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GUI Niceties

Most people that know me know I dislike windows/microsoft with a passion. A minor reason for this is that other operating systems (specially linux) allows much more space/customisation in the GUI. So I started daydreaming about a more awesome way of doing things. Thinking about the cloud computers being that all your machines can access the same sessions. With the cloud comes P2P. Literally what it is is a large blank canvas which holds lots of what could be called windows, but with as little attire as possible no scrollbars as the frame is the size of the content (scaled if sizemax)

The desk’s (as in whats shown on any screen) are outlined in dashes, with the contents being the other objects. Right clicking on any blank space (or using meta+Right Click on an app window) opens the global context menu, which has the app opening options/dialogue and some shortcuts and the tray apps. Right click on an app window will bring up that app’s context menu. Specific app toolbars can be locked onto this menu, and options to close/save/print/etc. are available. These context menu’s are extensible and easily edited by an end user to suit their needs. Some toolbars/app-windows can be ‘locked’ to the desk that is operating that app. For example the black windows shown in desk 4 are photo editing app-windows/toolbars for editing that picture.

The global context menu could, for example, have a submenu that contains all your contacts, and by clicking on one an ‘address book page’ app could appear that let you continue to send them an email, or open a chat window or view their website or something.

A large image showing the whole of the canvas with the following desks outlined in dashes (as would be in reality maybe with tags saying what each is). Along the top and then down the desks are shown on: * A big TV in the lounge. * A netbook (1024x768) * My PC (desk 1). * My PC (desk 3). * My PC (desk 4). * My work PC. * The kitchen radio. * My PC’s keyboard (in fact a touch-screen tablet).

The second of my pc’s desktops (desk 2) is in canvas mode, showing the whole canvas. Screens can be ‘popped off’ the canvas, so for example a cursor on the TV screen couldnt run off the side, whereas the photo screen (desk 3) can be moved by going to the edge of the screen (or by a gesture, etc.)

There is more, I just cant concentrate, any questions, please email/comment :)

Thougths on OpenSity

I thought I might see if we can make OpenSity peer to peer and I also realised that the best way of locating points on the surface would be to use polar coordinates. I think we should make the graphics later, much later, but it would be nice if it eventualy got to the stage of 3D emersive graphics and stuff.

@p2p: maybe having the oringional creator of that world being the “server” and it dedicates tasks out to all the other nodes. and while the “server” node is offline, they dont compute for that particular world.

and maybe to keep building file sizes down, they should be super-modular-ized aka each window or door or w/e is an object, and a building is made up of many different bits and pieces, (maybe the overall bulding volume is a frame, and the skins are texture filled or something) but yeah, this is all for later on when theres an actuall gui… Also the “lots” would be dynamicly generated, the building would be plonked onto the plot of land and then paths from doors and garrages would be made to the nearest pavement/road and stuff like that.

I was thinking the gui mode (if it gets that far) wouldnt be real time to start off with. and also, the AI would have to be pretty good to deal with any tasks that the player doesnt want to do at that particular time. The simulator may want to be run in the background for processing help :)