Take a look at Stripes, a conceptual user interface by Martin Gimpl. Like Chrome OS with its zoomable window management model, but without Chrome’s tabs. As Gimple says, the role of the modern computer has changed so much in the last 20 or 30 years that it might well be time to re-think it. Power and simplicity were his priorities; go see how you think he did. I like the way that the home screen features space for applets and thumbnails of often-visited websites, right on par with applications. Not a lot of visual bells and whistles, but maybe that’s a good thing.
Also here’s a good review of Stripes, by Lukas Mathis over at ignorethecode.net.
