3D File Manager on Linux Wins NSF Prize

MadFarmAnimalz writes "Science Magazine's reporting on the results of the NSF's Science and Engineering Visualisation Challenge and the first prize in the Illustrations category has been claimed by the Innolab 3D File Manager, which was developed on linux. Apparently this involves arranging data in a ferris wheel type structure." The data is arranged by its relationship with its content, rather than by its physical position on a hard drive or its file system.

Comments

OT: 3d file manager

[ArmorFiend]

No, I didn't RTFA, and I'm sure I'll get modded Offtopic, but the thought occurs to me:

Why are we, the free software community, busting ass to integrate pseudo-3d technologies to the desktop (AA-fonts, SVG-icons, real alpha blending), while it seems obvious that the next step is going to be a fully 3d-enabled desktop, with 3d icons placed in the current 2d-metaphor? Already new computers with new accellerators can push so many polys that the overhead is not measurable by users.

This is strange

[rkz]

Rather than having a software layer which groups files by content rather than tree structure, why not impliment a SQL type of system to access ReiserFS after all it is a database underneeth.

Doing this through the filesystem strikes me as alot more efficient than a quick hack of a filemanager.

Even Microsoft are working on a file system based

3D Directories for OS X

[afflatus_com]

If you are on OS X and would like to sample 3D navigation of disk drive content, there is a nice free project that does this, aptly named 3DOSX.

It uses Open GL to make the file system into 3D rotatable platters, and the platters are linked together. Can swim around the platters looking at the different documents.

Some screenshots are here:
3DOSX Screenshots

The project homepage is here:
3DOSX Homepage

It is an interesting look into alternative ways of doing things.

Pretty-printing

[ewn]

This is more pretty-printing than real innovation. They claim to arrange data by relation but the thing still knows active folders, parent folders and subfolders. And the color scheme (subfolders are blue) focuses on the hierarchical structure of the folders and not the relation of the data. So they took one way of organizing and presenting files that works for most people most of the time but has a few big shortcomings, pretty-printed it in a somewhat confusing way and added relational sugar that can only add to the confusion.

Pretty, but not impressive.

That structure looks unwieldly

[jea6]

One problem with this type of arrangement is that it requires thoughtful meta-description of all content (which scientists do but PHBs don't). What you have an interesting way of representing "degrees of separation", not a "triumph of Linux on the Desktop." The challenge ( http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/events/sevc/overview.htm ) was:

"This new international contest is designed to recognize outstanding achievements by scientists and engineers in the use of visual media to promote understanding of research results."

So for the visual representation of linked data structure, sure this looks great. As a GUI, heck no. "File Manager" seems like a misnomer here.

Secret of Mana Anyone?

[Mister G]

Does this look like a souped up ring interface from the classic Secret of Mana published by Square-Enix (nee Square)?

It does to me...

Re:ls -R /

[nutshell42]

Well, if you look at the image in the article, it *is* one hell of a ferris wheel and while I can't say how effective it is without trying it, it really doesn't look less cluttered than a normal file-list but it could be useful in distinct parts of a file system where a maximum of *visual* organisation is necessary (in a cvs-tree perhaps, to see what files influence which others if you change them, just an idea)

And just to get my daily flamebait rating: Who modded the parent offtopic? It's a valid questioning of the usefulness of the program mentioned in the article