Radiant Computer
Radiant's purpose is to explore what personal computing could be when designed from first principles.
We believe the current trajectory of personal computing is leading us to a less free world, and that only a new computing movement rooted in human dignity and creativity can change its course.Radiant is a computer reimagined from the ground up, a clean-slate design free from the historical baggage that plagues modern systems, and free from Big Tech's influence.
It's a computer designed to help you learn, create, play, and explore. It's a space to focus, free from distractions. A return to the simple joy of computing: just you and your ideas.
Computers today are designed around engagement and surveillance business models rather than user needs. App stores are filled with adware, platforms prioritize data collection over user agency and social media algorithms optimize for addiction. Big Tech fundamentally reshaped computing from a tool for human empowerment into a massive data collection system.
But that's not all. Software today is typically slow, bloated and bug ridden. Despite multiple orders of magnitude in increased hardware efficiency, designing software that is reliable, fast, and easy to use has become incredibly challenging. In fact it has become so challenging that most professional developers are unable to do it to the standards. Why is that?
Outside of certain proprietary platforms, developers are expected to write software without knowing what hardware it will ultimately run on. This makes thorough testing and quality assurance virtually impossible for small teams. By divorcing software from the underlying hardware—and often from the operating system or platform as well—developers can only hope that what they've built will run correctly and perform well. We have surrendered control of the user experience to the layers below that have grown in complexity by orders of magnitude over the years. The result is software no one fully understands anymore; software that will never meet the expectations of its users nor utilize their hardware efficiently and responsibly.
Radiant's vision of computing
Radiant proposes an alternative vision for computing: a vertically integrated system, where hardware and software are co-designed and optimized as one. It doesn't ship with a web browser; it has its own network reminiscent of the early Internet: no social media, no scripts, no trackers. It's a from-scratch system that doesn't retrace the footsteps of contemporary operating systems. It's a new paradigm for personal computing that uses modern advances mindfully and deliberately, a fully open computer, from hardware to software that is comprehensible by a single human. It's a platform that makes great software possible.
Code is computing's native medium; the material we use to shape our digital experience, yet computers don't come with coding environments pre-installed anymore. Coding has lost the simplicity it once had, when writing software was within reach of any curious mind. Radiant is different, it's designed to make software creation accessible to everyone by removing friction and providing a friendly, integrated environment. Every application and every surface should exist as code you can read, edit, and extend. Sharing what you've made with others should be easy. We want to bring the joy of computing back, and bring it to everyone.
Radiant belongs to a more humane future: a computer that welcomes curiosity, invites experimentation, and feels like your own. It's personal computing for the next generation.
Find out more about the Radiant system, or read our design principles and tenets.
Radiant is an ongoing research project in personal computing. If this resonates with you, write us at 📧 letters@radiant.computer or follow us on 🦋 Bluesky @radiant.computer.
You can learn more about Radiant by browsing our log or notes.