Monday, August 21, 2006

Desktop Glitz

There seems to be a lot of interest lately in 3D desktops (3D computer workspaces), and I have watched videos on several different versions being developed. While they all seem to offer different functionality, and maybe even improved functionality in certain areas, I really don’t see any advantages to the good old 2D desktop I have been using all these years. It seems to me that to really innovate the desktop, a paradigm shift has to take place.
The computer workspace should be interactive and intelligent, or at least act intelligently. If I need to work on my book, I should be able to tell the computer that I want to work on my book and the computer will load the document for me and put me at the last place I was in the document. Maybe I have an old document I was working on that related to evil leprechauns, but I don’t remember the name of it. I should be able to ask the computer to find the evil leprechaun document and it should be able to find it, or ask me questions about it, so that it can find it, or tell me it doesn’t exist.
The computer should know my work habits, and place shortcuts on my desktop on the recent programs I have used in case I want to use them again. If I don’t want program XYZ on the desktop I could simply tell the computer I don’t want XYZ right now and the shortcut should disappear. And not only should the computer keep track of the programs and documents I have been using, it should also have my regular Internet links handy as well, just in case. Of course if I need to find something on the Internet, I should just be able to query the computer and it will bring up the info without me having to try half a dozen search engines.
The desktop/workspace doesn’t need more glitz; it needs more functionality and intelligence. It needs to evolve from a passive tool to an interactive partner, something that will help you solve problems, not just cover them up under a spinning cube.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I hear you. We think about this issue pretty same way. Sadly, since present computers offers resources to do all kind's of 3D efected desktop's, peoples will develope those.

For big part of computer users, wich is high number since so many uses computer daily, visual part of desktop is major part, goes even ahead of usability.

3D aint the answer, in my opinion, when we think how desktop's in future should evolve to get better and more useable. I think answer is to create desktop, what actually any level user can modifie for he's personal need's with out knowing programming. Modern desktop's allows that somehow, but not as much they could, if desktop "produsers" would stake on that side.

lurah.