Haavard

Chrome OS, eh? How about designing your own OS using Opera and Widgets?

Monday, December 14, 2009 1:09:08 PM

Remember how I wrote about why widgets are important to Opera? If you are only using a PC the benefits of widgets may not be immediately apparent, but if you consider Opera as a cross-platform application platform, things start to make more sense. For the big picture, please read that blog post.

If it still doesn't quite make sense to you, perhaps a specific example will help.

(Watch on YouTube)

Orange designed and built their own user interface for the Tabbee using the Opera Devices SDK. Their designers could easily make their vision come to life by using open Web technologies running on top of Opera's browser engine.

And since they used Opera, they automatically had a large number of applications available for installation. Those applications, of course, are widgets.

How much longer would it take, and how much more expensive would it be, if they designed the device the old way? What kind of effort would it take to convert old-style native applications to the new operating system?

If they choose to make more devices in the future, they will still have all those applications (widgets) available. They can easily use the foundation they laid with the Tabbee UI and simply start using it on new devices. All they need is the browser engine.

And as browser technologies mature and become more capable, more advanced and rich applications (widgets) can be created. Think about all the things that are going on at the moment: HTML5, hardware acceleration, 3D on the Web, and so on.

We are just getting started.

Opera fans and Obama gather in Oslo, broadcast by CNNOpera is the fastest browser again

Comments

endless lovepersianweblog # Monday, December 14, 2009 1:49:37 PM

Great Idea

endless lovepersianweblog # Monday, December 14, 2009 1:51:14 PM

Opea OS

ouzowtfouzoWTF # Monday, December 14, 2009 5:09:33 PM

Originally posted by m00head:

Why doesn't Opera just port the new Opera Mobile 10 UI (& Mini 5) to the desktop to compete with Google Chrome?

Call it 'Opera 10 Lite' or something and make it run just as fast...

Ok, just give them 10 minutes and your build is done.

Cutting Spoonhellspork # Monday, December 14, 2009 5:35:24 PM

I've said it before: Opera has already been used as the frontend for an OS. Did you know that there are replacements for the entire Windows interface on the market? For example Sphere desktop. It's free now: http://www.spheresite.com/

Plenty of others also exist. The draw to Opera's push is the wide number of existing platforms that are supported at one level or other. You can switch the OS behind the interface, without changing the programs that run inside it. Plus because Opera sells this as a kit, "Opera ASA" does not suffer negative PR if the licensed product fails miserably.

Plus different makers can have different-looking, different-behaving products and STILL draw on a universal repository of software. Now consider also that Google is dropping Gears development; if Opera can show more consistency with its interface model, then Mozilla will flat-out clone it and advertise "the next new thing" everywhere.

Purdi # Monday, December 14, 2009 6:33:16 PM

Originally posted by m00head:

Why doesn't Opera just port the new Opera Mobile 10 UI (& Mini 5) to the desktop to compete with Google Chrome?

Uh, because it's a MOBILE UI? And what on earth does this have to do with widgets? Stop spamming the site with inane off-topic and clueless comments.

Call it 'Opera 10 Lite' or something and make it run just as fast...

Your ignorance is amazing. Opera is ALREADY LITE. Opera is ALREADY lighter than Chrome (it's a smaller download). And JS speed has got NOTHING to do with the UI.

So again, stop spamming the site with your ignorant nonsense.

Cutting Spoonhellspork # Monday, December 14, 2009 7:32:08 PM

Breathe Purdi, breathe. I already use Mini 5 in a touchscreen PC (through the magic of microemulator), and a few people with tablet laptops also like it.

The interface is more compact than Chrome's, while at the same time offering excellent features and advanced options. If I could use all of the features of desktop Opera with a Mini-like interface, it would be ideal on any of the new touchscreen or tablet PCs and laptops. Opera has even offered its browser with extra touch functions enabled, for several recent nettop PCs.

Not "lite" as in small, not "lite" as in useless or lacking features, not "lite" as in "faster"; just "lite" meaning "basic interface that spends most of its time completely hidden, just like on my phone". A browser that effectively runs in near-fullscreen, with menus and buttons only intruding when you summon them.

z@h3kZAHEK # Monday, December 14, 2009 9:17:56 PM

Rafael Luikrafaelluik # Monday, December 14, 2009 10:17:18 PM

VERY interesting!

Diego Schildtekonaza # Tuesday, December 15, 2009 12:56:42 AM

Interesting.

Originally posted by Purdi:

Uh, because it's a MOBILE UI? And what on earth does this have to do with widgets? Stop spamming the site with inane off-topic and clueless comments.

...

Your ignorance is amazing. Opera is ALREADY LITE. Opera is ALREADY lighter than Chrome (it's a smaller download). And JS speed has got NOTHING to do with the UI.

So again, stop spamming the site with your ignorant nonsense.

Ouch! Calm down, girl.

Daniel HendrycksDanielHendrycks # Tuesday, December 15, 2009 1:33:54 AM

Originally posted by haavard:

We are just getting started.

EricJH # Tuesday, December 15, 2009 6:26:57 PM

Very interesting. Tabbee is a nice device.

Keep us posted with more news.

АндрійSATAB # Tuesday, December 15, 2009 9:39:46 PM

Радует.

Charles SchlossChas4 # Tuesday, December 15, 2009 10:20:11 PM

Sn3ipen # Thursday, December 17, 2009 3:55:16 PM

I love the idea of Opera OS

Spadar ShutSpShut # Thursday, December 24, 2009 10:04:05 PM

Sorry for the offtopic, but can you tell when widgets will get some more love from opera, if you care for them so much? I mean in the same way as Unite has now: weekly prizes, fresh design online, new libraries, tutorials etc.

I'm asking this because i want to make my widget localizeable and i haven't found a standard way to do it. Yes, i kow there are PO and localization libraries, but their documentation is virtually useless and it's totally unclear how to use the libraries. And there's no a single article how to do this. Every multilingual widget i've unpacked is localized in its own way.

So is there going to be some more documentation and libraries for widget developers (and especially for i18n)?

Charles SchlossChas4 # Friday, December 25, 2009 4:38:04 AM

That might be the area of the Opera 10.2 slpha

Spadar ShutSpShut # Friday, December 25, 2009 11:01:33 AM

Haavard twitted that 10.2 is discontinued and will be integrated into 10.5 so it seems that widgets will be again out of luck, there are so much more things to do in 10.5 besides widgets.

Purdi # Friday, December 25, 2009 12:15:36 PM

Originally posted by SpShut:

it seems that widgets will be again out of luck

How are they "out of luck" when the widget changes will be available in 10.5 instead?

Spadar ShutSpShut # Friday, December 25, 2009 1:32:50 PM

Originally posted by Purdi:

How are they "out of luck" when the widget changes will be available in 10.5 instead?

Read attentively:

there are so much more things to do in 10.5 besides widgets.

I mean if it were 10.2, opera could concentrate solely on widgets but as far as 10.5 has taken over, widgets might get far less attention than they could in 10.2.

Purdi # Friday, December 25, 2009 2:27:40 PM

Originally posted by SpShut:

I mean if it were 10.2, opera could concentrate solely on widgets but as far as 10.5 has taken over, widgets might get far less attention than they could in 10.2.

Says who? If they already have a plan, which they clearly have, they will complete that plan in 10.5 instead of 10.2. Why on earth are you assuming that they won't?

Charles SchlossChas4 # Friday, December 25, 2009 3:10:51 PM

Originally posted by SpShut:

Haavard twitted that 10.2 is discontinued and will be integrated into 10.5

Thats good to know

Spadar ShutSpShut # Friday, December 25, 2009 6:14:11 PM

Originally posted by Purdi:

Why on earth are you assuming that they won't?

Because

there are so much more things to do in 10.5 besides widgets.

and human resources at opera are not endless.

Purdi # Saturday, December 26, 2009 2:35:32 AM

Originally posted by SpShut:

and human resources at opera are not endless.

Are you a bit slow? Opera has ALREADY done something about widgets in 10.2. All they need to do is to move it to 10.5. They ALREADY ANNOUNCED that 10.2 will be merged into 10.5, so why are you whining about nothing?

Spadar ShutSpShut # Saturday, December 26, 2009 8:11:45 AM

Well, ok, nevermind it lady. You are right, i've made much ado about nothing. Sorry for that.

Cutting Spoonhellspork # Saturday, December 26, 2009 10:46:53 AM

I'll take a fresh look at the libraries, yet I'm fairly certain that some of the newly supported commands will function similar to outside documentation. Not everything is unique to Opera, look for more general information on the full potential of a W3C widget.

When in doubt, focus on unzipping and dissecting the 10.20 proofs of concept. FileIO in widgets also should be similar to how Unite used that library, so study a few Unite apps also. Either way the hurdle is only temporary.

Spadar ShutSpShut # Saturday, December 26, 2009 2:51:59 PM

Thanks for your advice about 10.20 widgets! I also hope that things should change soon. Waiting for new alpha and tutorials.

Cutting Spoonhellspork # Tuesday, January 19, 2010 10:57:54 PM

With FileIO, WIdgets can be full-fledged local apps too. The technology allows for a local database kept by the widget, that will sync when a connection becomes available. This would be great for things like a hotspot info app, searchable without a connection and useful on any device.

Cutting Spoonhellspork # Friday, January 22, 2010 8:34:21 PM

Unite could even build and supply widgets, allowing Unite operators to "push" content or provide seamless file backups.

You wouldn't even require a service like Dropbox - you could sync between a laptop and home computer while traveling, even set up file downloads on your home PC so they'll be finished when you get back from work.

АндрійSATAB # Thursday, November 25, 2010 6:30:51 PM

[Concepto] Opera OS