HawaiiOS
This portfolio as a full desktop, running in your browser.
A working Windows-style desktop in the browser
Creative & lab · 2026
At a glance
- Challenge
- Show front-end and rendering skill with something that actually works, rather than a page describing it.
- Solution
- A Windows-style desktop in the browser: a real window manager, live data tiles and an original Three.js street scene generated in code.
- Result
- It runs on this site at /os and falls back to a static gradient when WebGL is unavailable.
The problem
A portfolio can describe front-end ability or it can demonstrate it. I wanted a piece that stood as evidence on its own: real windowing, real live data, real rendering, rather than a static page describing what I can do.
Approach
- A window manager with floating, cascading, draggable windows, snap and maximise, hosting each app in its own shadow root.
- Live tiles driven by real feeds, rendered through Windows tile-notification templates.
- An original neon-street scene in Three.js: instanced signage with the glow baked into runtime-generated canvas textures, additive reflections on wet asphalt, and no external assets. It degrades to a static gradient without WebGL and stops rendering when the tab is hidden.
Outcome
Runs as the interactive exhibit on this site. Nothing in the scene is derived from any game; the artwork is generated in code.
Built with
- TypeScript
- Preact
- Three.js
- Express
- SCSS