Despite many iterations of Windows, the desktop hasn’t changed that much over 20 plus years. There was the program manager in the Windows 3.x days then the “innovative” Windows 95 desktop with the now 14 year-old Start button. Windows XP and even the Windows 7 desktop haven’t taken the desktop much further. Sure, they’ve changed the taskbar and graphical appearance here and there but basically it’s still just the same flat 2D experience.
Enter the BumpTop and its 3D desktop which introduces a new paradigm shift in the way we will work on computers. It’s not just a more visually appealing environment (which it is) but more importantly it’s a more useful way to work and play on a computer. This new shift will become even more dramatic and useful when touch-screen computing becomes a standard on every computer.
It’s available for windows for free today (there’s a pro version with more bells and whistles). Plans for a Linux and Mac version are in the works. Here’s a brief video of what the future of the desktop looks like.
Thanks for sharing this. Neat. Reminds me of Microsoft Surface.
Thanks for sharing this. Neat. Reminds me of Microsoft Surface.
Intriguing idea and nice use of animation and 3D, but I wonder if it would really be more productive to work like that. I could see it being just as messy-looking as a real desktop with all that visual clutter, and hard to find things. For me, it's a relief that it's so easy to keep my compuer desktop clutter-free and neat. I would hate to have piles of stuff on my workspace. Also, I would imagine it's actually harder to learn than a traditional computer desktop because by now we all understand the hierarchical structure of traditional computer desktops. I don't think that flipping through a pile of files in that manner is more efficient than looking at a list of file names or thumbnails. I wonder how drag and drop works between apps. And where are all your apps located, all your running processes, and all the other computer-specific things that don't fit the traditional desk metaphor? How do you know which tasks are active and how do you jump between apps/tasks? I find it slightly disturbing that it tries so hard to simulate a real-world desktop environnent, and yet it has things that break the metaphor, like dragging a file to a sticky note of Facebook, or dragging a file on top of a thumb drive icon. And the fact you can put things on any wall including the one behind you… it's like you're in a 4-walled isolation chamber rather than a real cubicle or desktop.I may try it out when it comes out for Mac, but I'm betting that it's going to be a hit rather than a help to productivity.
Intriguing idea and nice use of animation and 3D, but I wonder if it would really be more productive to work like that. I could see it being just as messy-looking as a real desktop with all that visual clutter, and hard to find things. For me, it's a relief that it's so easy to keep my compuer desktop clutter-free and neat. I would hate to have piles of stuff on my workspace.
Also, I would imagine it's actually harder to learn than a traditional computer desktop because by now we all understand the hierarchical structure of traditional computer desktops. I don't think that flipping through a pile of files in that manner is more efficient than looking at a list of file names or thumbnails.
I wonder how drag and drop works between apps. And where are all your apps located, all your running processes, and all the other computer-specific things that don't fit the traditional desk metaphor? How do you know which tasks are active and how do you jump between apps/tasks?
I find it slightly disturbing that it tries so hard to simulate a real-world desktop environnent, and yet it has things that break the metaphor, like dragging a file to a sticky note of Facebook, or dragging a file on top of a thumb drive icon. And the fact you can put things on any wall including the one behind you… it's like you're in a 4-walled isolation chamber rather than a real cubicle or desktop.
I may try it out when it comes out for Mac, but I'm betting that it's going to be a hit rather than a help to productivity.
Thanks for sharing this. Neat. Reminds me of Microsoft Surface.
Thanks for sharing this. Neat. Reminds me of Microsoft Surface.
Intriguing idea and nice use of animation and 3D, but I wonder if it would really be more productive to work like that. I could see it being just as messy-looking as a real desktop with all that visual clutter, and hard to find things. For me, it's a relief that it's so easy to keep my compuer desktop clutter-free and neat. I would hate to have piles of stuff on my workspace. Also, I would imagine it's actually harder to learn than a traditional computer desktop because by now we all understand the hierarchical structure of traditional computer desktops. I don't think that flipping through a pile of files in that manner is more efficient than looking at a list of file names or thumbnails. I wonder how drag and drop works between apps. And where are all your apps located, all your running processes, and all the other computer-specific things that don't fit the traditional desk metaphor? How do you know which tasks are active and how do you jump between apps/tasks? I find it slightly disturbing that it tries so hard to simulate a real-world desktop environnent, and yet it has things that break the metaphor, like dragging a file to a sticky note of Facebook, or dragging a file on top of a thumb drive icon. And the fact you can put things on any wall including the one behind you… it's like you're in a 4-walled isolation chamber rather than a real cubicle or desktop.I may try it out when it comes out for Mac, but I'm betting that it's going to be a hit rather than a help to productivity.
Intriguing idea and nice use of animation and 3D, but I wonder if it would really be more productive to work like that. I could see it being just as messy-looking as a real desktop with all that visual clutter, and hard to find things. For me, it's a relief that it's so easy to keep my compuer desktop clutter-free and neat. I would hate to have piles of stuff on my workspace.
Also, I would imagine it's actually harder to learn than a traditional computer desktop because by now we all understand the hierarchical structure of traditional computer desktops. I don't think that flipping through a pile of files in that manner is more efficient than looking at a list of file names or thumbnails.
I wonder how drag and drop works between apps. And where are all your apps located, all your running processes, and all the other computer-specific things that don't fit the traditional desk metaphor? How do you know which tasks are active and how do you jump between apps/tasks?
I find it slightly disturbing that it tries so hard to simulate a real-world desktop environnent, and yet it has things that break the metaphor, like dragging a file to a sticky note of Facebook, or dragging a file on top of a thumb drive icon. And the fact you can put things on any wall including the one behind you… it's like you're in a 4-walled isolation chamber rather than a real cubicle or desktop.
I may try it out when it comes out for Mac, but I'm betting that it's going to be a hit rather than a help to productivity.