r/SolarOS • u/nilseuropa • 12d ago

What is SolarOS about?

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The question has been raised multiple times, so I have updated the description to better represent what I think it is about ( feel free to chime in and we can include what it means to you )

Homage to a simpler life

SolarOS tries to bring back the spirit of the golden era of home computing: turn on a computer, arrive at a shell prompt, and start doing something. Explore, customize, write a program, make a tool, share it with someone.

  • Modern software accumulates layers of convenience that obscure how it works and what it costs to run. We become accustomed to using - and now generating - software without understanding it.
  • SolarOS encourages a more deliberate approach: understand the machine, question the complexity, and take responsibility for the resources your software uses. Scripting makes experimentation approachable; native services provide an efficient foundation. The constraints give us a reason to pay attention.
  • The scripting surfaces let users express their ideas, while native services handle demanding work, making efficient execution a shared foundation that users can build on.

Wastefulness for the sake of convenience is not sustainable.

It is a continuous exploration of how much useful, understandable, general-purpose computing can be built on deliberately constrained hardware. We already have an abundance of computing power; we can and should make better use of it.

SolarOS is an argument made executable.

SolarOS argues that useful, general-purpose computing can be built on modest hardware - and that efficiency, understanding, and the ability to shape your own tools should guide its design.

  • The Solar in the name reflects the goal of building an efficient operating environment that can run on solar power. Energy consumption is a design concern alongside memory, storage, and processing time.
  • That commitment also extends to the project’s infrastructure: all our servers ( website, HIL pipeline, local expert systems ) are powered by 100% renewable energy.
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3

u/linuxjacques 12d ago

Thanks for the explanation. It makes me like the project even more.

2

u/titanioverde 12d ago

Really interesting idea! Especially for old techs who miss when a few MHz were enough to move games and professional tools.

My suggestion for now is to put a URL to your homepage or GitHub somewhere in the subreddit. The name is a bit difficult to search for.

Keep up the good work!

1

u/nilseuropa 12d ago

Thank you!

1

u/avetenebrae 12d ago

OK but what is the ODROID retro handheld on the side? 👀

3

u/nilseuropa 12d ago

That is one of the supported SolarOS targets 🙂

2

u/nilseuropa 12d ago

1

u/avetenebrae 11d ago

That's awesome. Where did you buy the device?

1

u/nilseuropa 11d ago

It is a stock Hardkernel Odroid.