Non-Operating System

I’m a Windows user. I’m a Mac user. I’m an Android user. If you’re reading this, you’re using at least one operating system.

It is my humble opinion that all operating systems are a disappointment. None of them do what I expect them to. I’ll explain.

An operating system is meant to be the glue that holds a device together. It keeps the hardware in order, it lets apps run. More importantly, though, it is meant to be the environment in which we get stuff done.

For years I’ve watched as Microsoft and Apple spent time polishing the UI. Adding more eye candy to the form of smooth animations and beautiful backgrounds. And I kept sighing. This isn’t real progress.

What I feel is missing is help. I don’t feel my operating system is helping me. And it’s very easy to help me. I have regular patterns. Why aren’t these detected automatically and automated for me?

I launch the same apps every day at roughly the same time. I respond to certain notifications the same way every time. I often navigate to folders and leave them open when I’m done.

Launch apps for me. Tidy up for me. Suggest I hide notifications I keep swiping away. Keep windows I don’t access often tucked away. Offer apps an easy API for doing the same. Help my browser group and hide tabs I haven’t accessed in days.

On the same note, why do I need to reboot my phone or laptop for some updates? That’s just lazy. If files are locked, find out why. Try to unlock them before forcing a reboot.

I truly believe we could all be much more efficient if our operating system helped us a little more. That’s a lovely background picture you have there, though!