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Comment by tsuyoshi_k | Hacker News Reader

1. A Gentle Operating System

I’ve been building OS Yamato, a poetic, lightweight web OS where data “blooms and withers” — inspired by nature’s rhythms.

Unlike conventional apps that hoard information endlessly, OS Yamato invites you to let go. Unless opened, data fades and disappears. This is not a bug — it’s a philosophy.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this approach — technical or philosophical.

Try it: https://hanaco875.com Code: https://github.com/osyamato/os-yamato

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Your information lasting forever can be an issue when it's controlled by companies who exploit your data (and even short term that data can be exploited). If it's under your control than it can be quite useful. I can only see upsides to having old files and info; it is unlike too many objects which can cause issues in the physical world. That email I wrote 30 years ago in high school does no harm just sitting taking a few bytes of space. But if one day I wonder when I first read a memorable book and can find that the same email was part of a conversation about it to a friend, well, that adds depth and perspective to my understanding of it and, more broadly, my life and personal growth. To me, archiving is part of being more mindful.

Also, as a historian I hope future historians can find bits of text that we think don't matter at all but will help later generations understand our lives (i.e., their past and therefore themselves).

I really like the idea of things left untouched naturally fading away with time. I routinely think about all of the old junk I don't technically need, but keep around for some not-likely-to-happen moment. Would be nice to just wake up and realize I've regained gb's of space.

Very cool idea.

We externalize so much of our cognition, why would you want to give yourself digital Alzheimer's to gain space? Why is void space valuable over memories?

Notes, photos, emails from loved ones, legal documents are less important than unused hd capacity?

Or: this is a system that forces mindful consideration of notes, photos, etc. If you want them to persist, you must at least look at them once a year. No dusty boxes in the attic.

Thanks for the thoughtful discussion — I deeply appreciate both the support and the challenges to this idea.

OS Yamato doesn’t intend to replace traditional archiving. It’s more of a philosophical experiment: what if our digital space reflected the seasons of life — blooming, fading, letting go?

I agree that some data — like photos of loved ones — deserve lasting preservation. Yamato allows you to mark something as a favorite (♡) to keep it longer, but even those gently fade if untouched for a year. Not to erase, but to invite mindful curation.

This project isn't trying to be for everyone — it's just an offering for those who find beauty in impermanence.

Always open to refining the vision — thank you for helping shape it.

Legal Documents is the big one here. I do think the philosophical notion is kinda cool and interesting, although I am too much of a hoarder to ever use this.

But legal document fading away just because you Haven look that them is just invitation for governments to fuck you over. Just a simple example in Germany taxation. If you do your own tax report then you usually do that 2 years after. So this year I did my taxes for 2023. Now the problem is with this OS all my data and receipts bills whatever that I have to send to the government for my tax report would be gone because why would I open it before I need it.

I agree as an art project of some sort.

My version of this would have agents that would categorize, collate and clean. Keeping the the habital spaces clean, perhaps showing things I should see. It might find things that are important (like tax documents, receipts, etc) and make sure that they are findable and archived properly.

I do find it very self centered in a way. Artists produce a lot of work, but to keep it from disappearing they are required to groom it with their attention? It leaves nothing for the future.

Yamato is a nihilistic aesthetic.

Thank you again for your perspective — it’s very thoughtful and appreciated.

While OS Yamato embraces fading by default, not everything disappears. For important items like notes, photos, and contacts, I’ve made it possible to export and download them locally at any time.

The idea isn’t to lock you into loss — but to invite gentle curation. You can always choose what to keep.

This balance — between impermanence and intention — is what I’m exploring here.

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