The TaraElla Computer System (TECS) is a system demonstrating a possible
way to use the computer in accordance with the TaraElla Computer
Lifestyle principles.
"There are three versions of the ideal computer: as a user-friendly
consumer electronics device, as a semi-human personal assistant, and as a
portal to a big virtual world.
The first approach is the one that I believe the major software
companies are taking. Both MS and Apple are trying to make their
software as user-friendly as a mobile phone. But clearly, they seem to
be working on the idea that a computer is a tool to be used, the easier
the better, and that's all to it. This makes the computer easy to use
for novices, but then it becomes as boring as any consumer electronic
device when no more useful features can be added.
The second approach is to make the computer emulate a human being.
Microsoft, in the 1990s, had many attempts at this, most famously in the
MS Bob project which produced characters such as Clippy (btw I actually
find Clippy quite cute and do miss seeing him since Office 2003). Even
as late as 1997 they still wanted computer desktops with characters like
Clippy and ability to recognise plain English commands. Apparently they
seemed to have given up, however. (Plain English commands are a good
idea, but hard to do, I guess).
The final approach is the one that I take. There is a whole big virtual
world out there, and the computer is the place to start exploring.
Therefore, rather than just making it easy to use (which we should still
do), we should make it easy to use to explore the virtual world and
build your stuff inside it."
TECS comes as-is, and by downloading it you accept that we cannot
guarantee that it will work with your system or that it will not cause
damage to your computer. The easiest way to use TECS is by obtaining and installing VMWare Player, and then selecting the Virtual option on the TECS download page. Once the file has been downloaded, it can be extracted with 7-zip.
You will probably need to extract the file twice before you will see a
folder. Inside the folder there is a VMWare Virtual Machine file, and
opening it will cause TECS to run.
You can download TECS here.