Re: panel widget as library?

[James Green <gnome cyberstorm demon co uk>]

On Fri, 30 Jul 1999, Cory Lueninghoener wrote:

> Er...  Isn't this like Mickysoft's Active Desktop?  The thing that nobody
> uses and everybody wishes would go away?  It sounds like a really cool
> idea, but I think it is just really cool in thought, but not in
> practice...

Ah, you've summed up my thoughts well:

Active Desktop - that is, having the desktop background with web-browser
functionality is a seriously cool idea and one I'd like, but people see
the Microsoft (and only AFAIK) implementation and go off it because it is
really buggy and bloated.

Now, if the GNU community were to code this for the GNOME project and make
sure it was stable, fast and low on memory usage, I'm sure it would be a
hit.

Here's what I would like: Make the desktop a directory served up by two
distinct methods:

1. a web page rendered by a mozilla object served by a file or httpd (so
we can use includes for when we have net connections); basic filesystem
functionality intact such as (g)mc functionality;

2. a bonoba object which might look a lot like the above, but with
embedded objects from varous gnome-aware apps to say have a spreadsheet
from gnumeric pop up in the desktop or whatever.

Now, if you were to layer these and possibly add window-manager-like
borders, who know what could be the end result.

Maybe the two opts could be combined, taking the 2nd and using mozilla
bonobo objects?


Just my thoughts.

-- 
James Green
http://www.cyberstorm.demon.co.uk/
Home of the demon.tech.modems 56k FAQ.