I think most Haiku users will agree that Haiku is a very cool Operating System. For those who are not familiar with the slang word "cool", it means that something is awesome or amazing. It has other slightly different meanings depending on the situation and subject at hand. As I have said before (and will probably say again), I think Haiku is an amazing, unique and fascinating Operating System and project the likes of which I have never seen! It is a small, but close knit group of users, artists and developers all working together to improve the OS and the Haiku community. Some of which like me who have witnessed the simplicity and elegance of Haiku have seriously considered switching away from Linux, Windows and Mac to Haiku! While others have long ago "jumped into the deep end" and run Haiku exclusively!
Some people when they experience Haiku for the first time are not impressed! They believe it is too stuck in the 90's as far as the UI is concerned! While I will agree that Haiku lacks all the fancy animations and compositing managers like Compiz, do we really need them? In my opinion, they LOOK good, but they are a resource hog and are too much of a distraction. I believe Linus Torvalds once said that the OS should be invisible, that its only job is to make it easy the run and develop apps which after all is why we use the computer! I believe he is right and it and the UI should be as "out of the way" as possible. My opinion is that an Operating System should be "Simple, Functional, Elegant" Anything more is a waste and a distraction!
Well, lets see if Haiku lives up to my expectation to what an OS should be. Is Haiku simple? Yes, I believe Haiku is a very simple OS. The UI is intuitive and almost invisible if you are not paying attention to it! Apps are just a few mouse clicks or keystrokes away, and you can access them through the Deskbar menu or by right clicking on the desktop and surf through the file-system to your app! Is Haiku functional? Yes, Haiku is a very functional OS! Haiku is lacking some features that most people agree should be in a modern OS. This is because Haiku is still in Alpha stage of development and some features have yet to be implemented. But we should not see this as a negative, when Haiku reaches R1, it will be even more functional! Even so, I believe as of this writing, Haiku is a functional OS!
Elegant, is Haiku an Elegant OS? This is a highly subjective subject, and is dependent on the opinions of the person asking the question. But let me quote what wikipedia says about elegance. "Essential components of the concept include simplicity and consistency of design, focusing on the essential features of an object. In art of any kind one might also require dignified grace, or restrained beauty of style". Believing the previous statement is true, I say that Haiku is an extremely elegant OS! Since this is an opinion, I can not state it is a fact that Haiku is an Elegant OS! I can only tell you my opinion on the subject.
Do you agree, is Haiku a "cool" project and OS? Is Haiku Simple, Functional, and Elegant? Leave your ideas and opinions in the comment section below!
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