bumptop prototype

By David Ponce

We’ve written about desktop applications that redefine the user interface dynamic before. But I have to say we’re a little smitten with this one: the BumpTop prototype.

It seeks to approximate the way we handle documents in a real world setting. You know what I’m talking about; piles of sheets here, scattered magazines there… Now, I do a pretty bad job of describing this. Instead, come inside and watch a fascinating 6 minute video of an early prototype.

The company says that if they get funding, they’ll grow it into a full OS. I have a feeling money’s on the way.

[BumpTop Prototype] VIA [TechEBlog]

15 COMMENTS

  1. Good use for one of those new physics cards. I?d use a desktop like that! If for no other reason then it?d be fun at first. I?m sure there is more to come later if they get funding.

  2. I don’t see why this couldn’t be done with a mouse and keyboard. Shortcuts and several mouse buttons would make the regularly used options nicely available for the user. You could also have personal keysets stored on an USB stick which you could just insert into a machine that uses this technique and then use it as you would your own.

    Also, with networking connections becoming more and more compatible you could have net spaces in “office use”. While ignoring the limitless possibility for abuse and practical jokes, this could be an enormous asset to any midsize corporation that has people with several levels of computer know-how (and what midsize corporation doesn’t? 😉

    All in all, it’s an excellent innovation and I’m actually surprised no one’s built a working prototype of it before. It looks a bit heavy to have on top of an existing Windows OS, but a *nux/Mac system should be able to handle it.

  3. Windows, Shmindows…

    When I saw my first GUI desktop, I actually wanted an Amiga rather than a PC (for about half an hour at least). But things haven’t changed much in the way a desktop is used for interacting with files since……

  4. Desktop software…

    Check out this demo video of a new computer desktop model. You can stack files, shuffle through them, push them around, throw them, crumple them, fold them, basically treat them like real paper on a real desktop. It’s very slick…….

  5. Video: Cool Computer Desktop Interface…

    I don’t know how user-friendly it is in real use, but the demonstrations in the video looks friggin’ cool. The project, named BumpTop, is an attempt to simulate the way we handle documents in real world, which can either be bits and p…

  6. This is a great idea! Of course you’ll still be able to have folders and sub folders. Being able to manipulate files, folders and “windows” like the Google window they use in the demo, this is probably the greatest idea in OS’s since GUI. It’s genuine 3D virtual space… not so much a desktop as a whole office.

  7. The problem I see is that such a GUI would allow me to have the same mess I use to have on my desktop inside my computer :s …

    But come on, it’s really cool!

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