Simon Phipps Looks At 'Looking Glass'

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Simon Phipps Looks At 'Looking Glass'

Posted by timothy on Tuesday December 9, 2003 @12:25AM from the now-in-stereo dept.

CitizenC writes "Simon Phipps, chief technology evangelist for Sun Microsystems, describes his experiences using Project Looking Glass, Sun's prototype three-dimensional computer desktop, in this post on his weblog. He mentions a couple of demo videos too."

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Re:3d interface... by Anonymous Coward · 2003-12-09 00:42 · Score: 1, Informative

the jokes been made many time before

boring
Re:Sheesh. by SmackCrackandPot · 2003-12-09 00:51 · Score: 4, Informative

Sun graphics hardware uses intelligent FBRAM (framebuffer RAM). The transparency calculations are handled by the video memory chips themselves, so you need only write the alpha you want, then pixblt the data to memory instead of the read/blend/write cycle.

You might want to read the paper titled FBRAM: A new Form of Memory Optimized for 3D Graphics
Re:Sounds cool. by WebMink · 2003-12-09 00:59 · Score: 4, Informative

The other link in the blog posting is to a better video in MPEG-4...
Smooth by pcbob · 2003-12-09 01:00 · Score: 4, Informative

From the video (yay, I managed to snatch it before /. wave propagated), it runs really smooth - they have netscape and two movie players running and it all happens with no lagging as the guy rotates the whole thing around in 3D (and when you look at it from the back, the movie is mirrored and still plays smooth). I wonder what kind of machine it is the whole thing is happening on.

Another thing i'm impressed by is that it didn't seem ackward the way they were using it - i remeber trying some other 3D wms on X, and they were all pretty bad from usability point. This introduces 3D in a way where it solves problem of organizing apps on the desktop instead of creating new problems. I'm amazed and think this is a step in the right direction.
Re:Sounds cool. by iantri · 2003-12-09 01:01 · Score: 2, Informative

A bit of advice.. if you look around on Real's website you can still find Real Player 8.. it plays all the same stuff but it isn't as bloated and sucky and spyware-filled as RealOne.
Too much complexity. by iantri · 2003-12-09 01:05 · Score: 2, Informative

Average Joe can't even understand the concepts of window shading and virtual desktops.
Somehow I think this isn't really going to work out for Sun -- a 2D desktop is already complex enough for most people.. 3D will be impossible for them to use.
Re:3d interface... by rufo · 2003-12-09 01:14 · Score: 4, Informative

You do realize that 3D filesystem program actually exists, right?

--
My English teacher once told me that two positives don't make a negative. Two words for her: Yeah, right.
Just get Real Alternative! by c_oflynn · 2003-12-09 01:21 · Score: 4, Informative

Just get Real Alternative - play real files without the mess.

http://home.hccnet.nl/h.edskes/mirror.htm
Better still by Rumagent · 2003-12-09 01:22 · Score: 3, Informative

You can download the helix player. It is quite stable, and wonderfully free of crap.
Re:Looks familiar... by Kircle · 2003-12-09 02:03 · Score: 2, Informative

I claim prior art! Surely, anyone seeing that must immediately think of the security system in Jurassic Park? "Hey, it's a UNIX system! I know this!"

Ummm, that was UNIX. SGI's UNIX (Irix) to be exact. More info can be found here.

--
-- Kircle
Re:A technical question by Anonymous Coward · 2003-12-09 02:58 · Score: 2, Informative

Aero isn't vaporous though. Its here today, it works, and its being used in the active development of Longhorn.