April 21st, 2010
Instant Operating System
We find the word Instant in both Instant Messaging and Instant Syndicating Standards, so naturally we added Instant to the Instant Operating System term. It’s important to emphasize that by Instant, the most important aspect that we want to exploit is not so much the When, but the Who. We want to empower individuals to “exchange” their Operating Systems with friends much the same way that they exchange Messages with friends when using Instant Messaging applications.
And by Operating System, we want to provide the notion that we have a system responsible for providing data and services to users. But unlike the conventional Operating System, this one lives on the Web
The IOS logo was also inspired by the RSS logo, but with the image of a cloud. The cloud has represented the Web/Internet way before “cloud computing” became a popular term, and this was a good fit to represent the Instant Operating System.
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April 12th, 2010
Instant Syndicating Standards
In the beginning, ISS (Instant Syndicating Standards) was simply known as Instant Syndicating, and the name was inspired by the name Instant Messaging (IM).
Unlike Instant Messaging, where users send messages directly to their contacts, with Instant Syndicating, users syndicate entries to channels. Their contacts may subscribe to these channels. Additionally, their contacts may syndicate the incoming entries to their own channels. This approach has many advantages: 1) it’s non-obtrusive; 2) it provides a highly personalized stream of information for each individual; and 3) the entries have an incredible reach due to the intrinsic viral mechanism available.
The length of the Instant Syndicating name was too long. So Nick Vidal, with the help from Massimiliano Mirra, created an acronym: ISS, meaning Instant Syndicating Standards, and very similar to RSS (Really Simple Syndication). This acronym helps to consolidate the idea that ISS is an evolution from both IM and RSS. The http://iss.im domain was registered in 2007. It was short, easy to remember, and it contained both ISS and IM.
The ISS logo actually existed before the ISS acronym and was already inspired by the RSS logo. The difference between the logos is that the ISS logo has a shining star, that gives a sense of instantaneous. The star also represents the individual.
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April 6th, 2010
StarCloud
In the StarCloud logo, each individual is represented by a star, and their ideas are represented by light. The flow of ideas is represented by the shining of stars. So combined, people and ideas form a StarCloud (both the word and the visual representation of the logo).
The whole idea behind ISS is empowering individuals with the help of their social network, so StarCloud seemed like a perfect name for the organization: it emphasizes the individual and the collective at the same time. Plus, the word cloud reminds us of the infrastructure needed to support this communication among individuals.
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March 25th, 2010
Instant Desktop Environment
Instant Operating System
Instant Syndicating Standards
Crux Webtop
PolarISS WebOS
StarCloud
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February 11th, 2010
The social frame is located on the right side of the application window. The social frame let’s the user communicate and share the application window with his/her contacts.
The social frame features the title bar, the tool bar and the status bar. The title bar contains the name of the person with whom the user is sharing the application window. The tool bar provides buttons to perform actions. The status bar helps the user to be aware of what’s happening. The buttons provided in the toolbar are also available from a menu on the status bar.
On limited-size screens, the tool bar may be hidden, appearing only when the user hovers over the top part of the screen.
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February 10th, 2010
The media frame is located on the middle of the application window. Media might be an image, an audio, a video, a graph, a flash animation, or a java applet. Conventional Web pages or self-contained Web applications may also be displayed in the media frame. In these cases, they are displayed within an iframe for security reasons.
The media frame features the title bar, the tool bar and the status bar. The title bar contains the name of the media currently being displayed. The tool bar provides buttons to perform actions. The status bar helps the user to be aware of which media is currently being displayed. The buttons provided in the toolbar are also available from a menu on the status bar.
On limited-size screens, the tool bar may be hidden, appearing only when the user hovers over the top part of the screen.
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February 9th, 2010
The form frame is located in the middle of the application window. Just like the list, the form may be populated from the server-side by calling an appropriate service. To allow secure cross-site access, JSONP is used.
The form frame features the title bar, the tool bar and the status bar. The title bar contains the name of the form currently being displayed. The tool bar provides buttons to perform actions. The status bar helps the user to be aware of which part of the form is currently being displayed, since the form might be broken into several parts. The buttons provided in the toolbar are also available from a menu on the status bar.
On limited-size screens, the tool bar may be hidden, appearing only when the user hovers over the top part of the screen.
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February 8th, 2010
The list frame is located on the left side of the application window and its main purpose is to help users browse different services. The list may be populated from the server-side by calling an appropriate service. Services may be interlinked with the serviceLink metadata. To allow secure cross-site access, JSONP is used.
Since browsing services is fundamental, a navigation bar is available on the left corner. The navigation bar allows the user to go back and forth, refresh, check the history, and access shortcuts. On limited-size screens, the navigation bar may be hidden, appearing only when the user hovers over the left part of the screen.
Besides the navigation bar, the list frame also features the title bar, the tool bar and the status bar. The title bar contains the name of the list currently being displayed. The tool bar provides buttons, as well as a search box, which allows users to perform actions or filter the list. The status bar helps the user to be aware of the current services being displayed. To navigate, a user may click on one of the items in the list. A user may also select one or more items to perform an action. The buttons provided in the toolbar are also available from a menu on the status bar.
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February 5th, 2010
Each application window is divided in 4 frames: list, form, media and social. The framebar may be used to maximize or show/hide each frame. The four frames might appear simultaneously, or any combination, including just one.
On limited-size screens, only one of the frames may be visible at a time. The framebar may be hidden, appearing only when the user hovers over the right part of the screen.
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February 4th, 2010
On the lower part of the screen, we have the taskbar. The right corner of the taskbar is reserved for status information. The tasks are represented by icons on the left corner of the taskbar. Each task has four options: show/hide, full-screen, replicate and close.
On limited-size screens, such as mobile phones for example, the taskbar may be hidden, appearing only when the user hovers over the lower part of the screen.
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