iCloud is OS in your web browser

We've talked about cloud computing numerous times here on SlashGear, but the latest news in the world of the "cloud" is pretty interesting. iCloud is an operating system that actually runs within your web browser. And though it's only in beta at the moment, the results look promising.

The beta is free and it works like this: iCloud runs an operating system within your web browser virtually. This means it's light and quick to load and can be accessed from just about anywhere. Right now it only works in Internet Explorer; however, Firefox is in alpha at the moment, so you can try that out as well.

As far as first impressions go, iCloud looks a lot like a Windows operating system. To be specific, it looks like a mash-up of XP and Vista. The applications are limited as well, and consist primarily of a basic writing application and a mail application. There are some games too. So, at the moment, I can't see iCloud doing anything that a regular OS can't, but I'm sure once this thing is running at full speed we might see some unique-to-cloud applications.

[via jkOnTheRun]