Friday, June 23, 2006

Physics-driven 3D Desktop Prototype

I've never been a fan of the "3D desktop" metaphors that people tried to come up with a few years back where it was assumed that because something was 3D, it was better. They always seemed very contrived.

In this video, the researchers pitch that (my paraphrase) this time they mean it! And this time it uses physics.

It's amusing that they talk about physics being used to simulate 'disorganized piles' of documents. Jumpin' Junipers! Have you seen my desktop?!? I have enough problems with this in the real world!

What's next? fluid dynamics for simulated spilling of coffee on my simulated document piles?

On the plus side, physics is nifty :-)

One more mini-rant: Why is the emulation of a desktop the ultimate 'workplace metaphor'? Does anyone really think that htsi is the best work environment there is? It's an artifact of the industrialized world and urban real estate price. Given the choice of imagining any workplace in the world, what and where would it be? Treefort in Brazil? Your corner starbucks? Vatican library? Jeez folks, a little more imagination please!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just what I want to do... Take forever to find stuff just like in the real world. This is retarded. The opposite would be cool though. I'd love to have real world infinite heirrarchial folders to put things into.

Anonymous said...

I will say though.. The UI is pretty impressive. Insane, but impressive.

KimPallister said...

>I'd love to have real world infinite heirrarchial folders to put things into

I think on Seinfeld, they called this "Castanza wallet"

Anonymous said...

I got you exploding piles right here!

With the THOUSANDS of electronic documents we typically have hanging around, I do not see this type of browsing being any more interesting or efficient than having the huge piles of docs I currently have on my desk - and I have yet to see a collection of parpers react in any way close to what the simulation shows.... it might be physics, but not real world physics.