The starting Idea

I don't like the way current desktop environments look and feel. I find them too complicated and too annoying. Computers "can" have simple interfaces similar to videos, mp3 players and mobile phones (at least the old ones). Many people argue that this is not possible since a computer has multiple roles, so the User Interface (UI) should be complicated. I disagree.

Of course we can all wait for voice recognition and virtual reality interfaces if we want more natural human-machine interaction. But I am more interested in what we can do today with a mouse and a keyboard. Files, folders and isolated applications should finally disappear. Task-based interfaces allow us to use a computer in an easier and more intuitive way. Bloated applications that come bundled with the kitchen sink should not torture users who need to focus on simple tasks.

Project Elevate is an experiment to support this claim. I am developing it for my own personal use but I am also making the code public so that other developers can help if they find it useful. Read the manifesto pages it you still wondering what is my motivation. The whole user environment consists of 4 distinct applications. New functionality comes from new application modules and not complete applications. Modules are NOT plugins or dynamically loaded libraries like in other frameworks. These applications are:

  1. Central Hub - a starting place constitutes 5% of Project Elevate
  2. Vault - a place to store files 30% of Project Elevate
  3. Elevate - the all-singing-all-dancing task based environment 50% of Project Elevate
  4. Syndesis - a place to interface with external media 15% of Project Elevate

Technology

Project Elevate is coded in C and uses the Cairo Graphics. You do not need any daemon or database to make it working. No 3D acceleration is required too. When SVG is fast/mature enought I may add it into the mix.

What to do here

Download the code and try it . If it runs, send me a success report. Then try to crash it and send me bug reports. Otherwise just have a look at the screenshots and send me emails to attack my graphic abilities.

If you are a developer and want to help, come along! You need C coding skills and some time to explore the Cairo and Glib libraries.