5 ms·

Replacing My Window Manager with Google Chrome

105 points by foxmoss 10mo ago

chasing0entropy 10mo ago
I'm interested in a how-to which accomplishes the absolute opposite result.
- jonhohle 10mo ago
  1) uninstall Chrome 2) install it once a year when some backwards website won’t work with anything else. 3) go to 1)
- somat 10mo ago
  here you go https://plan9.io/magic/man2html/4/webfs https://plan9.io/magic/man2html/4/webfs
jauntywundrkind 10mo ago
Pyro Desktop! But with Chrome instead of Firefox. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2007/07/experimental-pyro-project-offers-a-firefox-based-desktop-environment-for-linux/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2007/07/exper... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39541 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39541
- ComputerGuru 10mo ago
  Sounds like a more performant and cleaner solution than TFA.
jeffjeffbear 10mo ago
When I was younger I thought of replacing most of the OS with a browser since that is how I used it. but this is weird and not in a good way. Maybe using Firefox would feel better.
- RestartKernel 10mo ago
  > When I was younger I thought of replacing most of the OS with a browser since that is how I used it. Isn't that basically Chrome OS?
GaryBluto 10mo ago
I believe the earlier versions of Chrome/Chromium OS took this to the logical extreme. https://www.technologyreview.com/2009/11/19/208062/google-gives-a-first-look-at-the-chrome-os/ https://www.technologyreview.com/2009/11/19/208062/google-gi...
- nolist_policy 10mo ago
  On ChromeOS, Chrome is the window manager, compositor and desktop session all in one.
- sunaookami 10mo ago
  This reminds me of the Windows 8 version they had for a short time where you got a full-blown ChromeOS "clone" when launching the Metro version: https://www.howtogeek.com/179980/how-to-use-the-chrome-os-desktop-on-windows-8-and-why-it-exists/ https://www.howtogeek.com/179980/how-to-use-the-chrome-os-de...
  - GaryBluto 10mo ago
    How bizarre. Thanks for sharing.
raphinou 10mo ago
This is based on the Chromium Embedded Framework. I've always been surprised this kind of framework was not encouraged for Firefox by Mozilla (I've read they were even against it).
- saint_yossarian 10mo ago
  They used to have XULRunner long ago.
- mid-kid 10mo ago
  Before they got rid of XUL, this was the sort of thing possible with it.
  - stuaxo 10mo ago
    Exactly, this sort of thing was the whole idea of XUL. It was a little too flexible to make secure and fast though.
yokljo 10mo ago
This is a pretty neat idea, and shows that maybe a desktop environment could be a lot more flexible than we're used to if it was based on something flexible. Not exactly counter intuitive. I'd like to see how complex a CEF-based Wayland compositor would be in comparison. How about using Godot instead of CEF? It has a pretty full-featured UI system. So many possibilities.
- yokljo 10mo ago
  While you're at it, go on a huge tangent writing a library that allows one implementation to work as both an X11 and Wayland compositor. Actually why stop there? Make said library also compile to a full screen Windows and Macos application that somehow renders the contents of windows to textures and does event handing etc. that way you can write your desktop environment once and use it everywhere. I've gone crazy with power.
  - deleted 10mo ago
    [deleted]
wiseowise 10mo ago
> It’s quite a bit easier to tweak CSS constants, and JS snippets then it is to change style embedded already in a long standing modern desktop/window manager. So let’s bring the web to the desktop and have a browser control the system. Jesus, bro, you can’t say stuff like this here. Half of HN is going to have a stroke and will end up sounding like Hodor – native, natuve, ntve.
deleted 10mo ago
[deleted]
throwaway290 10mo ago
I looked around the Windows skin source but I guess I'm too dumb for it because this line makes no sense to me https://github.com/FoxMoss/dote-dreamland-win95-example/blob/63aadc7a117501fd728411301b10101743417a86/src/main.tsx#L868 https://github.com/FoxMoss/dote-dreamland-win95-example/blob...
- yokljo 10mo ago
  I strongly suspect I know what that does because I worked with Svelte 4 for years (you no longer have to do this in Svelte 5. I can recommend Svelte 5, it's nice). Basically, assigning a state to itself tells it to signal that that state has changed and update anything that is listening to it. The `state` object is actually a JS Proxy returned by createState [0], which allows intercepting the assignment to the `windows` property and emit signals. Usually you dont have to do that, but in this case, the proxy doesn't notice that `state.windows.push(X)` is a mutation. Only assignments directly to the state object count as mutations. TLDR, `state.windows = state.windows` tells the framework that `windows` changed. [0]: https://github.com/MercuryWorkshop/dreamlandjs/blob/1e7a34a1d80eee8bc8df77bad9148cea70c825b8/src/core/state/state.ts#L43 https://github.com/MercuryWorkshop/dreamlandjs/blob/1e7a34a1...
  - foxmoss 10mo ago
    I was drafting a reply when you sent this, this is the correct interpretation and why I did it.
nahuel0x 10mo ago
Windows 98 Active Desktop vibes :)
SpikedCola 10mo ago
Not sure why, but the text doesn't appear in Chrome 109: https://imgur.com/a/QyIdfax https://imgur.com/a/QyIdfax If I disable "font-family: Atkinson" it comes back, so guessing it's font related. I do see the two .woff files load in the Network tab. Interestingly, when I preview either font file, I see the sample of the font (AaBbCc etc.) in a flash for just milliseconds, and then it disappears and I see nothing.
T3RMINATED 10mo ago
[dead]
bzmrgonz 10mo ago
Why not aluminumOS? Isn't that suppose to be alphabet's unifier OS and challenger to Huawei's harmonyOS???
rkagerer 10mo ago
But why? (Real question)
- plun9 10mo ago
  Easy to create different skins and behavior
  - hulitu 10mo ago
    > Easy to create different skins and behavior Kids those days. Fvwm.
hulitu 10mo ago
> On Linux this is mainly X11 written by MIT in 1984, it’s old and starting to show it’s age "Windows 1.0 is the first major release of Microsoft Windows, a family of graphical user shells and operating systems for personal computers developed by Microsoft. It was first released to manufacturing in the United States on November 20, 1985" So, I guess, Windows also is "starting to show it’s age". /s

105 points by foxmoss 10mo ago

chasing0entropy 10mo ago

I'm interested in a how-to which accomplishes the absolute opposite result.

jonhohle 10mo ago
1) uninstall Chrome 2) install it once a year when some backwards website won’t work with anything else. 3) go to 1)
somat 10mo ago
here you go https://plan9.io/magic/man2html/4/webfs https://plan9.io/magic/man2html/4/webfs

jauntywundrkind 10mo ago

Pyro Desktop! But with Chrome instead of Firefox. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2007/07/experimental-pyro-project-offers-a-firefox-based-desktop-environment-for-linux/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2007/07/exper... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39541 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39541

ComputerGuru 10mo ago
Sounds like a more performant and cleaner solution than TFA.

jeffjeffbear 10mo ago

When I was younger I thought of replacing most of the OS with a browser since that is how I used it. but this is weird and not in a good way. Maybe using Firefox would feel better.

RestartKernel 10mo ago
> When I was younger I thought of replacing most of the OS with a browser since that is how I used it. Isn't that basically Chrome OS?

GaryBluto 10mo ago

I believe the earlier versions of Chrome/Chromium OS took this to the logical extreme. https://www.technologyreview.com/2009/11/19/208062/google-gives-a-first-look-at-the-chrome-os/ https://www.technologyreview.com/2009/11/19/208062/google-gi...

nolist_policy 10mo ago
On ChromeOS, Chrome is the window manager, compositor and desktop session all in one.
sunaookami 10mo ago
This reminds me of the Windows 8 version they had for a short time where you got a full-blown ChromeOS "clone" when launching the Metro version: https://www.howtogeek.com/179980/how-to-use-the-chrome-os-desktop-on-windows-8-and-why-it-exists/ https://www.howtogeek.com/179980/how-to-use-the-chrome-os-de...
- GaryBluto 10mo ago
  How bizarre. Thanks for sharing.

raphinou 10mo ago

This is based on the Chromium Embedded Framework. I've always been surprised this kind of framework was not encouraged for Firefox by Mozilla (I've read they were even against it).

saint_yossarian 10mo ago
They used to have XULRunner long ago.
mid-kid 10mo ago
Before they got rid of XUL, this was the sort of thing possible with it.
- stuaxo 10mo ago
  Exactly, this sort of thing was the whole idea of XUL. It was a little too flexible to make secure and fast though.

yokljo 10mo ago

This is a pretty neat idea, and shows that maybe a desktop environment could be a lot more flexible than we're used to if it was based on something flexible. Not exactly counter intuitive. I'd like to see how complex a CEF-based Wayland compositor would be in comparison. How about using Godot instead of CEF? It has a pretty full-featured UI system. So many possibilities.

yokljo 10mo ago
While you're at it, go on a huge tangent writing a library that allows one implementation to work as both an X11 and Wayland compositor. Actually why stop there? Make said library also compile to a full screen Windows and Macos application that somehow renders the contents of windows to textures and does event handing etc. that way you can write your desktop environment once and use it everywhere. I've gone crazy with power.
- deleted 10mo ago
  [deleted]

wiseowise 10mo ago

> It’s quite a bit easier to tweak CSS constants, and JS snippets then it is to change style embedded already in a long standing modern desktop/window manager. So let’s bring the web to the desktop and have a browser control the system. Jesus, bro, you can’t say stuff like this here. Half of HN is going to have a stroke and will end up sounding like Hodor – native, natuve, ntve.

deleted 10mo ago

[deleted]

throwaway290 10mo ago

I looked around the Windows skin source but I guess I'm too dumb for it because this line makes no sense to me https://github.com/FoxMoss/dote-dreamland-win95-example/blob/63aadc7a117501fd728411301b10101743417a86/src/main.tsx#L868 https://github.com/FoxMoss/dote-dreamland-win95-example/blob...

yokljo 10mo ago
I strongly suspect I know what that does because I worked with Svelte 4 for years (you no longer have to do this in Svelte 5. I can recommend Svelte 5, it's nice). Basically, assigning a state to itself tells it to signal that that state has changed and update anything that is listening to it. The `state` object is actually a JS Proxy returned by createState [0], which allows intercepting the assignment to the `windows` property and emit signals. Usually you dont have to do that, but in this case, the proxy doesn't notice that `state.windows.push(X)` is a mutation. Only assignments directly to the state object count as mutations. TLDR, `state.windows = state.windows` tells the framework that `windows` changed. [0]: https://github.com/MercuryWorkshop/dreamlandjs/blob/1e7a34a1d80eee8bc8df77bad9148cea70c825b8/src/core/state/state.ts#L43 https://github.com/MercuryWorkshop/dreamlandjs/blob/1e7a34a1...
- foxmoss 10mo ago
  I was drafting a reply when you sent this, this is the correct interpretation and why I did it.

nahuel0x 10mo ago

Windows 98 Active Desktop vibes :)

SpikedCola 10mo ago

Not sure why, but the text doesn't appear in Chrome 109: https://imgur.com/a/QyIdfax https://imgur.com/a/QyIdfax If I disable "font-family: Atkinson" it comes back, so guessing it's font related. I do see the two .woff files load in the Network tab. Interestingly, when I preview either font file, I see the sample of the font (AaBbCc etc.) in a flash for just milliseconds, and then it disappears and I see nothing.

T3RMINATED 10mo ago

[dead]

bzmrgonz 10mo ago

Why not aluminumOS? Isn't that suppose to be alphabet's unifier OS and challenger to Huawei's harmonyOS???

rkagerer 10mo ago

But why? (Real question)

plun9 10mo ago
Easy to create different skins and behavior
- hulitu 10mo ago
  > Easy to create different skins and behavior Kids those days. Fvwm.

hulitu 10mo ago

> On Linux this is mainly X11 written by MIT in 1984, it’s old and starting to show it’s age "Windows 1.0 is the first major release of Microsoft Windows, a family of graphical user shells and operating systems for personal computers developed by Microsoft. It was first released to manufacturing in the United States on November 20, 1985" So, I guess, Windows also is "starting to show it’s age". /s