I want to discuss an idea/project I'm currently working on. It's called PlayOS and it's an open-source decentralized web operating system. (
https://playos.io/)
https://playos.io/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/logo.pngPlayOS IntroductionPlayOS runs on inside your web browser and simulates a window management system. It allows you to work with the same apps across all of your devices. It's optimized for both mobile and desktop. Users can quickly switch between devices and restore their session. This allows for a seamless experience where you can get your work done on the go.
Why an OS?We as users currently have many devices laying around. We may do some work on our laptop and other work on our phones. But when you want to get work done on both of these devices it gets very difficult. For example when you have created a beautiful design file on your laptop. But when on the go you also want to show your creation to other people, you were smart and stored your file in the cloud. But the file can't be opened on your phone. There are 3party apps but they lack certain features that make your design look messed up. And even if they did they constantly lack behind the original application.
This isn't limited to only applications but games as well. Even though you got the same game on both your tablet and your laptop, they are not the same brand. Now you can't continue your gameplay on your tablet. Now, of course, there are games that save them in their own cloud, allowing you to transfer them. But now you got 100 accounts for every game that got their own cloud.
This all get's messy quickly and feels like it can work more against you than with you. That's why we built PlayOS, to allow you to run any app & game on any device and store them in a single place.
Why blockchain/decentraliziation?We want to give the users full control over their private information. An OS is a very data-heavy and personal. We don't want this power to be in a single hand and store the data on a centralized server. All files will be fully encrypted beforehand and stored on IPFS. Only allowing the user to access the files.
We use the blockchain to manage "backend" tasks that the client can't handle on its own. Take for example the app store, each app should be stored and distributed without a single party having control over it. This way apps cannot be censored. However, apps can be reviewed to stop bad apps from flooding the store. Users are allowed to vote which category an app belongs to, allowing the community to decide whether an app is suitable for a specific group.
What's included?PlayOS includes a few pre-installed apps which the whole system is built upon.
App storeThe app store allows you to quickly find apps & games. You can view screenshots and videos of the app and write reviews about them.
File systemThe file system is what the whole OS is built on. It's accessible from anywhere and allows any app to write and read from it. The files themselves are stored in a decentralized cloud and encrypted.
Technical detailsWritten in: TypeScript + React
App & Game runtime: WASM (WASI standard) / PWA
File storage: IPFS
Blockchain: Rutile (default) but has support for using different blockchains
Opensource: Yes (
https://github.com/FranklinWaller/PlayOS)
DesignThe OS itself is designed to be very simple and easy to understand. We want even very non-tech savvy people to be able to use this and quickly know their way.
https://ibb.co/ZWPsVtqhttps://ibb.co/D7G7r4SAny help we can getWe would like to ask you for any help that we can get. Whether that be coding, design or just feedback on features that you want. We appreciate it all.
You can contact me either by replying to this thread, via GitHub:
https://github.com/FranklinWaller/PlayOS or via email: fr[dot]l[dot]waller{at}gmail(dot)com
