BumpTop – a REAL desktop UI
We have seen myriads of good or bad approaches to build a desktop UI, which has some similarities with a real desk. There were multiple directions to copy the reality in software and enrich it with more efficiency. Thousands of researchers tried to find the killer approach based on their understanding of the human behaviour. If we are stalking around in our offices and having a look on the most of the desks and desktops of our colleagues – we can say in a lot of cases – this approach was not really successful so far.
BumpTop is not yet another approach, it is really taking a new idea. It structures files AND programs as 3 dimensional cards with own weights, which could indicate the importance of a document or task. You are able to shuffle these documents around and move about the desktop or build piles based on different criteria. So you could create a pile of today’s tasks, one for later and one just for information. This sounds cool, but has also a disadvantage. You can also create a mess like in the real world. However some intelligent search and organize function could help to reorganize this mess in seconds.
Anand Agrawala is the creator of BumpTop, the new way to build desktop UIs. It applies the 3d metaphor and the corresponding interactivity to the virtual desktop. See BumpTop in action to get an impression:
CS
