What is Cobalt Box?
Cobalt Box is a platform which allows developers to create and deploy widgets (mini-applications) to any webpage on the internet.

How can I use Cobalt Box? How can I see these widgets?
All access to Cobalt Box is currently only through our Mozilla Firefox plugin which you can download here. Please note that the addon is still in experimental (Alpha) stage. We aim to offer support for more browsers soon.

Do I need to register?
No. You just download the plugin and use it. No registration is required.

What widgets are available right now?
We currently have deployed one widget, Parallel Links, bundled together with the Cobalt Box addon. With Parallel Links we aim to demonstrate the capabilities of the Cobalt Box platform. You can find more details regarding Parallel Links in the relevant section below.

Does your plugin send to your server information about me or the webpages I visit?
Yes, but this happens in a non-identifying manner. When you install Cobalt Box in your browser you are allocated a random id number and that number is sent to the server along with some information documenting whether our software performed as expected (and this includes the link of the webpage you last visited). We need this information for debugging purposes - especially during our current alpha stage - to identify pages that generate errors and situations when the plugin crashes. However, since you do not register we have no way of connecting you with the random id and the associated webpage.

Your platform is rather slow. Why?
Primarily because, during the Alpha phase, the server and the database are running from an unoptimised server which is not very high-end. If that's a major problem with it, we can only request your understanding at the moment. We will be soon moving to a more appropriate infrastructure.




What does Parallel Links do?
Parallel Links appears on top of most of the pages that you visit and is populated with links from several popular sites which are relevant to the contens of the page.

I'd like to be able to see X, Y, Z service instead of the six you provide. Can I change the sources of links?
Currently the six sources cannot be changed and are there as an example of what can be shown. If strong interest is demonstrated for a particular source we will include it.

Can I move the widget some place else in the webpage?
Not at the moment, but this is part of the functionality that we plan to introduce in the future.

Why is this a big deal?
Parallel Links has been created by us in order to showcase the abilities of the Cobalt Box platform. However, the potential of the platform lies on the fact that anyone can create such a widget, and can choose to embed it on any page on the internet. The type of new functionality which can be introduced to existing web sites in such a way is unlimited.

What if I don't want to see this widget?
Right now you have the basic option to turn it off. In the future we will includes more customization options in order for users to have bigger control on what they view.




Is the platform open to developers?
Yes! The main strength of Cobalt Box is that anyone can create widgets and add them to the platform.

This looks interesting. Can I get involved?
Sure! Please send us an email to feedback@cobaltbox.com expressing your interest and we will get back to you.

Is there any information for developers?
You can find some more information here. More information will be added in the future.