What Parakey’s capabilities add to the equation is that now these programs would be able to interact with the treasure trove of documents, pictures, songs, and movie clips that are on each user’s own computer. And the process would be made much simpler than it is now.

Hewitt and Ross first met in 2000 while both worked at Netscape, but the idea for Parakey grew out of conversations between them a few years later.

At the time the technology media were heaping praise on Ross, who had become the face of Firefox, and venture capitalists were hot on their heels when word broke that Hewitt and Ross were thinking of starting a new company.

In total, the two college dropouts raised between $1.5 million and $2 million in two rounds of venture funding and began working on Parakey in 2005, telecommuting from their apartments in Palo Alto. When the Facebook deal was finalized this July, Parakey had only two employees: Hewitt and Ross.

Contrary to rumors that Facebook outflanked Google for Parakey, Hewitt said there were no other companies in the bidding. The pair received cash and Facebook stock in the deal, and according to the TechCrunch blog, Facebook paid less than $4 million for Parakey.

While Parakey may have been a small deal, it stands to become a big part of Facebook.

Asked if Facebook will integrate Parakey into its site, Ross said “definitely,” although he would not provide a timeline.

“I’m spending 100 percent of my time on Parakey and 100 percent on other Facebook projects,” Ross said. Considering that both Hewitt and Ross say they typically work 14-to-16-hour days, seven days a week, that might not be a stretch.

Hewitt, who now sits directly across from Ross at Facebook’s Palo Alto headquarters, hit the ground running in his first days on the job.

A New Jersey native, Hewitt built a version of Facebook that would be navigable by the browser of the new iPhone. At Apple’s next product launch in September, Steve Jobs showed off the new WiFi-enabled iPod by logging on to Facebook.

“There is Steve Jobs demoing Apple’s flagship product, an amazing new iPod, and he chooses to show the NY Times, Bob Dylan, and my baby, the Facebook iPhone site!” Hewitt wrote on his blog. “Is there a higher compliment you can receive in this industry?”

But devoting nearly every waking moment to Facebook and software engineering does have its drawbacks. When asked about his love life, all Hewitt can say is, “Facebook is my girlfriend.”