This is crazy. Let me explain that last statement by telling you about an idea that I have been brewing up for an OS user interface over the past few months, before I had even heard of Étoilé. Here it is in my words, roughly-speaking:
Windows/files: - The UI is persistent, meaning that it is exactly the same after restarting the computer. - There are "workspace" windows that are regular windows that contain other windows. - The windows *are* the files. As such, workspaces = folders. - Deleting a window = deleting the file. Overlapping: - Windows cannot overlap. - There are no "file proxies", like the "proxy icon" in OS X; dragging a window over another window = dragging the file into the target window. To generalize all of this a bit further: - A window is a kind of control that can contain other controls. - Controls cannot overlap. - Controls can be dragged into other controls. Window/workspace states: - A window in a workspace has one of the following states: iconified or manually-sized. A window/file is never closed; only iconified. To "open" it again -- in other words, return it to manually-sized -- security credentials for the window/file may need to be provided. - A workspace has one of the following states: scrollable or squished. A squished workspace shows an Exposé-like view of the workspace whereby windows are compressed such that they are all visible. Clicking on a window here returns the workspace to scrollable mode, scrolled to the selected window. - Any window can become full-screen. When applied to workspaces, this becomes similar to "zooming" in the Humane Interface, as any window within the workspace can then become full-screen. The user can then "zoom out" of a full-screen window, to return the window to its manual size on screen and make the containing workspace full-screen. - Note that the screen always represents a full-screen workspace, which can be either scrollable or squished. Applications/services: - Applications can simply be considered plug-ins for the system. - Selecting a control or controls automatically causes a pie menu to appear containing all commands that apply to the selection. These commands are like "Services" in OS X, which are provided by applications. - When an application is added to the system, the only affect is (a) services are added, and (b) some different controls may be available. Removing the application transparently removes these services and controls. Top-level workspace: - The "top-level" workspace window is like the "log-in" window. It is a workspace window that contains a bunch of iconified windows, one or more for each user. - To "open" one of the windows, credentials must be provided as per permissions on the window. - Any user can return to the top-level workspace by zooming out from any window until no more zooming out is possible. - Each workspace starts off empty. File system implementation: - The top-level workspace is some directory in the underlying file system (the "workspace directory"). - Each window in a workspace is a file/folder in this workspace directory. - Nothing outside of this workspace directory will *EVER* be exposed to a user. The only way the user can interact with the system is through services and controls, which allow controlled and user-friendly interaction with the system. - Nothing inside of this workspace directory will *EVER* be touched by the system (unless explicitly directed by a user). The workspace directory *only* contains stuff that the user puts there. It doesn't contain preferences, hidden files, etc; these go in some other directory that the system deems appropriate (i.e. "~/"). The system does not touch anything in the workspace directory, and can *never* rely on any particular file or a directory hierarchy existing there. It is a holy sanctum for users. There are many more details that I haven't covered here (i.e. specifics on interaction, such as lack of double- or right-click; window placement; etc.), and would be happy to discuss in more detail. I also look forward to debating these ideas with you fine folks to help refine them into something better, if you're interested. The point, though, is this: as you can see, you have independently come up with almost the identical idea. Where do I sign up to help develop this thing? N. Electron.
