Using SBOS Desktop

Shell and daily use

After boot and login, the user reaches the desktop, opens the System Menu, and uses the primary bottom dock. Adaptive mini-docks can appear for relevant tasks and applications. The shell provides access to apps, files, settings, permissions, updates, notifications, diagnostics, and maintenance without exposing the user to the internal details of each compatibility environment.

Applications, files, and permissions

Native .sba applications and compatibility applications launch through separate execution paths, but both are tracked by SBOS. User data stays separate from application state. Applications request files through a picker, explicit permission, User Policy, or administrator rule. Similar prompts can govern configuration changes, networking, devices, screen capture, window capture, and cross-application access.

Browser and media

The browser runtime, managed browser configuration, and browser user data are kept as separate state categories. The native media system handles modern and legacy media, audio routing, streaming, hardware decoding, DRM playback, local media, capture, and encoding when the installed hardware, drivers, and codecs support those paths.

.mid and .midi playback is intended to reproduce the instruments and musical behavior the file expects rather than merely opening the notes with a generic sound bank.

Gaming, VR, streaming, and capture

Games, launchers, controllers, overlays, emulators, VR applications, streaming tools, and capture software use the same application-environment and device-broker model. A VR headset or capture surface can be assigned to the application that needs it. Capture software can receive permission to see a chosen window or screen without receiving unrelated machine authority.

Development and creative work

Editors, SDKs, engines, compilers, local services, containers, SBOS native containers, creative applications, emulators, virtual machines, and third-party virtualization tools can use app-local dependencies with controlled file, network, device, and resource access.

Application and system maintenance

SBOS tracks application movement, removal, reset, repair, recovery, inactive-state compression, update state, and diagnostic history. System updates are staged and validated through the SBOS update process instead of allowing applications to modify system files directly.

Support for specific games, codecs, DRM systems, controllers, VR devices, capture hardware, drivers, and application versions varies by release.