Wow, thats a really good idea. Gota luv the power of BeFS. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mathew Hounsell" <mat.geek@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <openbeos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Monday, December 03, 2001 9:16 PM Subject: [openbeos] Re: "OpenSoftwareValet" > > > The problem I'm seeing here is that quite often apps misbehave, go wrong, > try and take over your system, etc. Like Realplayer 8 under Windows - which > is absolutely evil - the thing puts crap everywhere. It's really the same > problem which LewisB pointed out when he said something along the lines of > >> "The one potential problem would be developers [who] assume their > Application is SOOO usefuly they set [..] their apps show up in every > category." > > From a more generalised perspective, I'm asking the question; how can an > OS protect it's user from applications that [s]he wants to run? > > Save Us, Please Save Us ! <Insert Pained Cry of The Masses> > > Honestly, I would love to see a well managed OS safe from the evils of > self-centered applications. > > This is where my idea for a data-space began. > > Before BeOS PE5 was released I could not find, nor afford BeOS. I was using > Windows mainly and had experimentated with OS/2 and was experimenting with > Linux. > > I hate the way windows applications drop there folder into the program menu. > It ends up cluttered and confusing. There are very few applications you use > often enough to justify such importance, and these should probablely be > listed under recently used. Linux was worse. > > I though most applications have a subset of these common attributes: > Name, Description, Primary Catergories, Secondary Categories, > Author, Primary File Types, File Types Handled etc > > eg Civ III, Game, Empire Building, Fraxis, *.sav > > I wanted the programs menu to organise the programs by category then sub > category. > > In BeOS this can be done by adding attributes to the executable and making > the BeMenu folder a live query. > > The second problem I encountered was programs hijacking file associations. I > had spent some considerable time creating a set of file associations for the > language I was using the most. I installed a new editor to try it and it > hijacked my associations; luckily it didn't destroy them. > > These same problems apply in BeOS. An application should be able to register > its attributes and then the shell will update to show the program. > > Perhaps, also to simplify tracker, this might be abstracted to a shell > server. > > > > > > > _______________________________________________________ > Get 100% private, FREE email for life from Excite Australia > Visit http://inbox.excite.com.au/ > > >