Android may get a future 3D "facelift"

[6souls]

http://cdn.venturebeat.com/wp-conten...05/bumptop.jpg

Google is acquiring BumpTop, a startup that aimed to improve the interface of your computer desktop.

BumpTop launched its first product about a year ago. The idea, as founder and chief executive Anand Agarawala described it during a talk at the 2007 TED conference, was to do away with the “same old crap” found in the layout of both the Windows and Mac operating systems. By turning the desktop into a three-dimensional space, users can arrange things more naturally and creatively. They can pile things up, just like they can on a physical desk. Here’s a bit more from Agarawala’s speech (edited for readability):

One information space that I take inspiration from is my real desk. It’s so much more subtle, so much more visceral — you know, what’s visible, what’s not. And I’d like to take that experience to the desktop. … You can bump things, they’re all physically manipulable. Instead of that point-and-click, it’s a push-and-pull.

What’s Google going to do with BumpTop? The search giant hasn’t said anything about the deal yet, either on the main Google blog or in response to VentureBeat’s email requesting comment. The most likely area seems to be its Android operating system for smartphones and (eventually) other devices, such as tablet computers. Some of these ideas and technologies might give the Android interface a leg up over Apple’s iPad and iPhone. Google is also developing the Chrome operating system for netbooks, but BumpTop seems less relevant there, since the Chrome OS is all about the web browser.

Update: A Google spokesman responded, “We’re happy to welcome the BumpTop team to Google, but we don’t have any specific information to share.”

The news was announced through a message on the BumpTop website. The company says it’s going to stop selling the application, though curious users will have one more week to download the free version. (Earlier stories suggest that BumpTop’s original message didn’t mention Google.)

BumpTop raised $1.65 million in funding, according to Agarawal’s online resume. Investors include include GrowthWorks, Extreme Venture Partners, and three angels: Andy Hertzfeld, Austin Hill, and G.R. Heffernan Associates. A post at the Wellington Financial blog speculates that the acquisition price was probably between $35 and $40 million, though that doesn’t sound like anything more than an educated guess.

BumpTop was also part of Microsoft’s BizSpark program, which offers free software and mentoring to startups. In the last few months, Google has acquired a couple other companies with ties to the competition — DocVerse, a startup founded by former Microsoft employees that built collaboration tools for Microsoft Office, and Agnilux, which was founded by employees of PA Semi, the chip company acquired by Apple.

http://deals.venturebeat.com/2010/05...mptop-android/
http://www.bumptop.com/

BumpTop demo

[Kaylia]

Considering I always spend the first 15 hours making my desktop look like the old window, I bet you the first thing I would do is turn off the 3d version and try to make it looks as 2d as I can.

Interface gimmick are fucking retarded. They don't make thing easier and more intuitive, they are useless.

[Eanae]

Would be cool with a touch interface though. Pretty stupid with a mouse.

[Corrderio]

Seriously, who came up with this and how did it get enough attention to become some big project?

[Shenrien]

Seriously, who came up with this and how did it get enough attention to become some big project?

^ this

I cannot believe how retarded this is >_> all this would do would make things a shit load more complex then they need to be.

[Kirb]

Urgh I think I gagged looking at that 3D desktop

[aru]

How is stacking any different than folders? I don't get the point, in fact, this way of organizing actually seems like it would be more difficult to find something than the traditional method. You can't even see file names, that can't possibly be right?

[Scythiroth]

So tired of the 3D gimmick, this looks retarded and pointless.

[SephYuyX]

This is a 5+ year old concept. You can find similar tech demos on YT with the same interface from many years ago. It actually looks like a dumbed down version of what it once was, so no idea where theyre trying to go with this.

This is nothing new, it just never took off because no ones uses touch screen desktops.

[Foxer]

Looks hot. We'll all hate for a little then eventually use it. It's cool.

[Kerberoz]

This is what happens when art majors design software.

[SephYuyX]

Found some of the videos I recall seeing a long time ago.

So yeah, the tech was made mid 80s, and made usable in the early 90s.
In the early 00s Microsoft was picking up on multitouch technology, and a guy named Jeff Han made multitouch leet when he saw MS had growing interest. This is his first version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89sz8ExZndc

MS then applied a lot of his tech in to their Surface project.
A year later Han improved on his tech and released a new version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysEVYwa-vHM

Towards the end of the video was the addition of the 'desktop applications' where you see the same type of features as the bumptop thing. A year later (07/08) MS released their Surface to the public:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxk_WywMTzc

They were going to make it the foundation of Windows 7, and a bunch of companies started to make their own touch stuff, but after seeing basically no interest in it, the tech kind of crashed.

Which leads us to current.

[Shenrien]

This honestly just seems to make things more complicated then they need to be..

[Auspice]

Surface sounded awesome when they first started moving with it too bad it's expensive as fuck and I doubt I'd ever be at a restaurant that used it. Really sweet ideas though. Setting your camera down on a table and being able to flip through the pics and share them with people, putting your credit card on top of an image of your bill at dinner, etc. Really neat concepts for sure.

[Pikarya]

Considering I always spend the first 15 hours making my desktop look like the old window, I bet you the first thing I would do is turn off the 3d version and try to make it looks as 2d as I can. Interface gimmick are fucking retarded. They don't make thing easier and more intuitive, they are useless.

This

Seriously, who came up with this and how did it get enough attention to become some big project?

This

^ this

I cannot believe how retarded this is >_> all this would do would make things a shit load more complex then they need to be.

This

Urgh I think I gagged looking at that 3D desktop

This

So tired of the 3D gimmick, this looks retarded and pointless.

This

This is what happens when art majors design software.

This

Looks hot. We'll all hate for a little then eventually use it. It's cool.

How about no.

[Celeras]

ITT: Retards bitching because they think Google is going to implement it in its current form for desktops, instead of tablets/mobile devices. 3D makes touch interfaces 100% easier to use.

[antihero]

http://i48.tinypic.com/zsr19v.jpg

[Zhais]

I've been looking forward to using something like this... as soon as I can afford a touch-screen device -.-

helpful for people like me where my organizational structure is to place things in random places in some semblance of priority based on proximity to me. Organized mess if you will.

[BarthelloSylph]

We're getting closer and closer to Minority Report, I'm a fan.

[Bardicrune]

Google probably just picked it up to acquire any patents it had.