I've spent the better part of the last 24 hours using Serenity OS -- a system which is, without a doubt, very much "in progress". No pre-made installer images, no live ISOs, missing lots of the kinds of software neceessary to make it a "full time" operating system.
See also: "How To: Build and run Serenity OS"
Heck, you need to build the entire gosh-darned OS from source just to test it out.
That said... my initial impression of Serenity is astoundingly positive.
What I am finding is a system that is -- with a few exceptions -- peppy, stable (more or less), well designed, and highly configurable. To say I am impressed with Serenity would be an understatement.
Before I give a full review of the system, I plan to use it for a few more days. In the meantime I wanted to share with you 5 features of Serenity OS that really made me smile. Some big, some small.
#1 - The Theme Editor
A great default look is important for any graphical operating system. The default look -- controls, window borders, backgrounds, menu colors, fonts, etc. -- is not only how an OS makes its first impression... but it is how it will be remembered.
Show someone a picture of Windows 3.1 or MacOS 8... and they will instantly know what system it is. And, more than likely, have an emotional reaction from simply seeing it.
While that default look is critical, it is equally important (in my oh-so-humble opinion) to provide a way for the end user (us) to modify how it looks. The more power over the look and feel of a system, the better.
And, in both of those ways, Serenity OS absolutely knocks it out of the park.
Not only is the default look and feel absolutely wonderful -- a true love letter to 1990s aesthetics... a unique take on the general style introduced in Windows 95 -- but the almost insane levels of customizability of user interface themes is totally off the charts.
The Theme Editor application provides deep, deep levels of customizability of both existing and new themes -- making it possible to make the system look like just about anything you can imagine. I am eager to sit down and see if I can make themes that replicate some of my favorite interfaces of the 1990s.
Microsoft and Apple could learn a lot about how to respect and empower their users by looking at what Serenity provides here.
#2 - The File Manager
The Serenity OS File Manager is, in so many ways, a direct riff on the Windows 95 / 2000 file manager.
And, you know what? I love it.
It was a great design back then... and it's a great design now. Many modern systems spend a lot of time trying to come up with new designs on how to manage files. It's just plain silly. We had solid, easy to use, and powerful file managers in the 1990s. Let's go back to that and just tweak a little bit as needed.
#3 - Clipboard History
Other Operating Systems have the idea of a "clipboard history" (the ability to go back and see past things that you had Control-C'd)... but Serenity's approach here is so utterly simple, quick, and intuitive... I just love it.
Text, pictures, files... it all shows up in a simple list. You can select anything that was previously on the clipboard to make it available again to paste. Doesn't try to get fancy about it. The Cliboard History application does exactly what it says it does... and nothing else.
Do one thing and do it well. The UNIX philosophy. Serenity seems to be adhering to that ethos far better than BSD, Linux, macOS, or most other "UNIX-like" systems out there. And this pleases me.
#4 - The Small Bits of Polish
For being a very much in an "Alpha" state, Serenity has an absolutely astounding number of little bits of polish. I'm finding little, wonderful bits of well thought out design all over the system.
One example: When you open the text Editor and start typing in a new (or freshly opened) text document... the close button on the top right hand side of the Text Editor window changes... from an "X"... to an "X" with three little dots underneath it. To signify that there are unsaved changed in the current document.
Is Serenity the first OS to do such a thing? No.
But to see that attention to detail in an OS that doesn't even have an installer yet? Holy cow. How many more nice little touches will this thing have when it reaches a Beta state? Or a 1.0 release? Blows the mind.
#5 - The UNIX Stuff
Which brings us to this screenshot:
Yeah. That's top. Running in a Serenity terminal.
While not every common UNIX-y command is available, the fact that we have a UNIX-ish system and can use some of our favorite UNIX commands and tools is just... so nice.
Really drives home that the creators of Serenity have a deep love for for both the Windows computing of the 1990s... and for UNIX. And that combination is beautiful.
There's so much more to say about Serenity -- spending more time with this lovely system is certainly warranted -- but these 5, totally radical, features will have to suffice for now.
