What would your ideal Operating System be like?

[mahesh2k]

OS X+Linux+ Windows = My OS

[housetier]

well underway in the semantic desktop crowd

-urlwolf (November 01, 2008, 06:35 AM)

Later today I'll attend a short talk about Deepa Mehta, which to me looks like a Semantic Desktop or at least a Semantic Filemanager.

[nontroppo]

urlwolf and housetier: thank you both, this is absolutely where I think we should indeed be going. Deepa Mehta looks interesting and I'm off to play around, though this needs to be implemented at the core OS API level to be really useful IMO. I was once a user of Personal Brain (back when it first appeared), which I loved, but after a while I stopped using it because I was forced only into its UI, and no data could leak out easily. I suspect Deepa Mehta will be the same.

urlwolf: any interesting info gladly received
houstier: let us know how the talk went!

[housetier]

I only caught part of the talk because I had to keep so many aliens in check onboard our space station.

However, the concept seems interesting: Instead of working with (the bugs of) a program, users complete tasks. On the desktop you see objects and tasks, or objects and connections to other objects. So the user gets a good overview of how things/objects/people interact.

You can even share your desktop/workspace! And I think this is best thing about it: to be able to take this "semantic thing" to the collaborative level. After all, people want to connect and share ideas; making this possible in an easier fashion is good.

On the other hand, it will require a little bit re-training yourself if you are - like me -used to working with programs. I will give DeepaMehta a spin, but I don't think I'll switch completely yet. The visual appeal is not there yet.

It also reminded me of mozilla's ubiquity thing, which I also will try out soon; a friend has been using it for some time and is very happy about it, limited as it is.

[nontroppo]

Thank you for protecting Earth and her space stations from attack, even more amazing that after wiping the thick gelatinous body fluids of "those from beyond" (cue sounds of a theramin and extensive echo), you could get some details on this semantic desktop app. 

Ubiquity is cool, lets hope it doesn't go the way of it's ancestor Enso and gets abducted by little gren men 

[Edvard]

I'm puzzled about the no-install idea, though I can see how that would be desirable for portability.
How about ZeroInstall? It doesn't work for Windows (yet) perhaps some of us could help out?
http://0install.net/

Myself, I like having what I need right where I expect it to be, rather than depend on a 'cache' of my desired app.
Still being on dial-up is a pretty big monkey wrench in the works as well...

[urlwolf]

@nontroppo:
http://nepomuk.semanticdesktop.org/

It does things like search on a set of desktops, insread of only yours (great for collaboration!).
(See references)

[nontroppo]

thanks for grabbing that URL between your teeth urlwolf 

edvard: yup I prefer to download what I need to run an app. OS X is basically 0install in that one drags an app to your applications folder and you're done, app will run fine (there are a few exceptions). Drag it to trash, you've uninstalled it!