I moved another application to open-source on Codeplex today:  Solitaire!

I previously wrote about Solitaire here, waaay back in January.  Oh how the time flies…

myOSity’s file system has received an important upgrade.  Now when you click “Open” on any file in the File Browser, myOSity will attempt to load an application that supports the selected file’s MIME type (.jpg, .png, etc). 

I’ve upgraded Xamla and the myOSity Image Viewer applications to take advantage of this new feature.

So here I am in the File Browser, about ready to open a Xamla file that I’ve previously uploaded to the myOSity file system from my computer…

I click “Open” on the file “myosity_mockup2.xaml" and… voila!  Xamla opens and the project file I selected is automatically loaded.

In order to check out this new feature, you’ll need to create an account (guest accounts don’t have file system access).

What’s next for the File System? 

Next up is integrated load and save directly to the file system from other applications.  Right now you can only upload files to the file system from your local computer, but that will soon change…

Dan over at http://www.ddtmm.com was cool enough to allow his game "Vector Space : Armada" to be published in myOSity.  VS:A is an immersive space shooter with polished game mechanics.  Honestly, it's the best game I've seen yet for Silverlight.  I hope you enjoy it, not go out there and kill some baddies!

(screenshot of Vector Space:Armada in action)

Want to be part of something really cool?  I'm reaching the point where I can't do it alone folks, so join the myOSity development team today!  Positions are open in the following areas:

• UI Design - Have an artistic flair?  You can be the person that develops the look and feel of myOSity. 
• Core Engine - Get into the guts and help improve/expand the myOSity runtime engine. 
• myOSity API - Develop the interface and tools that other developers will use to integrate their applications with myOSity.
• Central Services - More of a server-side type?  You can develop myOSity Web Services and RIA Services, back-end data models, etc.
• Core Applications - myOSity has several important core applications that need lots of improvement (Applications, Files, Friends, Profile)
• 3rd Party Applications - Have an app that you would like to publish in myOSity, or something new in mind?

 

Requirements

• Experience in C# is required and Silverlight experience is a big plus.
• For designers, proficiency with Expression Design and Expression Blend will be essential for contributing to this project.  Both are quite easy to learn if you have experience with other design tools.
• Willingness to actively contribute.  I don't require any specific time commitments for this project, but if you do join the team, do so with the commitment in mind that you will be a contributor.

 

What you will receive in return

myOSity is a volunteer gig at the moment (myself included, I've spent over 1.5 years developing this project) so I can't pay you.  However, I can offer the following benefits:

• Noteriety:  When myOSity becomes world-famous, don't you want to be the one that can say "I was there at the beginning!".   myOSity also becomes a great reference project for your future endeavors/career.
• Skill-ups: I can tell you from personal experience, that a project of this size and scope will challenge your programming/design skills.  myOSity will help you become a better developer.
• A job reference: If you contribute materially to this project and need a reference for a job.  I will provide a personal reference for you in writing or over the phone with the hiring manager/recruiter.   Plus having "developer on a next-generation virtual operation system" on your resume/CV isn't a bad thing at all.
• Future Riches? Maybe:  My intention is to make myOSity commercially viable on it's own, or interesting enough for a larger company to want to buy it for themselves.  There are no guarantees that this will ever happen, but if it does, people on the myOSity team will share in the profits.  And yes I will put that in writing if necessary.

Interested?

Contact me via this blog here.

I found a couple of small games on silverlight.net's community gallery that I was able to bring into myOSity without too much trouble:

Sudoku, by Lee Saunders, and

Gobang, by Nova Software.

Check them out!

(screenshot of Sudoku and Gobang, running in myOSity)

I've had this one on my "gee I really want to do this" list for some time now.  I'll admit that sometimes developing myOSity can be less than exciting, and that's why I save little things like this for when I need a mental break from the more mundane aspects of developing a project this massive.  Are application preview thumbnails really that important?  Not really, but it was fun to make it happen!

They don't update in real-time like Windows Vista, but it does provide an update each time your mouse over the application button in the Home Bar.

Enjoy!

(Xamla running in myOSity with an At-A-Glance Application Preview enabled on the Home Bar)

P.S. My wife came up with a killer logo idea for myOSity.  I'm really looking forward to how the final version turns out!  More to follow on this soon...

(myOSity running with two apps in perspective [chat on the left, and calculator on the right].  Xamla is running in between them in non-perspective)

Some might think this is is gimicky, but after thinking through it and testing for a while, I can see real value in the ability to put windows into perspective.  The most obvious reason is to maximize screen real estate.  And you have to admit, it is quite cool!

There are two restrictions: 

• Windows in perspective cannot be resized.  Well, technically they can, but I disallowed it because the UI interaction of resizing a perspective window is quite wonky for the user (i.e. the window doesn't move the way you'd expect it to).  To mitigate this restriction, I've include a "reset" button along with the rotation UI, so it's easy enough to get back to a resizeable mode.
• Maximum angle in any direction is +-45 degrees.   This restriction protects the integrity of the application UI running inside the windows.

Also to note:  3rd party apps from developers will be able to disable perspective mode on their windows via the myOSity API (Xamla does this, because it has it's own drag/drop facility, which is affected by perspective).

To activate perspective mode, you'll find a new button at the top of every window.  Have fun!

 

Last night I created an open source project on Codeplex (http://xamla.codeplex.com) for Xamla.  Xamla will be a lightweight artboard that will allow users to create their own visual designs.  Aside from being a standalone application in myOSity, Xamla will also become the engine for myOSity's profile page designer component (coming soon!).  For those who are interested in the more technical aspects of Xamla, or wish to participate as a contributing developer, Codeplex will will be the place to do it.

An VERY early version of Xamla is available on myOSity (http://www.myosity.com).  Or, for your convenience, below is a running version.  You're not going to get much screen real-estate with the one below, but at least you'll get a sense for what it's about.

(This is not a screenshot below, try it!)

myOSity is now supporting user status changes.  You'll now be able to see if people in your friend list are online or not.  If they are online, their status indicator will be green and you will be able to chat with them by floating over their name (or clicking on it) to bring up the context menu.

I've just completed work on the prototype of what will become the main navigation system for myOSity.  It all starts with a button - I call it the "You button" because clicking it will display a menu to everything that you care about in myOSity: friends, applications, files, and preferences.   The styling is very basic right now, but once a real designer comes on board (hint hint, still looking!) I'm sure it will look really cool. Check it out!

 

The text on the button that says "Test", will actually display your name (it says "Test" because I took the screenshot with a test user account), along with your profile picture or identicon, if you don't have a picture selected.