Filed under: OS, Rumors, Odds and ends
Apple turns next operating system's 3D prowess up to 11
Apple, not shy of shaking things up in the interface department, has been sitting on its laurels since the release of OS X earlier this decade. Sure, iPod changed the way we think about music and iPhone has completely turned the mobile phone industry around, but the Mac OS has been relatively static in terms of how users navigate within the environment since the release of 10.0. The good news, however, is that Apple is working on a way to change the way we interact with our systems.
MacRumors has uncovered information on a patent titled "Multi-Dimensional Desktop" which depicts a three-dimensional environment that looks somewhat like viewing a room from one end. The interface has methods for literally stacking files and minimized windows on top of one another as well as for dragging interface items along the multiple surfaces. An interface such as this would be fairly performance-intensive and the ratification of OpenCL along with the impending release of Snow Leopard could be just the shoes that need to drop for this to become a reality. There is no guarantee that this will ever be seen outside of Cupertino or the PTO, but if Apple does implement this interface design it would bring a whole new meaning to the term "wallpaper." Click the read link for an additional image from the patent application.
[Via Engadget]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Luke H. said 4:51PM on 12-11-2008
This is just completely utterly freaking cool. I saw it earlier today on AppleInsider. Wow...
I love Apple. :D
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The Reptile said 4:52PM on 12-11-2008
I can visualize using this and pulling an app window forward to use or into the background when I'm done. Using multi-touch gestures to do that like in Minority Report would be really cool. It will be interesting to see if this gets approved or not.
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sena720 said 4:59PM on 12-11-2008
i think only one word can convey how cool this is...
AWESOME
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Kishnel said 5:03PM on 12-11-2008
It reminds me something like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0ODskdEPnQ
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elice82 said 7:32PM on 12-11-2008
I tought the same thing.
Bumptop. (http://bumptop.com/) Hope it comes to the Mac!
Fredaow said 8:29PM on 12-11-2008
I just hope Bumptop is involved and Apple is paying them to do it b/c that would suck if Apple purely steals their ideas.
Genaro said 6:29PM on 12-11-2008
Even ir this requires a lot of processing, you just need to take a look at Linux's XGL to see that it is possible. In fact xgl on Linux is like the best accelerated desktop environment out there, at least in my opinion.
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Benbro said 8:23PM on 12-11-2008
I particularly like the window on the left hand wall - you could have the weather widget there and with nothing but a flick of the eyes you can check the weather just like, erm, looking out of the real window... except less accurate but considerably more cool...
Technology is just great sometimes - I can have a virtual stack of unread journals, just like the ones in my real office. Do i get an underpaid kid coming in and emptying the recycle bin for me as well? That's me signing up for Snow Leopard...
B
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birthday is 1990 said 6:39PM on 12-11-2008
This looks very efficient. I have never owned a Mac before and I don't plan to in the future but I like how they push forward the industry. People say that Microsoft copies Apple but I have to disagree. Microsoft made a Zune to make money, it is nothing like an Ipod. Vista has the new method of switching windows but I have tried using it and its just too sluggish. I feel that if Microsoft has been lagging behind the industry in the "desktop environment" part of their OS's. Mac's look nicer and don't freeze up as often. Ubuntu has awesome graphics and is more stable. Vista has become faster and more stable with SP1 but the whole "desktop environment" hasn't moved too far since the first one.
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SW said 7:12PM on 12-11-2008
Yuck. Such things have literally been researched and tried for decades now, and they've all bombed. It's just not worth the effort until we have true 3D displays and interaction devices; trying to interact with a true 3D environment on a 2D display with a mouse that only moves in two dimensions is a non-starter.
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PSM said 8:23PM on 12-11-2008
I think Apple knows this. I would expect that if they were to ever release this, it would be because they've figured out the hardware to make it work well.
benbro said 8:40PM on 12-11-2008
@SW: I seem to cope OK in Google Earth, navigating a 3D area on a 2D screen, and most FPS games cope as well, surely? Or am I missing something? I can see where you are coming from, but surely if the code was slick enough and the hardware fast enough something like the Time Machine interface would work ok?
B
KA said 2:44AM on 12-12-2008
The mouse is exactly the problem at the moment. There is no smooth way I can think of to make the mouse work.
Paul said 7:13PM on 12-11-2008
I get a flashback to "Microsoft Bob" (screen shot here - http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/taouu/html/graphics/bobhome1p.png)
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The Reptile said 8:20PM on 12-11-2008
Microsoft Bob. I'm beginning to feel old because I know exactly what you're talking about.
Doug McIntosh said 9:32PM on 12-11-2008
@Mike: LOL!
I thought exactly the same thing!
brian said 12:00PM on 12-12-2008
Bob? No. This will be totally different... because Apple will make all the walls reflective. :-)
vandil said 7:18PM on 12-11-2008
Compiz Fusion had been able to do such things for some time. Good to see Apple looking into it. Apple will no doubt bring it out in an easy-to-configure implementation.
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iCaci said 7:35PM on 12-11-2008
That gives me a strong reminiscence of Sun's Looking Glass (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXv8VlpoK_g), researched many years ago. It didn't hit mainstream probably because it's written in Java :)
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required said 8:05PM on 12-11-2008
I agree, very much Sun's Looking Glass.