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I wonder how things would have been if we had JavaScript based WMs and DEs. I'd have loved an HTML/CSS supported DE, imagine the possibilities! and seeing how p

I wonder how things would have been if we had JavaScript based WMs and DEs. I'd have loved an HTML/CSS supported DE, imagine the possibilities! and seeing how performance of web-based DEs is amazing, I really hope we can get a Linux distro with a HTML/CSS/JS based DE.

James-Livesey 3y ago
This is what I've been working on with LiveG OS, whose desktop environment, gShell, is written in HTML/CSS/JS: https://liveg.tech/os https://liveg.tech/os The OS is also designed to run on mobile devices, so there's some cross-platform consistency between the system on desktop and mobile devices. It's currently designed to run web apps, but the hope is to also include support for typical Linux GTK and Qt apps (or any app that uses Xwindows) soon to aid daily driveability. The current release can't do much yet, but we'll be releasing our next Alpha version in about a week or two which include a few more useful features on top of what's already available on our site!
- NayamAmarshe 3y ago
  Awesome! Do you have a Telegram channel or a waitlist? I'd love to join!
  - James-Livesey 3y ago
    We don't have Telegram, but we do have a Discord community — the link to it is at the bottom of the website at https://liveg.tech https://liveg.tech!
    - NayamAmarshe 3y ago
      Sorry, discord is a NO NO for me. I think you should create an email waitlist, that would be a bit better :)
      - James-Livesey 3y ago
        Of course, yeah Discord is a bit of a closed-source walled garden, but we're considering setting up a Matrix.org server some point soon as an open replacement for our current community. We currently release all Alpha versions onto our site at https://liveg.tech/os/get https://liveg.tech/os/get, so there's no need to 'wait' as such to try out the system in its current state! As for being notified as to when we'll release the next version, we normally let everyone know through Mastodon, as well as on other social networks such as YouTube and even (dare I say it) Twitter — sorry, I mean X. But it might be worth us setting up some sort of email-based notifier to let people know when new releases are available, so I'll take your advice onboard!
dflock 3y ago
The theming on Linux desktops is generally CSS based. For example, gtk/gnome shell is fully styled with CSS - with shell extensions written in JS.
- NayamAmarshe 3y ago
  but it's not as extensible. I know GTK uses JS and CSS but I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about something made purely in HTML + CSS + JS. Something like this: https://macos-web.app/ https://macos-web.app/ If only these could support native Linux apps somehow (through a WM).
  - kristopolous 3y ago
    chromeos?
    - samtheprogram 3y ago
      Built in Flutter, I believe.
      - lost_tourist 3y ago
        sounds rather memory intensive.
      - kristopolous 3y ago
        the underlying system has to be something - it can't be HTML all the way down to the CPU microcode. There was also the short-lived FirefoxOS, which is now https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KaiOS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KaiOS and countless kiosks.
        samtheprogram 3y ago
        > the underlying system has to be something - it can't be HTML all the way down to the CPU microcode Exactly what I was stating to GP (or implying, now that I read it over) — pretty sure Flutter is OpenGL or <canvas> or etc, and not outputting to HTML or some DOM like React et. al. are doing.
seabass-labrax 3y ago
That's basically Firefox OS! I still think it was one of Mozilla's most promising projects; I'm sad they abandoned it.

James-Livesey 3y ago

This is what I've been working on with LiveG OS, whose desktop environment, gShell, is written in HTML/CSS/JS: https://liveg.tech/os https://liveg.tech/os The OS is also designed to run on mobile devices, so there's some cross-platform consistency between the system on desktop and mobile devices. It's currently designed to run web apps, but the hope is to also include support for typical Linux GTK and Qt apps (or any app that uses Xwindows) soon to aid daily driveability. The current release can't do much yet, but we'll be releasing our next Alpha version in about a week or two which include a few more useful features on top of what's already available on our site!

NayamAmarshe 3y ago
Awesome! Do you have a Telegram channel or a waitlist? I'd love to join!
- James-Livesey 3y ago
  We don't have Telegram, but we do have a Discord community — the link to it is at the bottom of the website at https://liveg.tech https://liveg.tech!
  - NayamAmarshe 3y ago
    Sorry, discord is a NO NO for me. I think you should create an email waitlist, that would be a bit better :)
    - James-Livesey 3y ago
      Of course, yeah Discord is a bit of a closed-source walled garden, but we're considering setting up a Matrix.org server some point soon as an open replacement for our current community. We currently release all Alpha versions onto our site at https://liveg.tech/os/get https://liveg.tech/os/get, so there's no need to 'wait' as such to try out the system in its current state! As for being notified as to when we'll release the next version, we normally let everyone know through Mastodon, as well as on other social networks such as YouTube and even (dare I say it) Twitter — sorry, I mean X. But it might be worth us setting up some sort of email-based notifier to let people know when new releases are available, so I'll take your advice onboard!

dflock 3y ago

The theming on Linux desktops is generally CSS based. For example, gtk/gnome shell is fully styled with CSS - with shell extensions written in JS.

NayamAmarshe 3y ago
but it's not as extensible. I know GTK uses JS and CSS but I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about something made purely in HTML + CSS + JS. Something like this: https://macos-web.app/ https://macos-web.app/ If only these could support native Linux apps somehow (through a WM).
- kristopolous 3y ago
  chromeos?
  - samtheprogram 3y ago
    Built in Flutter, I believe.
    - lost_tourist 3y ago
      sounds rather memory intensive.
    - kristopolous 3y ago
      the underlying system has to be something - it can't be HTML all the way down to the CPU microcode. There was also the short-lived FirefoxOS, which is now https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KaiOS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KaiOS and countless kiosks.
      - samtheprogram 3y ago
        > the underlying system has to be something - it can't be HTML all the way down to the CPU microcode Exactly what I was stating to GP (or implying, now that I read it over) — pretty sure Flutter is OpenGL or <canvas> or etc, and not outputting to HTML or some DOM like React et. al. are doing.

seabass-labrax 3y ago

That's basically Firefox OS! I still think it was one of Mozilla's most promising projects; I'm sad they abandoned it.