Streamlined hosted applications

Abstract

Presenting a web application includes receiving a user's selection of a UI element, which includes a visual icon representing the web application. In response to receiving the selection, the web application is launched in a browser window, where the browser is customizable to store bookmarks to webpages, and the browser can display multiple tabs of different webpages in a browser window. The browser window in which the web application is launched is tabless and includes chrome displaying back and forward buttons, where the buttons are selectable to navigate to a webpage in a history of webpages viewed by the user, and a reload button that is selectable to reload a webpage currently-viewed in the window. The chrome includes no UI elements that may be selected to store a bookmark to a webpage and includes no UI elements that display user-defined bookmarks to webpages.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of presenting a web application, the method comprising:
 receiving a user's selection of a user interface element displayed on a local computing device, the user interface element including a visual icon representing the web application; and   in response to receiving the user selection:
 launching the web application in a window of a browser application, the browser application being customizable to store bookmarks to webpages, and the browser having the ability to display multiple tabs of content of different webpages in a window of the browser, 
 the window of the browser in which the web application is launched being tabless, the window of the browser including chrome displaying a back button and a forward button, the buttons being selectable to navigate to a webpage in a history of webpages viewed by the user in the window, and a reload button being selectable to reload a webpage currently-viewed in the window, the chrome including no user interface elements that may be selected to store a bookmark to a webpage and including no user interface elements that display user-defined bookmarks to webpages. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , the chrome including a visual icon representing the web application. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, in response to receiving the user selection, displaying, in an application task manager of an operating system of the computing device, an icon for, and the name of, the web application. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising, in response to receiving the user selection, displaying, in the application task manager an icon for, and the name of, the browser, wherein the icon for the browser is different from the icon for the web application. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 opening the web application in a tab of a tabbed window of the browser application;   receiving a user indication to create the user interface element including the visual icon representing the web application; and   storing the user interface element including the visual icon representing the web application on a desktop, a start menu, or a taskbar of the computing device.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising generating the visual icon representing the web application based on content of the web application opened in the tab of the tabbed window of the browser application. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein generating the visual icon includes selecting one of a plurality of visual icons provided by the web application opened in the tab of the tabbed window, wherein the selected visual icon is selected based on the location at which the user interface element is stored. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 transmitting user login credentials from the computing device to a server computer system, the credentials authenticating the user of the computing device to the server computer system; and   in response to receiving an acknowledgment of a successful authentication of the user to the server computer system, transmitting information about the stored user interface element representing the web application to the server computer system for synchronization from the server computer system to another local computing device from which credentials authenticating the user of the other local computing device are successfully transmitted to the server computing system.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the chrome further displays a home button, the home button being selectable to cause a homepage of the web application to be displayed within the tabless window of the browser. 
     
     
         10 . A system for presenting a web application, the system comprising:
 a non-transient computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions; and   at least one semiconductor-based processor configured for executing the executable instructions, wherein execution of the instructions causes the system to:
 receive a user's selection of a user interface element displayed on a local computing device, the user interface element including a visual icon representing the web application; 
 in response to receiving the user selection:
 launch the web application in a window of a browser application, the browser application being customizable to store bookmarks to webpages, and the browser having the ability to display multiple tabs of content of different webpages in a window of the browser, 
 the window of the browser in which the web application is launched being tabless, the window of the browser including chrome displaying a back button and a forward button, the buttons being selectable to navigate to webpage in a history of webpages viewed by the user, the history including the web application, and a reload button being selectable to reload the web application, the chrome including no user interface elements that may be selected to store a bookmark to a webpage. 
 
   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , the chrome including a visual icon representing the web application. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein execution of the instructions further causes the system to, in response to receiving the user selection, display, in an application task manager of an operating system of the computing device, an icon for, and the name of, the web application. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein execution of the instructions further causes the system to, in response to receiving the user selection, display, in the application task manager an icon for, and the name of, the browser, wherein the icon for the browser is different from the icon for the web. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein execution of the instructions further causes the system to:
 open the web application in a tab of a tabbed window of the browser application;   receive a user indication to create the user interface element including the visual icon representing the web application; and   store the user interface element including the visual icon representing the web application on a desktop, a start menu, or a taskbar of the computing device.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein execution of the instructions further causes the system to generate the visual icon representing the web application based on content of the web application opened in the tab of the tabbed window of the browser application. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein generating the visual icon includes selecting one of a plurality of visual icons provided by the web application opened in the tab of the tabbed window, wherein the selected visual icon is selected based on the location at which the user interface element is stored. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein execution of the instructions further causes the system to:
 transmit user login credentials from the computing device to a server, the credentials authenticating the user of the computing device to the server computer system; and   in response to receiving an acknowledgment of a successful authentication of the user to the server computer system, transmit information about the stored user interface element representing the web application to the computer system for synchronization from the server computer system to another local computing device from which credentials authenticating the user of the other local computing device are successfully transmitted to the server computing system.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the chrome further displays a home button, the home button being selectable to cause a homepage of the web application to be displayed within the tabless window of the browser.