DEsk commits to the bit.
DEsk v0.1.2 is a beta Wayland desktop whose room is a desk. Windows sit on paper. Folded windows stay on the desk or in a drawer that replaces the dock. Applications live in binders. Notifications arrive as letters. The Control Panel uses meters, levers, and a volume knob.[1]
This could have stopped at costume. It does not. The turned corner of each paper window exposes three window actions. Fold minimizes. Unfold and Refold handle maximize and restore. Discard closes the window. Pulling an edge reveals more paper as the window grows. The object, motion, and software state use the same words.
Do not draw a brass switch unless the user can tell what it switches.
The scene has rules, not just props.
The architecture notes call the desk a place rather than a skin. One lamp shades the room and its objects. One point scale governs the desk. Slow work such as tracing, disk scans, authentication, weather, and sound runs outside the compositor thread. The project targets 60 frames per second on its Low setting for a 2010 laptop.[2]
Those choices matter more than simulated wood. A drawer that opens but blocks input is scenery. A paper window that moves at one scale and receives pointer input at another is a trap. DEsk's source map puts window state, scene layers, input, and drawing in named parts. Its frame loop advances motion by elapsed time and draws only after something changes.
The protocol still owns the window.
Wayland's XDG shell turns a surface into a desktop window. It defines the basic operations used to drag, resize, maximize, and create popups. It also defines a ping and pong exchange that a compositor can use to detect an unresponsive client.[3]
That boundary keeps the metaphor honest. A paper edge can initiate resize, but the window remains an XDG toplevel. A folded packet can represent minimized state, but it cannot invent a second state that applications and accessibility tools cannot read. The physical object should explain the protocol action, not replace it with private theater.
Wear should record use, not fake history.
DEsk says its objects include material, light, shadow, and wear. Wear is strongest when it records something the interface knows. A drawer handle may brighten after keyboard focus. A folded packet may keep the app name and restore path. A frequently used binder may stay near the hand because the user placed it there.
Random scratches do not explain state. They add visual noise and suggest a history that never happened. If an interface remembers use, give that memory a reset and a plain description. If it does not remember use, keep the surface clean enough for labels and focus rings to win.
Run four checks before polishing the grain.
- Name the software action. Avoid objects whose only job is decoration.
- Make the object's motion match the state change. A drawer opens. A switch changes detents. A folded window can unfold.
- Show the result in text as well as shape, motion, or color.
- Keep a return path beside the object. Undo, restore, stop, or reset should not live in another room.
DEsk remains beta. Its release notes list missing protocols, HiDPI limits, narrow hardware testing, and unreviewed translations. The project was inspected at one revision for this article. It was not installed or run here.[4]