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I always liked their original UI - Photon[1][2]. Very lightweight and fast. Also a distinct and consistent style. I understand why they dropped it in favor of Q

by xvilka 10mo ago

I always liked their original UI - Photon[1][2]. Very lightweight and fast. Also a distinct and consistent style. I understand why they dropped it in favor of Qt and later Web technologies, but it's still a big loss. [1] https://www.qnx.com/developers/docs/6.5.0SP1.update/com.qnx.doc.neutrino_user_guide/using_photon.html https://www.qnx.com/developers/docs/6.5.0SP1.update/com.qnx.... [2] https://www.mikecramer.com/qnx/momentics_nc_docs/photon/prog_guide/about.html https://www.mikecramer.com/qnx/momentics_nc_docs/photon/prog...

prmoustache 10mo ago
Yes while it makes sense to reuse stuff that is already being built, my heart sank when I saw the screenshot while expecting seeing the photon microgui which to me was the nicest skeuomorphic one.
insin 10mo ago
I was expecting to see that, I ended up looking up some old LiteStep themes [1][2] for my fix [1] https://www.wincustomize.com/explore/litestep/6/ https://www.wincustomize.com/explore/litestep/6/ [2] https://www.wincustomize.com/explore/litestep/292/ https://www.wincustomize.com/explore/litestep/292/
- krylon 10mo ago
  Oooooh, that's a blast from the past! I used to use LiteStep for about 6-9 months in 2000, before I started using GNU/Linux. At the end, I had really beautiful (to my eyes, back then) and very functional desktop, but something went wrong when I made backup before installing SuSE Linux 7.0, so months of vigorous customizing were lost. :-( But it was fun while it lasted. There were a number of alternative desktop shells in the Windows 95/98 era.
- johnisgood 10mo ago
  Reminds me of HaikuOS.
DaeDev 10mo ago
Funny thing is this got brought up to us in other circles. As a relatively new person to QNX photon seems to have a special place in people's hearts
qwerty456127 10mo ago
Indeed. QNX is the coolest OS I ever seen and Photon felt the coolest desktop environment. Although I like XFCE in the Linux context (more than e.g. GNOME), I am sad to see it replaced Photon on QNX. Photon just looked and felt so lovely and came with a visual C++ builder making GUI apps development so nice.
- NuclearPM 10mo ago
  I ever saw. I have ever seen.
hhh 10mo ago
I still see it used in manufacturing.
transpute 10mo ago
> I understand why they dropped [Photon] in favor of Qt and later Web technologies The arrows of time branch and spiral, so it's possible that "later" could require some properties of "earlier". If Photon could not be open-sourced, it could be licensed to a third party for custodian maintenance. If QNX is abandoning Photon forever, would Blackberry object to Photon being cloned for Linux or FreeBSD? That could preserve a future option for QNX to use it again, like XFCE. Enthusiasts still use Blackberry keyboards on handheld devices in 2025, which sell out in minutes. In a parallel universe, Blackberry.com offers embedded SBC developers self-service purchase and global delivery of the legendary Blackberry keyboard, with Bluetooth for convenience or USB-c for security.

by xvilka 10mo ago

prmoustache 10mo ago

Yes while it makes sense to reuse stuff that is already being built, my heart sank when I saw the screenshot while expecting seeing the photon microgui which to me was the nicest skeuomorphic one.

insin 10mo ago

I was expecting to see that, I ended up looking up some old LiteStep themes [1][2] for my fix [1] https://www.wincustomize.com/explore/litestep/6/ https://www.wincustomize.com/explore/litestep/6/ [2] https://www.wincustomize.com/explore/litestep/292/ https://www.wincustomize.com/explore/litestep/292/

krylon 10mo ago
Oooooh, that's a blast from the past! I used to use LiteStep for about 6-9 months in 2000, before I started using GNU/Linux. At the end, I had really beautiful (to my eyes, back then) and very functional desktop, but something went wrong when I made backup before installing SuSE Linux 7.0, so months of vigorous customizing were lost. :-( But it was fun while it lasted. There were a number of alternative desktop shells in the Windows 95/98 era.
johnisgood 10mo ago
Reminds me of HaikuOS.

DaeDev 10mo ago

Funny thing is this got brought up to us in other circles. As a relatively new person to QNX photon seems to have a special place in people's hearts

qwerty456127 10mo ago

Indeed. QNX is the coolest OS I ever seen and Photon felt the coolest desktop environment. Although I like XFCE in the Linux context (more than e.g. GNOME), I am sad to see it replaced Photon on QNX. Photon just looked and felt so lovely and came with a visual C++ builder making GUI apps development so nice.

NuclearPM 10mo ago
I ever saw. I have ever seen.

hhh 10mo ago

I still see it used in manufacturing.

transpute 10mo ago

> I understand why they dropped [Photon] in favor of Qt and later Web technologies The arrows of time branch and spiral, so it's possible that "later" could require some properties of "earlier". If Photon could not be open-sourced, it could be licensed to a third party for custodian maintenance. If QNX is abandoning Photon forever, would Blackberry object to Photon being cloned for Linux or FreeBSD? That could preserve a future option for QNX to use it again, like XFCE. Enthusiasts still use Blackberry keyboards on handheld devices in 2025, which sell out in minutes. In a parallel universe, Blackberry.com offers embedded SBC developers self-service purchase and global delivery of the legendary Blackberry keyboard, with Bluetooth for convenience or USB-c for security.