KnownSpace is a smart, visual, and autonomous information manager of all of a user's information, whether that information is data or programs, and whether it originates on the web, via mail, news, ftp, an editor, or any other application. It is not a search engine, browser, desktop, or operating system, although it shares elements of all four programs. It is written in Java to make it portable across as many computers, operating systems, and browsers as possible, and it is free and open-source.
Our mission is to take control of the desktop away from the major software manufacturers and put it in the hands of the world's independent software developers. In a year, we hope to give desktop control to non-programmers as well, so that everyone can alter their computational environment at will---and share that altered environment with others, just as the web now lets anyone share websites with anyone else.
KnownSpace began with a dream... to invest independent programmers with the power to transform the desktop experience, making it a dynamic, intelligent, and welcoming space. It was conceived by Gregory J. E. Rawlins, a computer scientist at Indiana University, Bloomington, and has been in design and development in his machine learning and software development classes since Spring 1997. The current product is the result of the dedicated effort of 60 people, mostly students, spread out over 4 terms.