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New 3D Way to Desktop
honeybrown.ca — This video shows you a new way to display and organize your desktop. It's 3D, physics-ruled environment looks more like your actual desktop, which may force users to clean and organize it more often.
mmakris- 2478 diggs
- digg it
- cogen, on 10/12/2007, -5/+48This... is really cool to watch. Check out the YouTube demo, as it conveys the concepts just fine and takes less time to load. (the hip hop version is short and... well... yeah.)
I can't comment on whether or not this would be *useful*, but I guess it depends on how you're used to, or how you'd like to, interact with your computer.- speedyrev, on 10/12/2007, -59/+7mistake. mod down
- DesertSquirrel, on 10/12/2007, -3/+31It does seem cool and all, but I just don't see how it's a "major" improvment from the current desktop. Most computer-litterate people are capable of keeping a neat and organized desktop while the average consumer that doesn't I doubt will be able to figure out this one (god help them when they try to figure out the lasso commands). Still dugg for thinking outside the box though.
- Ireland, on 10/12/2007, -3/+35While this is cool to use, whatever happened to alphabetical order. Spotlight finds my documents in a flash. If you ask me this is actually a step backwards. The computer desktop was designed to replace the real desktop because it's makes it easier to find things. Why simulate the messy confusing way most of us used to do things.
- vogelzang, on 10/12/2007, -21/+12It's a gimmick. Really, it's not that hard to create a few folders and drop items into them.
- dave_colorado, on 10/12/2007, -6/+56A 3D MICROSOFT BOB!!!
my life is complete... - leobaby, on 10/12/2007, -4/+20It started to really look cool when the items were larger and previews of the actual document. I like.
- umrgregg, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9I think this would be even better suited for use on some of those huge desktop touchscreen monitors that are out rather than a tablet PC.
Regardless, it's a neat interface (could use some polish) for tactile monitors and one hell of a masters thesis project. - lordthor, on 10/12/2007, -7/+10I wish I could download this and use it as my current desktop :(
- ZenKai, on 10/12/2007, -4/+28God, like I don't have enough clutter sitting on my REAL desktop. Just what I need, a convenient way of losing the word document I was working on. Damn, I could SWEAR I set it down here just a minute ago...
- mrmidgetman, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9I would totally download this just to have a messy desktop for my pc also. that way it could match my normal desktop. They only need to have downloadable scraps of paper and burned cds and such. (legally burned of course)
- neoian, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7dugg for the ring at the begining of the video
- silenceHR, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2seems cool, but wouldnt be useful here.... i only have 5 icons in XP and 3 in SuSe on my desktop.....
- amish, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3This might not actually be that great for organizing your files. But lets say you are working on some word document and need 10 different sources, it would be nice to lay down the other sources on your desktop and work on the document, much like your real desktop. Also, haveing a 30" monitor for such task would make this thing superb and improve productivity by a significant amount.
- djjoemex, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Since Windows Overlapping Windows in 1980's I haven't seen a great improvement on user interfaces, I am sure these will give ideas to the guys of Microsoft that are now so worried about Bill Gate's departure, maybe they have to keep an eye on this product and try to make the future of desktop computing more intuitive and easy as these concept in 3D does. I want to imagine the future of word processors and spreadsheets behind these 3D technology it's just time to innovate operating systems for the cappability of new Graphic Cards, not just change little colors or putting transparency. I hope Microsoft engineers see this concept and try to make something like this by their own.
- OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Nintendo is going to make a new educational DS puzzle game for out of it called Messy Desk.
- Giever, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I like the idea of using this to organize the programs you're running more than organizing your files, like Expose, except with more style and no more usability.
- D4V1S, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5this + a touch screen OLED display = hella tight Minority Report browsing
- renegade334, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Question:
if you have 25 notpad files on your desktop, with no names, how do we know which one is instruction manual for the 3D desktop??? - clement006, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I always dreamed about this!... really cool ;-)
... imagine how fun it could be with a notebook like this:
http://www.pcinpact.com/images/bd/news/29933.jpg - xamox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Although it looks cool I don't think I like how it functions as opposed to Project Looking Glass from Sun, or XGL in linux.
- dlegal, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0I agree, hopefully something becomes of this.
- Stumpfarmer, on 10/12/2007, -5/+69If there were virtual coffee to spill on the desk, I would buy it.
- mhlester, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Couple it with the Sudden Motion Sensor in the MB(P) and you're half way towards a similar disaster. Could be pretty neat to be able to jostle your desktop just by ...jostling it.
- HeaDiggrNCharge, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Yeah, that and a virtual "ASSistant"!
- khyberkitsune, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0@ MHLESTER
Dugg for that idea alone! - Goner, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1but then they'd have to include a parental advisory sticker on it..
- booc0mtaco, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2If they were to develop something like this for the Mac (which has/had gyroscopic detectors built in), we could see it today. Then, it'd cease to be a tool for usability, and just turn into an awesome game. although, incessant shaking can't be good for the laptop, i'm sure. From the Icons, however, i'd wager this was developed for good old Windows.
- decayer, on 10/12/2007, -36/+2How Apple didnt' think in something like that before???
- iluvatar, on 10/12/2007, -6/+44because it doesn't look very usable. I'll admit it's a very cool concept, but it doesn't seem very practical
- jokerr, on 10/12/2007, -6/+14Agreed. It looks cool, can provide minutes if not hours of fun at first but it's not practicle.
- odyss3y, on 10/12/2007, -7/+21youre claiming a company who felt a 1 button mouse was usable enough for users wouldnt use this idea because its not usable?
- pheen, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Apple did have the "piles" concept years ago but never implemented it into the OS.
Here's an article on their piles: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/04/23/deep_inside_apples_piles/ - Livewire, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2spotlight is a much faster way of finding files, without needing to sort them. one thing i liked about the video was the "crumpling" which reminds me to delete the files in the near future, after i'm sure i don't need them anymore. but again, this could be implemented into spotlight easily by setting up a "marking" system, reminding you of the same thing. spotlight just has more potential.
- DruSam, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1cool concept but not very practical http://www.moolahminded.com/sitemap as you can see.
- LeftHandedPants, on 10/12/2007, -9/+5I think this is amazing and absolutely ideal for a virtual desktop like in Windows or Mac. I wonder how long it will be until I can interact with my desktop this way!!!
- david76, on 10/12/2007, -6/+10You can test out this kind of functionality now. It's called 52 card pickup. Except in this case you have a bunch of icons that are identical from which you're supposed to derive meaning.
- 81v3d07g0d, on 10/12/2007, -7/+19It seems like no one gets it. This is a very preliminary experimentation with e whole new kind of interface. I think that it is quite possibly the direction of the future. Are all of you so married to the keyboard and mouse that you cant imagine something outside of that? think ten years form now using this kind of desktop with perhaps a huge muti input touch display. I can barely imagine something more perfect. I for one would use this software is it was available, bringing my files to a much more physical meaningful reality.
And my desktop almost never ever has icons or files on it, my computer is like my living space if its a mess then what does that say about me. My desktop is like a zen garden everything in harmony. - FuzzyCat, on 10/12/2007, -4/+18@81v3d07g0d
"And my desktop almost never ever has icons or files on it, my computer is like my living space if its a mess then what does that say about me."
wouldn't that make you "an empty void with no substance" then? - Xoligy, on 10/12/2007, -10/+1No but that would make you not funny.
- ilyag, on 10/12/2007, -11/+5"think ten years form now using this kind of desktop with perhaps a huge muti input touch display"
A huge input touch display will cost in 10 years roughly what it costs now: thousands upon thousands of dollars. Perhaps in 10 years they'll be able to bring the cost down from around $10,000 to something like $8,900.
My point is: You're one of those people who assumes that all the futuristic technology shown in movies like Minority Report will EVER be publicly available. The fact is, our culture and the way capitalism work will always either prohibit such profound changes in technology-related lifestyles, or delay them by so many years that even your grandchildren will likely never see them in every-day use.
Technologies such as this desktop interface, and other "futuristic" things are feasable, but will take over a century to gain public acceptance. In the computer world, just take a look at our CURRENT user interfaces. They're essentially using the same exact concepts that were initially developed by Xerox. You got your "desktop", and your icons that launch programs, and you have pull-down menus to control the software, etc, etc... it's all the same. It looks a lot better now, obviously, but it's essentially the same exact interface with some tweaks.
Anyway, yeah... I'm rambling. - BadgerOU, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Just curious ... why would it take over a century? I mean, the general GUI desktop idea was first used less than 50 years ago, and adoption usually happens faster, not slower, on subsequent generations.
Also, why would a huge (like 30") display cost SOOOO much in the future? (emphasis added for ... emphasis) Remember in the 80's when your computer screen was green-tinted, and you dreamed that one day, maybe, someone would produce a color monitor that you could afford?
- moshguy, on 10/12/2007, -11/+9I believe that days of the point and click desktop are moving behind us.
Onward and upward!- captjc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Point and click will, sadly, be here for a while. The next logical step, IMO, is touchscreens. I am not talking about about these huge desk size touchscreens that some are suggesting in the future, but either screens such as those implemented on tablet / hybrid computers, or devices that add on to current monitors that detect motion (or something similar to an add-on). Advantages are that they are becoming relatively cheap, they are becoming commonplace (tablet / Hybrids, business machines such as cash registers, PDA's, High-end remotes and control panels, Nintendo DS), and there is little change necessary to conventional user interfaces to utilize them.
As for 3D interfaces, while much research as went into them, and many fruitful ideas have come out of them, the truth is they are really not practical. Besides eye candy, and novelty, they really do not add much to what is done in the areas of interaction with the computer. Most of what people do with computers are in 2 dimensions (writing documents, reading mail, web browsing, most gaming, music, video, etc). Adding a third dimension really is unnecessary. A true 3D interface will not become common place until hardware that is designed to project or display in true 3D is affordable and practical. Affordable holographic projectors are years away and few people want to strap on a 3D helmet just do a spreadsheet. Simply put, right now 2D interfaces are here to stay. That does not mean that we will always have the "desktop" but 3D will probably not be here for a while. - Goner, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Touch screens? Maybe for small devices.. For a 30" (or bigger) screen? Not practical.
Do you know what sort of sweat I'd work up over the course of the day if I had to wave my arms around to do everything I currently do with my mouse?
If you've seen the demos of monkeys lpaying video games with brain implants, then you know what the REAL future of click and drag interfaces will be. It will be an implant (or maybe a band-aid on your head) that will allow you to control the cursor with your mind. No more carpal tunnel, no more havig to let go of the mouse to type, etc.
Of course, buying Visine stock NOW would be advisable... - booc0mtaco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1point-and-click is more of a logical term now, used to describe human-computer interaction. Yes, even today, the term is still quite literal... we point (mouse) and click (mouse). But, if using a touchscreen, the mouse is simply replaced with one or a few fingers, and clicking is just tapping. Same exact concept. Different "device".
Voice-command, probabilistic command queuing, motion detection, gestures, environment-based automated response systems... those are the future. Oh, and those neuroimplants that make the heartiest geek jealous of the local experimental ape population.
- captjc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Point and click will, sadly, be here for a while. The next logical step, IMO, is touchscreens. I am not talking about about these huge desk size touchscreens that some are suggesting in the future, but either screens such as those implemented on tablet / hybrid computers, or devices that add on to current monitors that detect motion (or something similar to an add-on). Advantages are that they are becoming relatively cheap, they are becoming commonplace (tablet / Hybrids, business machines such as cash registers, PDA's, High-end remotes and control panels, Nintendo DS), and there is little change necessary to conventional user interfaces to utilize them.
- Bdog2g2, on 10/12/2007, -2/+21great!!! now my virtual desk can be the exact replica of my real one....wait....where is my real one?
- DarthTurducken, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3My real one is not buried under pr0n
- khyberkitsune, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Yea - but this virtual desktop doesn't come with a real bottle of tequila (which happens to be sitting on my desktop right now, taunting me with it's blue agave goodness!)
- FIGJAM, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12Yes, the Apple Research Labs did a concept desktop like this back in the early 90's. It was called, amazingly, "Piles". What goes around, comes around.....
- CharlesDarwin, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2I knew I had seem something just like this about 10 years ago...
- Bdog2g2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8"but if I wanted to open something in the middle of a pile .. that would be hard. "
that's where the virtual thumb comes in..
I agree with this implementation being only a 3D perspective, not a true environment.- crimson117, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Well that's true for this early prototype.
There's no reason the final version couldn't have a user-movable camera angle.
- crimson117, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Well that's true for this early prototype.
- Warptera, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11That is the biggest waste of time to ever make it to a computer desktop. Who would want to spend 5 minutes shuffling through stacks of documents on their actual desktop, let alone their computer desktop?
- mrwiggly, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2totally agree - what a waste of life. They could make it even naffer by getting users to wear those red and green 3D glasses for the ultimate view on 'desktop organisation'.
- booc0mtaco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2no one. people with messy desks in real life would just extend their disorganization into a new realm. Slobs are slobs, no matter how fancy the software they use.
- shockingbird, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19How would you know the name of the document?
- FuzzyCat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15
Holy crap! Look at the bling on that guy's hand!- marklar69, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2haha thats the first thing i saw and was like DAMN nobody commented on that lol
- babyphatman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2ha! didn't even notice... good eye!
- mattprice, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1How could you *not* notice it. It's huge!
- mattwestm, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2It looks nice, but I don't think I would want to use it. And it looks like it works better on tablet PC's than a normal PC.
- Aamir, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1you don't say
- flippedcracker, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2that's pretty cool.
- htr701, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2This seems a little on the basic side, now if they made it into like a room and you would search for a file by going into a metal filing cabinet that would be pretty cool for the less computer savvy people and would be an easier and more understandable method. I think this will just start a modifying trend that will get people to make better and more interesting things which would be awesome. I still think it's a good start and a nice break-away from the norm.
- dj_sea2005, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3They tried that. it was called microsoft bob...
it was a failure
- dj_sea2005, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3They tried that. it was called microsoft bob...
- SergeantSavage, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15I would spend all my time throwing ***** around and knocking over piles. Sweet.
- WalkerBurgin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2That would drive me absolutely crazy... but it is a cool idea
- TimmyGUNZ, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7While it's definitely a cool concept, I think something like this is best suited for use inside an application rather than a system-wide desktop. Many users place files on their desktop that are important and hiding them under piles can cause one to forget about them.
A program like iPhoto or iTunes would be perfect for this. To visually flip through your library of photos and music and organize into visual groups could make using these programs even easier and more "real world" than they are now.- jawdog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2That was my first thought as well. I imagined using this with a dual monitor setup for something like Photoshop or like you said, iTunes. It would give the user that quick real world feel when constantly switching documents (music, pictures). Also in a photo application you could drag photos to a printer for quick printing.
- david76, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9I love his pronounciation of lasso... Las-ewe as opposed to Las-oh.
- JakeMcMahon, on 10/12/2007, -9/+4only Merkins say "Las-oh"
- poesybeater, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Funny, that's the thing I hated most about the video (well, that, and the fact that this is an OLD and pretty much worthless UI trick. Maybe they'll invent a virtual pencil next.
- dave830, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I think it's french. Lasseu.
(ha ha... imagining a French cowboy)
- IcedZ, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3holy crap. thats is awesome. but i agree. PERFECT for a tablet, or even hanheld PC. but not so much full size PC.
- eliteturbo, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4I'd actually like a way to keep all my personal user files organized in one folder, in this case the "desktop" folder. I think its an excellant idea that could absolutely speed up productivity. I'm sick of this 2D desktop.
- Jangles, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5I honestly find all of that interesting, but equally pointless.
- adizzy615, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I like this, it would work well with a tablet type devices, where you don't have a keyboard, but just a a pen.
- mGee, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Guess what... it isn't the real world. So why try to emulate it on a desktop? It doesn't get the work done for you. It's merely eye-candy.
- chaosmachine, on 10/12/2007, -2/+21in other news, windows vista has been delayed until 2009 for "innovation related" reasons..
- digitalsin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5I think this has some serious potential. It is a much more natural way of approaching the desktop and organization. The brain acts much more intuitively by icon and association, not file names. The idea of piles and stacking is perfect.
I really hope they get funding for this, it looks solid. Plus that guy had bling.- nairanvac, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Judging by the amount of precious metals on that guy's hand, I think he already got a good bit of funding.
- Mace37, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1Wow, instead of having everything where you want it, its all scattered.
I think it might be cool if my entire computer was in 1 directory, but it would get annoying quickly, imo. - babelfishi, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3Love to have it on my normal real life desktop though.
- ryanknapper, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2The idea of using computers is to assist our inherently messy ways. It looks super sweet, but it is just a gimmick.
- devindotcom, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Interesting concept - but at the moment impractical. If they can make the names of objects or live previews happen without messing up the look, that'd be great.
It'd be interesting, though, to have the feeling that your windows are floating above a sort of 'well' where your desktop items are. - chaosmachine, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2i think the best use of this would be as an addon for photoshop. the current browser (adobe bridge) is ok, but it's very tedious to move files around.
i'd love to be able to lay out all the pictures i've taken that day, and just throw them around into various piles very quickly. i like the fact that you can still easily see what's in the piles without having to open them into a different window, like you would with a foldering system.- P0W3RMAC, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What you just wished for is exactly what the light table feature is on Aperture (Apple's ProApp).
I love that feature since when I work with pictures, I want the ability to move it around as if I had all my pictures spread out on a table. I can do just that with Aperture.
Here's the site to check it out... [http://www.apple.com/aperture/compare/] and a picture...[http://www.apple.com/aperture/compare/lighttable.html]
Look on the right column under "Your 21st-century light table."
I seriously recommend Aperture for professional photography, I use it for all my photography jobs.
[PM]
- P0W3RMAC, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What you just wished for is exactly what the light table feature is on Aperture (Apple's ProApp).
- sjbdallas, on 10/12/2007, -6/+7We need to get everyone over 45 out of positions that drive technology. They seem to be focused on making computers do whatever a person might do manually. This is the same mentality that had "visionaries" in the early 1900s who wanted pneumatic tubes spread throughout cities so you could send a document from one place to another quickly. Speaking to computers, handwriting into computers, and makeing your PC desktop look like a real desktop are all attempts to just do things the old way but with a computer which i believe handicaps innovation.
- artman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3To the GUI innovators out there...leave the desktop 2D. Most users do not want to have their files and icons flying, twirling or bouncing around like a Mario game. Just my opinion but all desktops and file systems work great in 2D. If I want 3D I'll launch Halo or some game, thank you.
/desktop on my mac @ home? always clean
//desktop on my windows pc @ work? *****- loftx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Lots of people do :-) Check out Xgl/Compiz
- PathDaemon, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5Two things: First, the guy needs to learn how to say "lasso."
Second, Digg is getting really funky right about now... is it 3.0 time?- JakeMcMahon, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Yeah, maybe the ominous "Item not found" messages are a signal.
- DarkHack, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1WOW!
- Phaid, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Let's see. 45 minutes of
Grab, shuffle, click god damnit where's that stupid file, grr.
versus less than 10 seconds of
$ soffice ~/mydocs/foo-design-1.1.doc
where I can use tab completion to find the latest revision or other permutations of the file name so I actually wind up typing sof[tab] ~/mydo[tab]foo-de[tab].
Yeah, I can see how the 3D version would definitely aid in productivity.- seventoes, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2what about when your using a tablet PC and have no keyboard?
- Phaid, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Even with a pen-based system, a combination of handwriting recognition and scrolling through a sorted list would be quicker and less painful than this.
- colonels1020, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1Microsoft Bob in 3D?
- Kbennett, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2That's pretty cool. Not sure about practical, but cool. Love to be able to switch back and forth between a traditional desktop and BumpTop.
- tylerc66, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2Here is the YouTube Ver. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0ODskdEPnQ
- tenchiws, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1The concept is cool, but I honestly don't see this being very popular in real world practice. Throwing all these icons into piles and stacks and all that sort of thing, to me, would just make it more unorganized and end up stressing me out more than helping me find my stuff. It'd be a lot more painful to go flipping through stacks to find the document I want too, thus dropping productivity a lot.
It might be fun to play around with, kind of like ObjectDock or something, but I don't see this going mainstream. - ScottTheRobot, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1yeah, this would be cool for about 15 minutes. microsoft bob anyone?
- andrethegiant, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3the window and photo manipulation seems slightly more practical than the file manipulation. i guess it's sort of like a 3D (more realistic?) exposé, but less less useful. Besides, I only have 1 icon on my desktop hahaha.
- Trevahaha, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Since when does a cluttered desktop in real life help you find your information? A physical file drawer was a real-life implementation of organizing this problem. Interesting visualization techniques, though.
- thevoltmaster, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6So with my HDAPS enabled Thinkpad or MacBook, when I flip it over, will the icons scatter or will it erase them like an etch-a-sketch
- moracity, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3This is the only reasonable 3D interface I have seen. It could be useful to people who actually use the desktop. I personally don't use the desktop at all. In windows, I have icons turned of and on my macs, it's only used when mounting drives or images.
However, if I had this and could have virtual desktops, I might use it. - AhmedB, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Looks very neat, but I would say impractical and would waste a lot of time going through the 'piles', I already hate the fact that I have to move my hands from the keyboard to the mouse to use 'windows' unlike *nix, now I would go mad with this UI now that it's very mouse centric, yet again neat and can go on kids' laptop or Fisher prices :)
- Septimus, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Completely useless, yet brilliantly executed.
- algorythm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Pretty cool looking but not very useful or efficient. "I think i put the document under this stack of crap in this corner. hum, nope, must be over here.."
I couldnt imagine my desktop looking like my room, where I have trouble looking for stuff already. Although, I would like my room to look like my desktop.
socks.doc, pants.doc
drag and drop dirtysocks.doc into recycle bin.
left click, arrange. ooo thats nice...- crawf061, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1thumbs up just for *right* click, arrange
- T-Maaz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9It's funny that nothing can fall off the edge of the desk - it reminds me just a little _TOO_ much of a hemmed-in cubicle desk... kinda claustrophobic.
Being a visual designer-type, I like it -- my personal requested additions for a final version would be:
1)Fully customizable workspace (e.g., different blotters, calendars, desktop surface types, colors, etc.) and tools that can sit out, like a calculator, paper clips to hold files together... and the quintessential Red Stapler that randomly dissappears from your desk. :-)
2) If you can stick stuff to the walls, a portion of the wall area should look like a bulletin board.
3) A "realism" preference toggle, to allow stuff to fall off the edges of the desk, piles falling over, etc. There needs to be an element of "oh hell, I just knocked my pile of Control-Alt-Chicken videos into the dog's water bowl."
4) The ability to not only crumple up files (as shown in the video), but also to toss the crumpled files at a trash can off to the side -- an added bonus if you were able to miss as well. :-)
5) A file cabinet drawer off to the side, with color coded and/or labeling system implemented
This is probably why I'm not allowed in the development lab anymore...- wicketr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I agree that what has been theorized here could be put to use. Most of the people's complaints are on how it'd be hard to find a file. While I agree that it currently isn't helpful in describing what the files are, that could easily be changed. The icon could be a thumbnail view of the file(as in the last parts of the video) in addition to the name of it just below it all as one icon. Once a file is highlighted a box at the bottom of the screen could detail the Properties of the file as well.
Also handy would be a CTRL-F for finding files. As you type the name or *.pdf the screen filters out just those files that match your query.
This would be very handy for a DESKTOP ONLY. It couldn't ever replace the folder system of regular Explorer. But it could be nice GUI view of the desktop which USUALLY only has between 5 and 50 files/shortcuts on it. I'd definitely give it a try atleast for novelty purposes.
- wicketr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I agree that what has been theorized here could be put to use. Most of the people's complaints are on how it'd be hard to find a file. While I agree that it currently isn't helpful in describing what the files are, that could easily be changed. The icon could be a thumbnail view of the file(as in the last parts of the video) in addition to the name of it just below it all as one icon. Once a file is highlighted a box at the bottom of the screen could detail the Properties of the file as well.
- Zippo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Inventive, but ultimately it'll just make things messy and harder to organize/sift through.
- arthurdent42, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Reminds me of Snow Crash.
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