Apple Patent App Shows 3D Desktop

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A recent patent filing from Apple Inc may offer a glimpse into the company's future plans for Mac OS X, including a three-dimensional Desktop. The revamped interface design could allow for stacked items and offer ways to essentially grab objects that are covered by other icons, and to group objects closer to you or farther back in a virtual 3D workspace.

While some of the interface descriptions look more like today's Desktop, but with virtual walls that extend out to create what looks like the inside of a box, others show more radical interface changes -- including moving the traditional menu bar to a stack, or allowing it to act as a floating element.

Considering Apple's plans to release Mac OS X 10.6 early in 2009, don't expect to see any of these potential interface changes soon. Assuming any of these elements make it past the drawing board, we won't likely see them in action for at least a couple of years.

[Thanks to AppleInsider for the heads up.]

Jeff Gamet

Jeff Gamet

Jeff is the Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and co-host of the Apple Context Machine podcast. He is the author of "The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X" from Peachpit Press, and writes for several design-related publications. Jeff has presented at events such as Macworld Expo, the RSA Conference, and the Mac Computer Expo. In all his spare time, he also co-hosts the We Have Communicators podcast, and makes guest appearances on several other podcasts, too. Jeff dreams in HD.

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2 Comments

iJack

It looks like Stacks, but laid out on the dock, and scrolled through like scrolling back through Time Machine.  I would say that could be a most interesting addition.

36Mm Microfilming

Hope this will be interesting for Desktop.

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