SerenityOS – a graphical Unix-like OS for x86, with 90s aesthetics • Hacker News Board

Re: SerenityOS – a graphical Unix-like OS for x86, with 90s aesthetics

#121

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet » Thu, May 23, 2019, 1:05 PM UTC

RandomGuyDTB wrote: post #119

Crinus wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I purposely got myself a lower resolution monitor (in 4:3) so the bitmapped fonts I use are easier to see. Unless you use a CRT, i'd recommend to get a 1366x768 monitor with a VA panel. The low DPI makes pixels look crisp, if you game you'll get great performance even with low end hardware while you'll be able to play a lot of older games in a natively supported resolution (1024x768, centered) without UI issues and…

CRT rot... the grim reaper lurking behind the few remaining good monitors. I wish someone would make high-quality CRTs again, every time I use my C1701 I feel like I'm slowly desecrating an artifact- that I shouldn't be so shamelessly using such a limited resource. I suppose there's a chance I'll be able to keep up using CRTs until I die but I really am not ready to switch my old setup to an LCD.

It's interesting that no one does. Between the various retro-gaming and computing crowds one would think there's enough of a market for CRTs that at least one company would still be making them.

Re: SerenityOS – a graphical Unix-like OS for x86, with 90s aesthetics

#122

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet » Thu, May 23, 2019, 1:10 PM UTC

_bspline wrote: post #113

>A graphical OS for x86, with 90s aesthetics >90s >aesthetics wat?

Yes. Simplicity and function over form. 90s buttons looked like buttons, for instance. And theming was a simple matter of changing your fonts and colors. Windows 95 didn't need a special 'dark mode' supported by the OS, because you just changed your colors in the GUI tool for changing colors and fonts and you were done.

Modern GUIs are ridiculous and stupid and overcomplicated. Much like most of modern computing.

Re: SerenityOS – a graphical Unix-like OS for x86, with 90s aesthetics

#123

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet » Thu, May 23, 2019, 1:12 PM UTC

Jaruzel wrote: post #76

coldacid wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One could always also throw together a virtual machine for running Windows 3.1 like I keep doing.

For most non-technical people, a Windows 3.1 type GUI is all they need.

Stop this. It's condescending and part of the reason no one like tech people. It's also one of the core reasons the Linux Desktop never took off: "you don't need that, you just need (simple usecase that I envisioned because it was easy)."

Re: SerenityOS – a graphical Unix-like OS for x86, with 90s aesthetics

#124

Post by akling » Thu, May 23, 2019, 1:17 PM UTC

TBF-RnD wrote: post #71

Kinda broke right now but consider his patreon the world needs more of this!!

Thank you for shouting out my Patreon![1]

I'm never going to ask anyone for money, but I'm extremely grateful that some people have chosen to support this project financially.

The only "goal" I have set up on Patreon is hitting 1000 supporters. If things ever get that crazy, I'll stop whatever I'm doing and focus only on Serenity. For now that's just a fun daydream though :)

[1] https://www.patreon.com/serenityos

Re: SerenityOS – a graphical Unix-like OS for x86, with 90s aesthetics

#125

Post by akling » Thu, May 23, 2019, 1:19 PM UTC

djsumdog wrote: post #120

nitrogen wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Boot up an old Linux distro from around 2001 and compare WindowMaker, AfterStep, Fluxbox, KDE, Gnome, Enlightenment, and half a dozen others. Compare those to fictional UIs seen in movies, Hypercard, visual development systems like the ancient Klik n Play or modern Scratch or MaxMSP, etc. Learn about OLE (object linking and embedding) and document-centric vs. app-centric computing. Think about all the different ways…

> TempleOS RIP Terry Davis.

RIP King Terry

Re: SerenityOS – a graphical Unix-like OS for x86, with 90s aesthetics

#126

Post by bloopernova » Thu, May 23, 2019, 1:25 PM UTC

akling wrote: post #96

iforgotpassword wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it run on real hardware? Any plans for 64 bit? Any plans for SMP? The old readme mentions a gcc patch. Is it still needed? What does it do? Just the final executable's format? Is there an FAQ somewhere that I missed? :)

I haven't tried running it on real hardware yet, I'm too comfortable with my VM-based workflow at the moment. It'll eventually get there though, but I'm not in a hurry. :) The answer is basically the same for 64-bit and SMP support. Some day I'll wake up with the burning desire to implement those things, and then I'll start on it. Or someone will show up with patches. We'll see! Nothing really depends on those featur…

You are wonderful, just wanted to say that.

I hope your OS finds a stable niche to live in, and you get lots of great contributors. Thank you for writing this, its existence makes me deeply happy :)

Re: SerenityOS – a graphical Unix-like OS for x86, with 90s aesthetics

#127

Post by apotatopot » Thu, May 23, 2019, 1:27 PM UTC

couldn't you just contribute to lxde or xfce or something?

Re: SerenityOS – a graphical Unix-like OS for x86, with 90s aesthetics

#128

Post by aasasd » Thu, May 23, 2019, 1:36 PM UTC

mixmastamyk wrote: post #39

sys_64738 wrote: post #10

Looks like Windows 95.

Which looks like nextstep.

Pretty sure Motif was the originator of the 90s era concrete slabs look. “Initially released in July 1989.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motif_(software)

Re: SerenityOS – a graphical Unix-like OS for x86, with 90s aesthetics

#129

Post by wazoox » Thu, May 23, 2019, 1:38 PM UTC

nine_k wrote: post #111

the-dude wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love working with 2kb of RAM. What is your point?

The point is that the device with 2KB RAM is a single-purpose embedded controller, and the device with 4MB RAM used to be a full-blown universal desktop daily productivity machine.

Though I remember that it was more or less necessary to have 8MB to browse the Web on those Windows 3.11 486s :)

Re: SerenityOS – a graphical Unix-like OS for x86, with 90s aesthetics

#130

Post by jxdxbx » Thu, May 23, 2019, 1:46 PM UTC

reaperducer wrote: post #25

I think this is an impressive achievement, and certainly something I could never do. But I'm a little disappointed in the state of desktop operating systems these days. I don't see any innovation. Every OS is just splashing chrome on the same WIMP paradigm that's been available to consumers for 35 years. Maybe I'm looking for the equivalent of a flying car, but I wish someone would come up with an OS, or even just an…

I think there is plenty of room for innovation in desktop operating systems but the standard paradigm doesn't really need to be rethought. But where I differ from a lot of my fellow nerds is that I think desktop operating systems with arbitrary window placement and so on are best for desktop computers with huge screens, not laptops. I think the iOS/Android/Windows 8 approach of full-screen apps (with some tiling/split screen) and a different root layer than the "Desktop" makes more sense on smaller devices.