__/ [ Richard Rasker ] on Saturday 17 March 2007 23:30 \__
> Op Sat, 17 Mar 2007 22:04:34 +0000, schreef Kier:
>
>> Having bought the latest Linux Format mag today, I decided to check out
>> the Live DVD, which this month includes Mandriva One with Metisse, a
>> somewhat different 3D desktop from the now-familiar Beryl or Compiz.
>>
>> It has rotating windows, transparency, folding corners/windows, zooming,
>> and other cool/fun features. Most look as if they'd enhance productivity
>> quite well in addition to the wow-factor. There's a nine-paned desktop
>> switcher you can zoom in and out of, and a lot of other stuff I hadn't
>> time to explore.
>>
>> Good to see a different approach to 3D effects. How widely adopted this
>> will be I don't know, but it would be nice to see it offered with other
>> distros.
I think that the Metisse group insisted that it is not a "3D desktop". The
whole thing is part of an long academic research project, which is intended
to explore productivity gains through alternative UIs. So eye candy clearly
isn't the thing in mind. How else would you explain the choice of FVWM?
> I fail to see the productivity advantages of 3D effects whatsoever.
> At first look, they're cute (just like animated GIFs were on the Web ten
> years ago), but I haven't found one single redeeming quality about them in
> terms of productivity. On the contrary: windows flipping and rotating and
> deforming in several manners just contrive to distract my attention from
> what's really important: the things going on inside those windows.
> Anything else happening around this event will just get on my nerves very
> quickly (remember Clippy).
Metisse has a lot of non-3D stuff, but it rarely gets people's attention
because there's no 'wow factor' there. For instance, being able to build
your own little customised toolset or menu is something that serves the user
well and reduced mouse motion (or keyboard strokes). Like BumTop, it's not
something we naturally consider. Being new, it's daunting and confusing at
first.
> If I want to see another window, I want it to pop up before my eyes in a
> fully readable state with one mouse click - immediately. Compare it to the
> TV remote: I just want the next channel to display as quickly as possible
> if I press P+. I don't want to TV to activate some 3D channel display
> mechanism, rotating the next channel into view, or anything like that. I
> don't want the channels to line up in some skewed simile. I don't want
> some 2D representation of a photo picture cube offering me channels. And I
> most certainly don't want to spend $1000 more for a TV in order to get
> annoyed by this "eye candy".
> And please note that I haven't mentioned Vista's horrible features in this
> area (such as the leak-through-transparent-colour scheme) in any way.
>
> But anyone should feel free to contribute examples and opinions to the
> contrary. And if anyone should come up with a way that this 3D stuff will
> actually enhance productivity, I'll certainly take a serious look at it.
3D and a 2D raster don't exactly work but the mind's interpretation of a
cube, for example, gives a sense of orientation. Our mind is built to have
spatial awareness. Join this with some 3D monitors (not the real prototypes
they produce in Holland, but stereovision output) and you can then make use
of all capacity of our visual perception. Then, add audio and other stuff
that makes use of our sensory system. It won't burn more energy just as
moving from monochrome monitors to colour is a step that enables you to
discern one piece of information from another.
There's a lot to improve in this area, but as for commercial value... well,
there's too little competition and no willingness to expand. I suspect that
when a monopoly is weakened, then we'll begin to see more of that stuff
which makes you think differently (e.g. Leopard, Beryl, Second Life).
--
~~ Best wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz | Useless fact: 111111 X 111111 = 12345654321
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