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Anand Agarawala presents BumpTop, a user interface that takes the usual desktop metaphor to a glorious, 3-D extreme, transforming file navigation into a freewheeling playground of crumpled documents and clipping-covered “walls.”
Although visually stimulating and striking, this is an example of a metaphor taken to the extreme at its own peril. I do feel it is moving in the right direction, but there is not enough substance to sustain a user for an extended period of time.
Interesting idea. It could certainly be implemented as an application for the Mac (particularly with Leopard), and I presume Windows. Does it really get us anywhere. I have maybe 20,000 files on my hard drive, not counting the OS stuff.
A multi-touch aproach with more real 3D effects sems to me to be a lot better.
Even better, let’s get speech recognition to really work.
Interface designer, software developer, inventor, and nerdcore hip-hopper Anand Agarawala brings a welcome sense of expressiveness to the dusty desktop interface. His BumpTop software applies a 3D metaphor and rough-and-tumble interactivity that delights anyone who sees it in action.
In addition to its raw play-with-me fun , BumpTop is also an inspiring example of unconventional thinking. The BumpTop world is a physical space, where traditional point-and-click movement is replaced with a more literal “push and pull” approach, and the icons each possess a weight that reflects their relative importance. Meanwhile, commands are executed via a novel set of pen/stylus shortcuts that go well beyond the limited click-and-drag way of doing things.
Even if you’re not quite ready to trade your olde tyme desktop for the BumpTop experience, the interface’s unexpected approach to problem-solving is sure to bump-start your thinking in new and unusual directions.
