[ruby-talk:11409] Re: trial balloon: Ruby desktop?

On Friday 23 February 2001 11:18, Jon Aseltine wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have been thinking about something for some time now, and I wanted to
> get some feedback from the list. Would it be feasible/possible/wise to
> craft a desktop environment using Ruby as its backbone? I am quite
> unhappy with the state of both GNOME and KDE, and I find the idea of a
> Ruby desktop exciting. Some parts need to be fast (some window manager
> stuff, e.g.), but other things, including most application logic, could
> be in pure Ruby, I think.
>

Oviously, from other responses, people _are_ interested.  I am curious, 
though, re your dissatisfaction with KDE and GNOME; is this the result of the 
'politics', technical reasons, or aesthetics? The answer(s), of course, 
somewhat define the problemspace.

> Is anyone else interested in this? Given Ruby's many advantages, I think
> something useful could be crafted quickly (a year? is that quick?). I
> also think it would push Ruby to the limit in some ways, and perhaps
> make the language better.
>
> Any thoughts? Or am I crazy?
>

You're not crazy. Of course, one has to determine what the concept of 
'desktop' is to be? One thought is to develop XPCOM bindings for Ruby and 
then have a 'desktop' that is in reality a giant browser (but without the 
limitations or bloat of a 'real' browser unless that kind of functionality is 
desired) pulling applications and data from decentralized servers all over 
the world. Perhaps some kind of menage a troi involving Ruby, Mozilla and 
FreeNet?

Regards,

Kent Starr
[e-mail]
 
>
> Jon