360Desktop is a startup that reorganizes the standard Windows desktop into a panoramic, revolving pane of glass thousands of pixels long. 360Desktop is due to debut Wednesday at the DemoFall 2007 show in San Diego. While not for everybody, this reorganization of the desktop opens the door to many additional user interface elements beyond the stack of icons currently found on a typical Microsoft Office desktop, Evan Jones, CEO of the Melbourne, Australia, firm, said in an interview.
360Desktop does not replace the Windows user interface. It overlays and redefines it so the viewing area can be extended, Jones said. He envisions numerous Web resources being added as the user scrolls through what is meant to feel like a continuous pane of glass, instead of just a screen.
He said it also will be a highly personalize-able environment, with some users perhaps using a favorite street scene in New York or Prague as their backdrop as they move around the desktop. As you reach the end of the scene, you keep going, starting around again. The company offers an an artist's graphic of such a desktop on its Web site.
View: Full Story @ InfoWeek
Link: 360Desktop Website | Sign up for the Beta Program
360Desktop does not replace the Windows user interface. It overlays and redefines it so the viewing area can be extended, Jones said. He envisions numerous Web resources being added as the user scrolls through what is meant to feel like a continuous pane of glass, instead of just a screen.
He said it also will be a highly personalize-able environment, with some users perhaps using a favorite street scene in New York or Prague as their backdrop as they move around the desktop. As you reach the end of the scene, you keep going, starting around again. The company offers an an artist's graphic of such a desktop on its Web site.
View: Full Story @ InfoWeek Link: 360Desktop Website | Sign up for the Beta Program
I could be wrong but just can't see this taking off. Sure plenty of people will remeber experiments in video drivers years ago where you could make a virtual desktop larger than your actual desktop and having to drag the screen around was such a chore I got hacked off with it after about 30 seconds and went back to my miniscule 800x600 display at native size!
But it might become annoying. We'll see about that!
This should be a nice twist on the virtual desktop idea.
Isn't this what Unix workspaces and multiple desktops are anyway? Heck, Beryl/Compiz/Fusion provides a cube with what appears to be the same capabilities... for free! Then again they are only for Linux, so any improvements to the workspace for Windows is always appreciated. I just sometimes wonder if people aren't aware of the wider technology available already.
no, but i would like to keep my desktop better organized.
would i be able to enable vista tool bar on one desktop, and not on the rest? oO
But really... check out Fusion on GNU/Linux system and be amazed... and remeber you don't have to have a Nvidia Geforce 8808089098'03 to run it... a simple 4200 Ti will do just fine.
I've played around with most of all the Linux 3D desktop enhancements, and they are pretty wicked. The fact that they all run on DirectX 6 or lower GPUs is incredible. Basically, if the card can render a 3D image, those 3D desktop proggies will work.
Vista's Flip3D is a joke... oooooooooohhhhhhhh, somebody stop me, I can ALT-TAB in 3D!!!
Looking Glass.. if implemented properly, also has some kick ass features that even 360Desktop doesn't offer. And, whatever happened to SphereXP??
Now.... if you were to take Looking Glass, 360Desktop.... pour them into a cooking pot, let it simmer and marinate for a few days, and then strain out the super high-end need for 500w (exaggeration) GPUs....
You'd have a very interesting, but better yet user friendly and useful, desktop environment.
Edit: I just checked THIS, and I have to say..... the final (so far) credit for the most useful, and kick ass 3D desktop environment, has to go to CompFiz Fusion.
Think about it, Neobond. Who would need dual widescreen support (and think of the money you'd save not having to plug two monitors into your power bill).... if you could have four (4) desktops running simultaneously, be able to push them aside, or rotate thru them?
360Desktop is a cool feature.... unfortunately, compared to what's already out there.... it's a late bloomer with not as much to offer.
Last edited by xMorpheousx416 on 27 Sep 2007 - 14:49
To those who say "why isn't ALT+TAB enough" or "who would need this" and things of the sort, I tell you, once you have used a tool that improves the desktop experience as well as Compiz does... it makes you wonder what is MS & Apple thinking.
Compiz is nice and fun, but that's just the tip -- above everything else it's an extraordinary usability tool that improves the way you work to levels you couldn't imagine unless you give it a try.
Still I hate the idea of a box, it's stupid. if someone made a virtual desktop system with desktops superimposed on the inside of a sphere or siilar, that would be itneresting, like the system in Swordifhs, and itmake s aheck of a lot more logical sense than spinning a cube.
Having a 3D accelerated desktop isn't about adding as many features and cool effects as possible either, this is somethign compiz-fusion shoudl learn.
and Morpheus, really, virtual desktops is in no way coparable to havein an actual dual screen setup. virtual desktops can be usefull for a number of things, but in reality, they arne't all that usefull. since you only see one desktop at a time anyway, it's just faster to use just one desktop. I just to be a fairly heavy user of virtual desktops on both *nix and varius desktop shells on windows. but really evetually I learn that they didn't add to producivity as much as they just let me add personal things on one desktop and work and other stuff on others so I could switch and use it as a boss key kind of thing... wich is what they're most usefull for.
I understand the full use of a dual desktop.... we have several 17" monitors lying around from updates to the computers.... and they do come in rather handy. But, choosing to go "green" wouldn't comply with using two or more monitor setups. They are just too power hungry, even in sleep mode - compared to using a multiple desktop configuration.
There are favorable comparisons.... you just have to pick one that best suits your specific needs.... or the needs of the economy as a whole.
Haven't used that one in particular for a few years now, although, judging by the screenshots, the quality still looks as bad as ever. I wonder if this 360 thing does it any better.
Anyways i signed with a temporal email account.
anyway this looks really cool, much better than that Vista 3D cube app that's out there that kinda does the same thing, except it's 4 frames only rather than full motion 360.
How can you tell whether you are on the outside of the fence or inside if you only see the fence in front of you?
What would an icon or window look like when viewed from the back?
What if this 2D rotation was done in a Moebius band, then you'd really have infinity, haha
See, the sheep think we are behind the fence, hehe
(oops, this was meant to appear as reply to the one right above)
Simple concept, but implementing it is quite the opposite. I hope Apple uses an idea like this in future.
But doesn't compiz do something similar with a weaker graphics card?????
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