Google is working on yet another operating system, currently codenamed “Fuchsia”. Not that the company is saying much about what it is. Still, there’s enough code available to be compiled into a working APK to take a look at what it’s all about.
Ars Technica has dug deep into the workings of Fuchsia, although there is more speculation than actual fact at the moment. Fuchsia seems to be a new mobile OS that abandons the Linux kernel. In fact, it’s built on a Google-made micro-kernel known as “Magenta”. These are accompanied by a new card based UI that’s currently called “Armadillo”.
Armadillo is a huge departure from what we consider a mobile OS. The cards can be dragged around and appear to open in self-contained windows. Dragging a card on top of a window automatically activates the split screen option, which allows multiple windows open at the same time.
None of the cards contain meaningful names or content at the moment. Which makes it impossible to see how they will work and interact with one another. Still, there’s enough of a UI to give us an idea of how Google thinks a mobile OS should behave.
Fuchsia developer Travis Geiselbrecht told the public Fuchsia IRC channel that this is not just a 20 percent project, nor is it a dumping ground for projects that Google doesn’t care about. Which may indicate that there will be more to this story as development progresses. Or not, Google has shown that it is prepared to kill projects at any point during its lifetime.
[Source: Ars Technica]
