Introduction
In our technology-driven world, we rely on various devices to stay connected, work, and play — mobile devices and desktop computers. The software, however, is fragmented. Why are we using compromised operating systems on the go, leaving the full experience at home?
hikari aims to change that. Welcome to the world's first responsive operating system.
History
Since initiating development on hikari many years ago, similar projects have sprung to life and/or later died off. Namely, Firefox OS, Ubuntu Convergence, and Samsung DeX. I wrote an essay celebrating the existence of these projects as that meant the idea of a single operating system running wherever you need to be was validated. Seeing as how hikari was one of many side projects I authored, I opted to cease development and observe what bigger teams would be able to accomplish.
As it turns out…not much.
I believe there's a place for mobile device that can also become a desktop computer. For businesses, developers, hackers, and anyone else who uses a computer for more than just browsing the Internet, it will never be a true replacement but, it'll be a fun second computer to have.
Goals
- Provide a stable base for others to fork. hikari was inspired by the Megaman Battle Network series and I imagine others would want to recreate operating systems from other anime series, like Gundam for instance.
- Solid performance from devices like Raspberry Pi to full-blown desktop computers.
- Make the MMBN community proud.
Roadmap
At a high level, hikari should be able to boot from a minimal, customized Linux kernel into a full-screen web app (probably via Electron). There will be a web interface as well, available at hikar.io/s (to spell out "hikari OS"). The purpose of that would be to access your computer from anywhere, kind of like a sync mode.
There's no timeframe for completion of this, I gotta make a living y'know. I work on hikari when I get a burst of inspiration but again, I have several projects I enjoy working on. Should I ever run into a ridiculous amount of money, I'd work on it full-time or close to it. The source code is readily available for anyone to download and play with though!