“If I were configuring a desktop for others, I might use
something like the incredibly flexible Enlightenment desktop. It
creates a specialized environment that feels more like an appliance
than a computer. I’m not sure how to describe what I envision, but
it might help to think of it as the PalmPilot approach to the PC
desktop. I’m not talking about the precise way the PalmPilot
implements its user interface; it’s the concept of simplicity and
specialization I’m after. Ideally, I would try to replace the
traditional icons and cascading menus with a few simple visual
gadgets that start only the handful of specialized applications my
users need.”
“I started thinking in these terms when the Stardock
Corporation’s Brad Wardell paid me a visit recently. Brad asked for
a tour of Linux window managers and then showed me some of the
Windows software he had in the works.”
“In case the company name doesn’t ring a bell, Stardock is best
known for its OS/2 desktop-enhancement software package, called
Object Desktop. Well, that’s not strictly true; Stardock is
probably most widely known for its OS/2 games, starting with the
blockbuster hit Galactic Civilizations. But the Stardock product
most relevant to business use is Object Desktop. The version for
OS/2 is a set of object-oriented user interface tools that fill in
all the gaps in the OS/2 Workplace Shell, and then some. Once
people get their hands on Object Desktop, they can no longer live
without it.”