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+Document: WM-039                                                 P. Webb
+Category: Operating Systems                                   2019.06.09
+
+         The Future of the Operating System: Revisited, Part 1
+
+Abstract
+
+   Where we're going is…fascinating and unknown.
+
+Body
+
+   Back in 2013[1] I penned an essay titled, "The Future of the
+   Operating System." In it, I attempted to predict where the operating
+   system paradigm was headed based on what was obvious to me at the
+   time: cloud services were taking off and mobile devices were seeing
+   greater usage than personal computers. Logically (to me), this meant
+   the concept of a responsive OS was upon us. Some of the cited
+   examples were Firefox OS[2] and Ubuntu Edge[3], products that were
+   both designed to be highly mobile primary computing devices that
+   would dock to an apparatus on one's desk to become a full-fledged
+   workstation. The essay was also an opportunity to plug my OS
+   in-progress (now dormant), hikari[4], built around the responsive
+   OS concept.
+
+   For now, a rectangular slab of glass and metal that more or less fits
+   in the palm of an adult hand appears to be the preferred format for a
+   mobile computing device. Specific details and component internals can
+   and will change but the external *probably* won't change much so no
+   time will be spent talking about that. Instead, I'll go over my
+   favorite UI concepts that inventive minds have created in the
+   half-decade since my inital opus.
+
+   1. eDEX-UI[5]
+
+      > eDEX-UI is a fullscreen, cross-platform terminal emulator and
+      > system monitor that looks and feels like a sci-fi
+      > computer interface.
+      >
+      > Heavily inspired from the TRON Legacy movie effects[6]
+      > (especially the Board Room sequence[7]), the eDEX-UI project was
+      > originally meant to be "DEX-UI[8] with less « art » and more
+      > « distributable software »". While keeping a futuristic look and
+      > feel, it strives to maintain a certain level of functionality
+      > and to be usable in real-life scenarios, with the larger goal of
+      > bringing science-fiction UXs to the mainstream.
+      >
+      > It might or might not be a joke taken too seriously.
+
+      📸[eDEX-UI screenshot][IMG1]
+      📸[eDEX-UI screenshot][IMG2]
+      📸[eDEX-UI screenshot][IMG3]
+
+      The on-screen keyboard suggests the use of this UI on a large
+      touchscreen table (like Microsoft's PixelSense[9] or Oblivion's
+      Light Table[10]) or at least the 12" iPad Pro. Despite what some
+      would consider "visual noise", this UI has almost everything one
+      would need for text entry and multitasking.
+
+      I personally don't see myself using a UI like this because of
+      limited color palette. It looks wonderful for focus though.
+
+      If nothing else, it is fun to look at and pretend you're in a
+      future where hoverboards are actually real and not 🤬 batteries
+      on wheels.
+
+   2. Desktop Neo[11]
+
+      > Neo is a conceptual desktop operating system interface that is
+      > built for todays people, needs and technologies.
+
+      📸[Desktop Neo screenshot][IMG4]
+      📸[Desktop Neo screenshot][IMG5]
+      📸[Desktop Neo screenshot][IMG6]
+
+      This UI is all about fullscreen EVERYTHING. Window manager lovers
+      would be so into this (looking at you, /r/unixporn[12] community).
+      Heck, *I* am into this! All day every day I am CONSTANTLY
+      resizing/swiping/moving windows around.
+
+      The panel concept of this UI is nice and the search functionality
+      sounds like something I *need*. I am currently on the beta for
+      macOS Catalina and it *almost* has the concept down but you can
+      only split two windows, max.
+
+      📸[macOS Catalina, splitscreen][IMG7]
+
+      I do like how productive it makes me feel so maybe I'll become a
+      heavy user of it (and hope Apple expands on the feature). Of the
+      UI concepts showcased here, Desktop Neo is my favorite.
+
+   3. Mercury[13]
+
+      > Mercury is a speculative reimagining of the operating system as
+      > a fluid experience driven by human intent.
+      >
+      > No Apps or Folders. Mercury fluidly assembles content and
+      > actions based on your intentions. So you can focus on the
+      > destination, not the many ways to get there.
+
+      📸[Mercury screenshot][IMG8]
+      📸[Mercury screenshot][IMG9]
+      📸[Mercury screenshot][IMG10]
+      📸[Mercury screenshot][IMG11]
+
+      This is interesting because it completely strips away the desktop
+      paradigm and creates something that aims to intuit what you'll do
+      based on previous interactions. Basically, local machine learning
+      to help you be more productive.
+
+      Mercury makes *heavy* use of shortcuts and search to get around,
+      so this isn't the UI for the faint of heart.
+
+      The mockups show email messages and some neat things around that
+      but nothing else. It'd be interesting to see how a web browser
+      would look. How do I see all my apps? The creator of Mercury says
+      there aren't any apps but come on, OF COURSE there are.
+
+      I'm excited to see where Mercury heads but for now, it just looks
+      like a nice email app.
+
+   Thoughts
+
+      A key issue I have with every UI concept mentioned here (and
+      nearly every one on the Internet) is the lack of real work being
+      done within them. Outside of an email or text prompt, you rarely
+      see how a coder would use it. Or an analyst. Or a designer. Or
+      anyone being productive, period.
+
+      A common thread that brings these concepts together is, *focus*.
+      Another is change (obviously). After all, the desktop metaphor[14]
+      as we know it was created in 1970. *Nineteen seventy*. What you
+      are reading right now was written in 2019, nearly 50 YEARS later
+      and…not much has changed.
+
+      As I am wont to do, I think about lapsed projects of mine and
+      wonder what would warrant further development. In hikari's case,
+      it doesn't make sense to simply recreate the tried-and-true
+      desktop metaphor. If my aim is to solve problems inherent to a
+      dated paradigm, keeping with the status quo is NOT the way to go.
+
+      One of the reasons Apple's iOS is massively popular is because
+      users don't have to think about files and folders, a chief tenant
+      of the desktop paradigm.
+
+      So…where do we go from here?
+
+      I don't pretend to have the answer but I think we're *slowly*
+      going in the right direction. 🕸
+
+References
+
+   [1]     <https://2016.dsgn.io/thoughts/post/the-future-of-the-operating-system>
+   [2]     <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_OS>
+   [3]     <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_Edge>
+   [4]     <https://hikar.io>
+   [5]     <https://github.com/GitSquared/edex-ui>
+   [6]     <https://web.archive.org/web/20170511000410/http://jtnimoy.com/blogs/projects/14881671>
+   [7]     <https://gmunk.com/TRON-Board-Room>
+   [8]     <https://github.com/seenaburns/dex-ui>
+   [9]     <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PixelSense>
+   [10]    <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=oblivion+table&iax=images&ia=images>
+   [11]    <https://desktopneo.com>
+   [12]    <https://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn>
+   [13]    <https://www.mercuryos.com>
+   [14]    <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_metaphor>
+   [IMG1]  <https://🔥.pixels.wtf/blog/image/2019/future-of-the-os-a.png>
+   [IMG2]  <https://🔥.pixels.wtf/blog/image/2019/future-of-the-os-b.png>
+   [IMG3]  <https://🔥.pixels.wtf/blog/image/2019/future-of-the-os-c.png>
+   [IMG4]  <https://🔥.pixels.wtf/blog/image/2019/future-of-the-os-d.png>
+   [IMG5]  <https://🔥.pixels.wtf/blog/image/2019/future-of-the-os-e.png>
+   [IMG6]  <https://🔥.pixels.wtf/blog/image/2019/future-of-the-os-f.png>
+   [IMG7]  <https://🔥.pixels.wtf/blog/image/2019/future-of-the-os-g.png>
+   [IMG8]  <https://🔥.pixels.wtf/blog/image/2019/future-of-the-os-h.png>
+   [IMG9]  <https://🔥.pixels.wtf/blog/image/2019/future-of-the-os-i.png>
+   [IMG10] <https://🔥.pixels.wtf/blog/image/2019/future-of-the-os-j.png>
+   [IMG11] <https://🔥.pixels.wtf/blog/image/2019/future-of-the-os-k.png>