JoliCloud OS, the cloud based operating system which came way before Chrome OS, is getting an update and a new name. Version 1.2 is due to release later this week, and will be known as Joli OS.  It will bring with it a number of new features, as well as enhanced cross-platform support.  Starting out with the added support, an official blog post reveals Joli OS will be made available beyond the Chrome Web Store to FireFox 4, Safari 5 and the iPad as well as Android, though it wasn’t disclosed exactly when.

“To avoid confusion, we have renamed our OS to ‘Joli OS’ and will refer to our online desktop as Jolicloud as a Web app,” Jolicloud writes on their blog. “In addition to our availability on the Chrome Web Store, we will support Firefox 4, Safari 5 and the iPad (as an experimental HTML5 port). As an Android app (future). We are extremely excited by the potential of Jolicloud in the mobile space.”

In addition to more extensive platform support which allows users to sync a single desktop between devices, Joli OS 1.2 will also bring some interesting new features with it. These include redesigned startup screens and a ‘Guest Mode,’ which allows users to borrow a Joli OS-running machine and discard their settings saved in a disposable file system. Another tweak is a new file browser which will let users browse through SB keys, SD cards and hard drives; preview documents and view how much disk space is available. This comes in addition to auto log-in, as well as some performance improvements such as automatic background updates and faster app installation and sync.

Joli OS’s added cross-platform support and desktop lo-in represent a trend which has gained a tremendous amount of popularity lately: personal cloud management.  Other offerings targeting this area include Memolane which hit general availability today, and organizes users’ social networking activity as a centralized timeline. In addition to Memolane there’s also Primadesk, and a number of additional offerings including Hearst’s Manilla and AirSet.