The Open For Business web site features a review of the OEone Homebase 1.3 operating system. OEone is based on Red Hat, however its user interface is brand new, it has been written from scratch (in the Mozilla XUL API). The company behind OEone also sells machines with their software pre-installed, a software developed in such a way to resemble something between an Internet Appliance and a light iMac-like office workstation. OEone is something to definately check out, since they offer more than IAs do, however they are built in such a way to be simplistic, just like IAs. An older review of both the OEone machine and software can be found at NewsForge.
OEone HomeBase Offers Computing, Simplified
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
Well I have to admit that it is probably the best effort for an internet appliance thus far. Though if I was going to spend that much on something like that I would just buy the original iMac still available by Apple for $799 and have a real computer. I quite like the ‘Taskbar’ concept… definitely powerful looking from a users point of view.
> I would just buy the original iMac still available by Apple for $799 and have a real computer.
The point of OEone is not to have a “real” computer, but to have a *simplified* machine and UI that only does what most people want to do: web, mail, address book, .doc and .xls support, media player etc. OEone is more an IA than an iMac. However, it does more than the IAs.
On another note, the hardware they sell, when you buy the whole solution and not just the software, it is faster and cheaper than the 500 Mhz iMac for $799. However, it does not do as much as the iMac does (Macintosh has thousands of apps, while OEone is based on simplicity). So, it is a fair trade off, /me thinks, depending on the needs of the consumer.
>>On another note, the hardware they sell, when you buy the whole solution and not just the software, it is faster and cheaper than the 500 Mhz iMac for $799.<<
Well that would depend on which version of Mac OS you’re running, Mac OS 9 is not slow at all on the G3s (especially at 500 MHz), but OS X does give the G3s a hard time. I still boot over to OS 9 every once an awhile just to play with something different. If I didn’t need alot of power in a computer I would definitely go for one of these OEone ‘Super’ IAs.
🙂
Good choice. If I didn’t need and like a lot of power in a computer I would buy an Apple, but I need and like power so Apple is a no. Double AMD Tbird instead.
The OEone quick lunch bar looks a bit cluttered, it could be a lot more cleaner and ordered by default, but that can easily be fixed. I like a lot the agenda looking User Interface in OEone. I would like to have a GUI that doesn’t show me a desktop start (like OSX, MSWindows, KDE, GNOME), but something like they have done at OEone, an agenda interface.
Newsforge had a review on OEone three months ago:
http://newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/01/10/1922249
Surpised to learn that OEone was ready last year:
http://www.linuxgram.com/article.pl?sid=01/03/30/0929226§ion=16…
>> “We’ve got results with Mozilla that are 10 times more stable than Netscape” built out of the Mozilla browsing engine, Eid claimed. That’s not hard to imagine, given that the current Netscape browser was built using the Mozilla 0.6 alpha. AOL/Netscape just hadda get to market, and couldn’t wait another year for Mozilla.
>>
I’d like to try this product but I’m afraid you need to buy one of the systems they assemble, this is what I understand after reading the OEone HomeBase 1.0 Linux Review at:
http://lwn.net/2002/0404/a/OEone1.0.php3
>> I first try the Generic option again but, upon completion and reboot, the system goes into a loop where lilo starts loading the kernel then it reboots and starts all over again. The next couple of times I try different configurations under the Custom System option. No matter what I select or don’t select, I can’t get a running system after the install. Just for grins I try the other two options and, as expected, they give no better results.
My guess is that this distro is very closely tied into the HW that OEone is selling and would run just fine on either of those systems. Unfortunately , while I can rationalize dropping $29 on a distro, spending $499 or $649 just to test a distro is not a viable option for me.
>>
They are using a tweaked AbiWord, and looks like they are doing a fine job ‘giving back to the community’ (as linux communers like to say), as Abi is incorporating the changes made by OEone:
http://linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2002-02-04-006-20-NW-SW
Interesting reply by OEone Ceo, Eid Eid, to the “If Open Source Is So Great, Why Isn’t Everybody Using It?” article here:
http://www.crmdaily.com/perl/board/mboard.pl?board=nfntalkback&thre…
>>
Re: More often than not Open Source software wins on merits!
{Disclaimer: I’m the founder of OEone}
In the case of OEone’s software HomeBase, the architecture required the support of open standards.
Those standards are far better supported by Open Source projects. Also, adaptation of existing
technologies was key to integrating the entire environment and delivering the whole user experience
via a customizable XUL-based user interface. How can anyone do this using proprietary technology
from Microsoft, Apple or Sun?
I’ve just listed 2 reasons why open source software was for us a logical choice to build an open and
expandable Internet Computer Framework.
Best of all, the resulting software works and works fast! And this is our best testimonial that open source
software is real and is here to stay and strive despite the naivete of the user community at large and the
FUD compaigns waged on a regular basis by the likes of Microsoft and Oracle!!!
>>
I just remembered I has seen something similar to that UI somewhere, it was a Nestcape GUI prototype, the ‘Netscape Constellation User Interface’ that was under development at 1997.
Netscape’s Constellation:
http://www.webreview.com/1997/02_07/developers/02_07_97_2.shtml
>>
Netscape’s secret weapon in the cosmic battle for the hearts and minds of the intranet/Internet user.
…He first demo’d (not a real demo, just a presentation) how Constellation will allow a developer to remove “chrome” (menus and toolbars, etc.) and take over the entire screen. “Constellation is the next evolutionary step up from traditional Web pages. You can now create content that runs full-screen, totally immersive!”
I felt like I was talking to Steve Jobs in the early Apple days.
…Will the Microsoft empire strike back with Windows 97 and Active Desktop? Stay tuned, boys and girls, for the next thrilling episode….
>>
Hahahaha, thrilling episode indeed!!!
>>
As reported by CNET’s NEWS.COM last week, Netscape detailed its strategy for pushing–or automatically delivering–Net information to users of its Communicator Internet client. Formerly known as Constellation, the push software will be renamed Netcaster and will be incorporated into the next beta version of Communicator, due within 30 days.
…Netscape has somewhat scaled back its original plans for Constellation. Originally, the software was intended to be more than a client for receiving pushed information broadcasts, allowing users to transport their files over a network when roaming from computer to computer.
Although some of those capabilities remain–such as the ability to access a common Webtop regardless of the computer a user is on–Netscape has delayed a feature that would have allowed users to work on desktop files, such as a Word document or Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet, and to replicate the files back to a server.
Those replication capabilities will come with the next major version of Communicator, code- named Mercury, said Netscape’s Lisbonne.
Netcaster is promised to ship in its final form, with Communicator, by June of this year.
>>
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-278849.html?legacy=cnet
Well now I know it was renamed ‘Netcaster’, I like ‘Constellation’ more. And to think that it all went down to ‘subscribing to channels’, vile bookmarks.
Definitive words at this by Jakob Nielsen 5 years ago!!!, inside Wired article “Bye-Bye, Browser – Hello, OS”:
>>
“Netscape and Microsoft are rushing in this race to out-do each other,” Nielsen said. “But we’re getting close to a time when we have to re-think how we do user interfaces.”
He agrees that Web browsing and local browsing have to become a single application, but not with the browser as the interface model. In fact, he sees the browser as the last gasp of an interface that is on its way out.
“The Web browser is a really primitive user interface. It does not have a good sense of information structure.” With browsers, there is no information overview – just a single page, Nielsen said. “We need to see the connections between documents and larger levels of structure.”
>>
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,2800,00.html
Anyone knows if you can actually install OEone on other thing than their systems? I think that kind of GUI is the way to go for desktops, not only Internet Appliances.
Is the Mozilla-based interface running as a desktop in an X-server or as a complete display layer on the Kernel, Photon/Quartz stylee?
Can normal *Nix apps be installed on it?
Unless I’m mistaken, their software base is built on top of linux and a command line is available, thus I’m pretty sure it would be possible to install all standard linux software, making thousands of apps available to the platform.
Ofcourse probably no X11 compatibility, but surely console is alright
..which is what i was querying? If the setup DOESNT include an X-server and client, will apps designed for normal Linux systems run in the “new” interface layer or not?
From my point of view, there is a major difference between “linux apps” and “X11 apps”. For example, apache is a unix/linux app, sendmail is also a linux app, but xterm is a X11 app, and so is eterm and xmms.
As far as the X11 compabitility goes, I don’t know. But if it’s targetted at internet appliance,they probably got rid of X11 and worked out their own engine. I would suggest asking them via email, they certainly know more about the system than I
from the FAQ on their website:
What version of XFree86 is used?
It is version 4.0.3 with a plan to migrate to 4.1.x in the future.
To answer some questions raised in this forum, I thought I would respond.
First, it does install on non-OEone hardware, however, you may have to login to the console as root (using the default password) and run a setup tool. This is one of the difficulties I mention in my OfB.biz review.
Second, it does indeed use XFree86 4.0.3 as Dave mentions. The fact that it includes most of Gnome (for app compatiblity – the Gnome panel can be launched if you want), and fully functional versions of the Gimp, Gnumeric, and OpenOffice seem to indicate it’s smooth sailing for running X11 apps.
-Tim
Never in my life did I think that a Linux desktop could be so slick and functional.
Although this product is not for me, because I need a real OS and real hardware and full control to do what I need to do, I would love to find some guinea pigs amongst my friends and family (or even clientele) to try this out on.
Mr. Eid Eid’s name (the CEO) seems very familiar to me (Corel? NetWinder?). I remember him from somewhere, but I just can’t place him. I couldn’t imagine a better implementation of the concept that these folks chose to pursue (an advanced IA).
Thanks Eugenia, this article made my day.
If you can afford it, maybe you should consider supporting this product, even if it’s not for you.
Besides, it sounds like 1.3 isn’t as restricted as pervious versions, heck they even bundle OpenOfice, Gimp and Gnumeric.
Just a thought.. $29USD isn’t too pricey, perhaps if enough of us support them they will find better success than,say, Be Inc. I’m thinking of a few relatives who might find this handy, heck, it even covers about 80% of what I do with my laptop. Perhaps it would make a nice replacement to standard Linux desktops. It is just a fancy version of RH, so adding extra software ought to be a snap.
Oh, and when they announced the $29 version I’m sure I read that it can just be installed over an existing RH7.2 install.