Re: 3d today instead of when MS wants to go...

[Tero Pulkkinen <terop students cc tut fi>]

Reklaw <nawalker@earthlink.net> writes:
> Flawed and silly because you think otherwise? The leap in functionality
> from character-based display to GUI is/was rather easy too. Perhaps you
> might better convince people by listing new/better functionality of 
> (1) 3d interface on 2d display and (2) using 3d goggles, taking into
> account common arguments against both. I would be quicker to 
> listen to that than someone calling me silly when they won't even
> use a search engine for them selves <grin>.

Its quite easy to think 3d interface as an extension to virtual desktops,
web and background images. People already use nice rendered pictures in
their desktop background, why not generate it on the fly to the background.
Then by some means (alt-key or something) the current desktop items turn
partly transparent and lets you choose another virtual desktop from the
background image. Maybe first version could be just loading nice looking
background images from the disk and a list of "hot spots" in the background
which can be selected to move to another virtual desktop with different
background picture.

afterwards it could be extended to automatic generation of the
background pic, loading of the data from the web, loading of desktop
layout/properties from the web.... etc... => this way it would work on
low-end hardware too (who needs the background pic, just get the "hot
spots" or links to other places). And it scales well on real high-end
equipment (when we have realtime raytracing available, can do
nice animation from one background image to another or walking in the
3d environment... (though thats in far in the future..))

=> do not think 3d interfaces need to be like quake or doom...
   (anyone uses quake or doom screenshots as their desktop background? :)

But currently decently working 3d interface is great marketing value and
that should be utilized.

(just an idea and quite easy path to implement it - I do not promise to
implement it...)
-- 
-- Tero Pulkkinen -- terop@modeemi.cs.tut.fi --