That's a lot of work
... for one person. Sure. But this is an idea just waiting to become a reality! How many VLC fans are there in this planet? How many of them work on open-source projects or know how to build an OS? I'm sure you won't need more than a core of 100 good people. You could probably get it done with less than 20.
As you are a VLC developer/ forum leader, I really would love to hear your thoughts in detail about:
1. How you *feel* about the idea? Does it get you excited or not? Can you imagine the buzz on all the tech rags? Or do you think better alternatives already exist? That the project is not worth the effort? If the idea isn't a good one, point out why.
2. Do you think it can be done *open-sourced" with the support of a good leader, project management team, etc ... ?
3. You say "a lot of work"? Could you point out where exactly the bulk of the work will be?
I know this idea will be a winner if a good VLC-based OS can be produced. I'm just guessing here, but I'm sure more than 80% of all computer-users use it for one of these three activities:
1. browsing the web
2. using office applications (i.e. MS Office, OpenOffice, etc ...)
3. using it for media (i.e. listening to music, organizing photos, watching videos, streaming media, etc ...)
If we ask the question "Why are computers important?", Pareto's would answer with the above answer. And the third answer still has potential for more innovations.
Potential investors take note: We all know Google took advantage of the first fact by inventing ChromeOS.
Interestingly, with the second, office applications are now being used more and more as a SAS (Google Drive apps, MS SkyDrive/Office 365 and others). The second usage has now become subjugated within a browser.
The third, in which VLC is the undisputed leader of being able to play anything, has OpenElec and various media centers/ servers. There are also browser-based media players. It still seems like this segment is waiting for the debut of its leader to take control.
Just as ChromeOS is for people who want to fire up a computer just to use the Chrome browser, the VLC OS would be for people who want to fire up a computer just to watch a DVD, listen to streaming music, work with media, etc ...
Imagine powering up your VLC-based OS computer. It's Linux-based, open-sourced and free. Of course, it's lightening-fast and responsive. You'll get a welcome screen similar to OpenElec's. You can find and organize all your media. You insert a DVD and the DVD menu opens up immediately. You could also set it to play automatically after inserting a disk. You open a folder or playlist and press play. You can open up the equalizer. Shuffle songs in a folder. Play streams. You never have to see Linux or remnants of anything not VLC. The VLC player interface IS the OS's GUI.
Every old PC I've worn out to death over the past 15 years has been revived with the best possible linux OS. And for one purpose: To run VLC Player.
[By the way, I didn't stumble on to this thread or thought this topic interesting. I came here purposefully. I actually googled "VLC operating system based on" to get here. I didn't think the topic would exist, but I now believe anything you can imagine already exists on the internet!]
We need critical mass to float the idea. I can't think who wouldn't support it! Has the originator of this thread started something about this idea in OpenBricks or other idea brainstorming sites yet?
Does anyone know anyone influential in Reddit who can help spread the word?
Peace.
. No problem right? You can wait to call someone tomorrow, but what if you wanted to watch a movie, wether it be dvd or a range of supported video formats from a USB, now, you must wait.
