in the West Bank town of Beit Jalla, close to Jerusalem's southern edge.
The company started more than three years ago after Schreiber sold his second high tech startup. He had never worked with Palestinians and knew very little about the fledgling software industry in the West Bank.
"I wanted to combine my technological interests with my social interests. I always wanted to do something to help resolve the complete mess that we've all made of this part of the world," he said.
The company's name refers not only to the virtual computer's ability to float through the boundaries of a physical computer, but also to the G.ho.st team's cross-border collaboration.
The Palestinian staff of nearly 30 workers confers with its Israeli counterparts mostly by video conference or at meetings in a roadside coffee shop in the desert between Jericho and Jerusalem.
Many of the engineers living in the West Bank aren't able to get the permits needed to get into Israel, while Israelis are barred from most Palestinian areas in the West Bank due to security concerns. Schreiber has never been to the G.ho.st main office, in the West Bank town of Ramallah, though it's only 14.5 kilometres from his house.
The site for Tuesday's launch was chosen deliberately; a wind-swept hilltop crossed by a section of the nearly 800-kilometre barrier that stretches along the frontier between Israel and the West Bank.
"Ghosts go through walls and the very first wall that G.ho.st goes through is the ... wall and fence that Israel is building in the West Bank between itself and the Palestinians and which physically divides the G.ho.st team into two," the firm's website says.
Israel began building the fences and walls that make up the barrier early this decade in the midst of a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings targeting Israeli cities. It maintains the structure is a crucial security measure.
But the Palestinians say the barrier severs them from their land, disrupts their lives and cripples their economy. The barrier frequently juts into the West Bank, placing nearly 10 per cent of the area on the Israeli side.
International Mideast peace envoy Tony Blair, who attended the launch, commended G.ho.st's initiative and call for more such partnerships across the Israeli-Palestinian divide.
"One thing we know is of course we need a political solution, but we also know it's not just about politics. It's about business," Blair said.
G.ho.st does not charge to use the virtual computer, which can be translated into more than 20 languages and has been tried out by more than 200,000 users in its test phase.
The virtual desktop comes with 15 gigabytes of free file storage, file sharing capability, instant messaging and an open directory of free web-based applications. Schreiber said G.ho.st plans to charge for more storage or subscriptions, but he would not list prices.
G.ho.st makes money from the service providers, like Google and Amazon, which can be accessed from the virtual desktop.
- 1 The 10 best hair straighteners
- 2 Pucker up: The art of kissing
- 3 Chips are down as Britain's diners lose taste for eating out
- 4 Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships
- 5 The Ten Best Scotch Whiskies
- 6 The Ten Best Coffee Tables
- 7 The ten best Valentine's Day gifts for men
- 1 Eight arrests as Murdoch 'throws staff to the wolves'
- 2 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 3 Pucker up: The art of kissing
- 4 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 5 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
- 6 Rothschild loses libel case, and reveals secret world of money and politics
- 7 The artist vandalising advertising with poetry
- 8 Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships
- 9 Spotify: 1 million plays, £108 return
- 10 The 10 best hair straighteners
Free trial of new Independent iPad app
Get your daily dose of the best of British journalism, sponsored by American Airlines
Win a three-week coastal jaunt
Spend three weeks exploring every nook and cranny of gorgeous Atlantic Canada.
Amazing restaurant offers
Three glasses of free champagne and a special menu at 46 top London restaurants.
Latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Day In a Page
Silent revolution at the Baftas
The diva who had – and lost – it all
How Picasso won over (some of) the British

Comments