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Re: 3D Desktop

__/ [ B Gruff ] on Tuesday 25 July 2006 00:35 \__

> On Monday 24 July 2006 19:51 Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> 
>> 
>> I  work in a physical environment where it's rare for people
>> to  glance  over my monitors. I suppose XGL, much  like  the
>> existing  eye  candy in KDE, is somewhat of a  'magic  show'
>> (see  a magician trying to impress him/herself with the same
>> old tricks), even a repertoire that you can use when a guest
>> comes  over.  Beyond this, you soon discover  that  anything
>> that  does  not help becomes a distraction. It can  take  an
>> hour, or a day, or a week to bore. I can still argue that my
>> wallpaper  serves  an  actual purpose. It reminds  me  which
>> virtual desktop I'm on.
> 
> I'm sure you are right, Roy.
> However, I have discovered one excellent use for it.
> Home-users of Windows are simply not aware of the concept of multiple
> desktops.  If you move from one to the other, they don't really see the
> significance.  However, if you "flip the cube round", and particularly if
> you have some of the apps "wrapped around the corners", it's a real
> eye-opener for them - a bit like showing somebody a picture rather than
> describing in words:-)
> The transparency bits are just the icing on the cake of course, but again,
> a
> quick demo doesn't go amiss.  You can tag on "...and the next Microsoft OS
> will have something similar, I believe - if you go for the more expensive
> version, and wait maybe a year..... and maybe get a new computer...."
> (Sure - I've learned to damn-with-faint-praise!)
> Like you, I find it something that one is better off without while
> working:-)

About  2 years ago a colleague told me that Vista would have
virtual  desktops*. I believe that another colleague told me
about  this less than a year ago, but it seems to have never
become  a reality (I'd say that Vista is on feature  freeze,
not   feature-complete   as  completeness  has  a   positive
connotation  that  is related to reliability, security,  and
integrity).


As  for  the  part about rotating cubes and  its  impact  on
educating  users, you told me exactly that in the past.  And
it  was  worth  repeating.  I saw some  baffled  faces  (and
skepticism  even)  when bouncing between workspaces  in  the
presence  of  colleagues.  They just dislike  anything  they
don't  know (or more importantly -- unable to /understand/).
Like that crazy computer where focus follows mouse and menus
keep  appearing out of nowhere (that one I was last  slagged
off for 2 days ago)...

Best wishes,

Roy

*or  maybe  just the 3-D space. At the time, I believe  that
the  whole  of Vista (Longhorn) was intended to  incorporate
3-D  (see  Metisse project for FVWM), not just 'flip  view'.
Speaking  of  which, 'flip view' is not pragmatic and  makes
switching less helpful as windows obscure one another.

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