LCARS Operating System - Calling all Linux nerds!

[kaigoh]

Hi guys,

Just an intro on my current WIP - A fully working LCARS operating system for your PC.

Based on Ubuntu Linux with an LCARS front end, over the last month or so I've got a nice working proof of concept. But it needs expanding! I'm by no means a programming or Linux expert, so I'll need some help, but I think I'll be able to have a minimal liveCD distro by the end of the month.

I'll post some screenshots and a video when I get a moment, but the basic LCARS API is in place, ready for you guys to begin development. Development is done in C# and if anyone here is familiar with C# I can post some sample code.

All LCARS components are rendered on the fly and they are anti-aliased to make them look nice!

I've setup a forum at lcarsos.com if anyone is interested in helping out.

Thanks,

Kai.

 

[ares93]

Hi guys,

Just an intro on my current WIP - A fully working LCARS operating system for your PC.

Based on Ubuntu Linux with an LCARS front end, over the last month or so I've got a nice working proof of concept. But it needs expanding! I'm by no means a programming or Linux expert, so I'll need some help, but I think I'll be able to have a minimal liveCD distro by the end of the month.

I'll post some screenshots and a video when I get a moment, but the basic LCARS API is in place, ready for you guys to begin development. Development is done in C# and if anyone here is familiar with C# I can post some sample code.

All LCARS components are rendered on the fly and they are anti-aliased to make them look nice!

I've setup a forum at lcarsos.com if anyone is interested in helping out.

Thanks,

Kai.

nice! :-) how's the touchscreen compatibility btw? cause i was thinking of running the lcars shell on my CF-28 but the touchscreen is completely off. works fine otherwise. but if it runs i'd rather use linux than xp...

 

[kaigoh]

One of the reasons I decided to build the LCARSos on top of Ubuntu Linux is because at present, Ubuntu seems to be the distribution of choice in terms of support and driver development.

So if your touch-screen works on Linux, there's no reason it won't work with the LCARSos. I'm specifically designing the LCARSos so it can work with a mouse and keyboard or with a touch screen.

Kai.

 

[Firestone]

Interesting project. What is it exactly? A theme, a WM, something else?
I recon that LCARS is best represented by a Tiling WM, for which GNOME isn't that well suited. Or maybe a compromise; a *box environment.
Too bad I don't have enough knowledge of C# or time to spend at the moment. I did make quite a few LCARS flash-interfaces for small websites a few years ago.

 

[kaigoh]

It is an entirely custom shell running on mono which is selected from the GDM login screen.

I want to get away from having to run via GDM but at present, I need the ability to switch shells.

Kai.

 

[kaigoh]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWvX9x5agZc

This is a quick screencast I posted on YouTube of LCARSos.

Kai.

 

[Unicron]

This is probably a bit more suited for the Science & Tech forum, if you're interested in development. I'll move it over there now.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Looks pretty cool, although what are your goals here? Is this just meant to be a fun toy interface to have on your Ubuntu installation, or a genuinely usable environment?

 

[Jadzia]

As we've discussed several times here, the star trek computers do not use a practical interface, and it's difficult/impossible to achieve practical computer applications with it. I know some board members will passionately disagree

Earlier this year, I started making a media player, loosely based on a famous free one. My motivation is because I've found this famous free one is not terribly stable, and consumes a lot more system resources than it should.

I decided to give my application a slight trek look. I personally feel this design is the optimal compromise between trek-ness and usability.



I should really finish it off.

 

[Marc]

one thing to note - depending on where the OP intends to take his LCARS system he could wind up in trouble with Paramount.

A company was going to sell a LCARS interface/program/whatever for the iPad but had to pull the product just before it was released due to Paramount putting their foot down.

 

[kaigoh]

Well, I'm aiming to get a real OS off the ground, I know that there are +/- for the interface, but frankly, for the kind of applications I'm aiming for, I think the LCARS interface will be spot on.

I intend for this to eventually be a fully open source project that can be installed on any host operating system.

I'm sorry the video I posted dosn't show off the potential the the OS has, but keep following this thread and over the next few weeks I think you'll be impressed!

Kai.

 

[GalaxyX]

one thing to note - depending on where the OP intends to take his LCARS system he could wind up in trouble with Paramount.

A company was going to sell a LCARS interface/program/whatever for the iPad but had to pull the product just before it was released due to Paramount putting their foot down.

Why doesn't Paramount just buy the rights to it and sell it as their own software? They would make millions! Who doesn't want to turn his iPad into a PADD?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

one thing to note - depending on where the OP intends to take his LCARS system he could wind up in trouble with Paramount.

A company was going to sell a LCARS interface/program/whatever for the iPad but had to pull the product just before it was released due to Paramount putting their foot down.

Why doesn't Paramount just buy the rights to it and sell it as their own software? They would make millions! Who doesn't want to turn his iPad into a PADD?

No offense, but I think the market for an LCARS interface to the iPad would be pretty small.

 

[LCARSLINUX]

Hi Kai,
You are working on a project very similar to mine.
I am currently working on, with a few people, a project to bring LCARS into modern day computing.
We will be making an OS from the ground up and custom windowing system and GUI and we will probably even have a limited AI so that it can adapt to the current conditions and adapt itself to help the user achieve the current task efficiently.
If you want, We could help each other on our projects, contact me if you want.
Good luck,
Hamish

 

[kaigoh]

Hi Kai,
You are working on a project very similar to mine.
I am currently working on, with a few people, a project to bring LCARS into modern day computing.
We will be making an OS from the ground up and custom windowing system and GUI and we will probably even have a limited AI so that it can adapt to the current conditions and adapt itself to help the user achieve the current task efficiently.
If you want, We could help each other on our projects, contact me if you want.
Good luck,
Hamish

Hi Hamish!

I'm by no means a programming expert, so the idea of some help is always welcome!

Drop me a line and we can have a chat.

Kai.

 

[LCARSLINUX]

Hi Kai,
Cant seem to send PMs for 2 weeks and 50 posts, do you have a website or an email?
-Hamish

 

[kaigoh]

Hamish,

kai <dot> gohegan <at> network <hyphen> plus <dot> co <dot> uk

Kai.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Isn't there someone else around here who developed an LCARS operating system for older PCs?

 

[ares93]

Isn't there someone else around here who developed an LCARS operating system for older PCs?

wasnt that back in the 90's? i seem to recall a lcars gui for windows 95. i remeber that i never got it to work though.the newer lcars programs are mostly for PPC and iphone os.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

No, it's someone who posts around here, and it really is a complete OS--it's meant for older systems that would've been capable of DOS or Win95, at the most, though you could run it on newer PCs.

ETA: Found it! Now, if I could only remember the handle of the poster who maintains it....