The 3D Desktop
3D desktops, window managers, and filesystem browsers
Project Looking Glass (Sun Microsystems – Linux/Solaris; Windows):
» http://www.sun.com/software/looking_glass/
» https://lg3d-core.dev.java.net
» http://webcast-east.sun.com/archives/GSN-1312/GSN-1312_forjds.mov
Beryl XGL (Linux):
» http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryl_(window_manager)
» http://beryl-project.org
» http://www.leechvideo.com/video/view399282.html
» http://pimpyourlinux.com/linux-feature-review/kiba-dock-akamaru-for-beryl-compiz/
… on Gentoo Linux:
… and with Kiba-Dock on Ubuntu Linux
Metisse (Linux, Mac OS X):
See demonstration video and screenshots at:
» http://insitu.lri.fr/~roussel/videos/metisse/metisse/metisse.mov
» http://insitu.lri.fr/~chapuis/metisse/screenshots/
Madotate (Windows):
» http://www.tutorial5.com/content/view/60/80/
SpaceTime (Win, Mac OS X)
3D window manager
» http://www.spacetime.com
Croquet (Linux, Mac OS X, Windows)
» http://www.opencroquet.org
BumpTop
Not yet released, but looks good. See Anand Agarawala’s spectacular presentation of BumpTop at the March 2007 TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference:
» http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/131
For further information go to the BumpTop home page at:
» http://bumptop.com
3D-Space VFS (Mac OS X)
» http://www.marcmoini.com/f3_en.html
MacWarriors 3DOSX (Mac OS X)
» http://www.acm.uiuc.edu/macwarriors/projects/3dosx/index.html
SphereXP & SphereXPlorer (Windows):
SphereXP is a 3D window manager; SphereXPlorer is a 3D web browser
» http://www.hamar.sk/sphere/
NTT SpaceBrowser (Windows):
» http://www.ntts.co.jp/products/spacebrowser/
The documentation is is Japanese; a short English-language overview is published at:
» http://infosthetics.com/archives/2005/08/spacebrowser.html
3DTop (Windows):
» http://www.3dtop.com
Spectasia (Windows):
» http://www.spectasia.com
Clockwise Win3D (Windows):
» http://www.clockwise3d.com
» http://www.clockwise3d.com/win3dplatform/TheMovieWeb.htm
Read: “The Impact of Window Desktop Design on User Performance : Microsoft Windows Explorer vs. ClockWise Win3D” at:
» http://www.otal.umd.edu/SHORE2001/winDesktop/
3DNA (Windows):
» http://www.3dna.net/products/gallery.htm
and for impressive remote control via a hand-held device with ThinkOptics WavIt 3D:
Rooms3D (Windows):
» http://www.rooms3d.com.sg
SpatialResearch Spaces (Windows):
» http://www.spatialresearch.com/spaces/
Matadote (Windows):
» http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~seahorse/
In Japanese; but an English-language version is downloadable from:
» http://davc73.free.fr/madotate/
True3D*Shell (open source project to implement a 3D desktop environment in Linux and Windows):
“True3D*Shell is an open source 3D desktop environment that allows users to experience 3D browsing in a virtual reality universe where information are organized in ‘bubbles’ connected by ‘pipes’. Bubble can be the equivalent of a folder in a computer, a shared folder in a network, or an execution space for a 3D program. Bubbles generated by different computers are connected by ‘pipes’ acting as network connections, providing network transparency.”
» http://www.sixtyfourbit.org/3dshell.htm
Blueberry 3D Desktop (Windows):
» http://blueberry.sourceforge.net/
CubicEye (Windows):
» http://www.cubiceye.net [20 Dec 2005: no demo available]
3D-Desktop (Linux)
Similar to Metisse, this now seems to be a discontinued project
» http://desk3d.sourceforge.net/screenshots.php
Microsoft TaskGallery (Windows, discontinued):
» http://research.microsoft.com/adapt/TaskGallery/
» http://research.microsoft.com/ui/TaskGallery/pages/video.htm
listing of UI studies referenced at Sun’s LookingGlass 3D site [click here]
