Apple Working On Automated Desktop Pictures

[MacRumors]

Various sites are reporting on a patent application released today (number 20070085854) entitled "System and method for computing a desktop picture." The abstract reads:

Disclosed are a system and method for computing a desktop picture. Instead of loading a file that contains the desktop image from memory, the present invention provides for a system and method for opening and retaining a procedural recipe and a small set of instructions that can be executed to compute a desktop picture. The desktop picture can be computed very quickly using a GPU (graphics processing unit), and can be made to move on demand. When a part of the desktop image is needed to composite, that part is computed using a fragment program on the GPU using the procedural recipe and a specially written fragment program into a temporary VRAM buffer. After it is computed and composited, the buffer containing the result of the fragment program may be discarded.

In summary, Apple seems to be leveraging the programmability of today's modern GPUs to be able to create computed desktop pictures that can be constantly updated to changing situations on the user's desktop.

Apple suggests that situations such as logging in or out, waking from sleep, or coming out from a screen-saver are currently too jarring, and the invention hopes to make this experience more seamless. Also mentioned is a tool that would allow designers to edit and specify the user experience.

Apple also seems to be conscious about system resources, mentioning several times about opportunities to free resources for use by other applications.

Patent applications can provide interesting insight into what concepts or technologies Apple is working on in their labs, however readers are reminded that only a subset of these applications will make it into final shipping products.

[Xavier]

Awesome idea, another good reason to wait for Leopard, that is if this will even be used there

[Maccus Aurelius]

I don't find coming out of sleep, booting up or coming out of the screen saver too jarring. Oh well, whatever works.

[c.joe.go]

really impressive technology. seems rather obvious for evolution of the os, but to read more on it and the possible uses of this feature. i would be hopeful to see this feature on a beta @ wwdc07. in that same statement, i would have to include disappointment if this was one of the top secret features.

can't wait to see it.

[KingofAwesome]

I'd be interested to see what factors could be used to influence that background image. Are we talking about a visualization like what we see in iTunes (although probably slower) that takes certain events into account (like the cpu utilization, or sound output), or could it be the desktop interacting with windows on top of it (similar to the ripple effect when adding a widget to the dashboard)?

Considering Apple's love of fading reflections in things like Coverflow, I can definitely picture something similar with the desktop. I hope that if they implement it, they'll put enough effort into design so that the options we have will all be usable and really improve the experience. Apple's generally been good at giving us only a few very good choices, as opposed to MS giving users the ability to tweak everything and leaving it up to users to make sane choices.

[Mac-Addict]

What so you wouldnt need to wake from sleep or turn the computer on? Just press a button or move the mouse and its there? I dont really understand xD

[liv4Mac]

Does that mean there is a posibility of having animated icons aswell?

[ziggyonice]

anybody remember Atmosphere from the My Dream App contest?

sounds a lot like it.

[Counter]

Originally Posted by liv4Mac

Does that mean there is a posibility of having animated icons aswell?

If so I hope they're optional.

[MacVault]

I guess I don't get it. What the heck is so "jarring" when logging in/out of an account in Mac OS X??? I hope this is not the kind of stuff Steve meant when he said "Top Secret Features". I hope this is not what is delaying Leopard til October. I mean, DAMN! Instead of this crap why doesn't Apple do some things that matter - like make it easy to administer a network of 10,000 Macs! Like a real competitor to Active Directory. Like really pursue the enterprise. Like work on making generic PC drivers work with OS X so I can buy a mini tower from Dell for ~$600 and run a supported version of OS X.

[MongoTheGeek]

Its like the cube transition from fast user switching.

In fact that is probably what this refers to.

[Macula]

I don't mean to curb our enthusiasm (the idea sounds terrific) but isn't this a feature that "sort of" exists in Vista?

[MacVault]

Originally Posted by MongoTheGeek

Its like the cube transition from fast user switching.

In fact that is probably what this refers to.

Ok, so we have that already. What's this new thing about? I'm all for non-"jarring" user interfaces. I guess I just don't get what this is about.

[pdpfilms]

Originally Posted by ziggyonice

anybody remember Atmosphere from the My Dream App contest?

sounds a lot like it.

Was this a real app, or simply just a concept? And if it's real, where does one find it?

[TheSlush]

Originally Posted by Mac-Addict

What so you wouldnt need to wake from sleep or turn the computer on? Just press a button or move the mouse and its there? I dont really understand xD

Probably this wouldn't address actually turning the computer on and off. The screen will still have to go from black to your desktop image at some point.

[TheSlush]

Originally Posted by MacVault

I guess I don't get it. What the heck is so "jarring" when logging in/out of an account in Mac OS X???

My guess is that this refers to, for instance, a smoother transition between screensaver and desktop. Currently with most screensavers, it's often a quick-cut from one to the other (although I don't know if that's what one would necessarily call "jarring" per se). This new technology might allow for subtler, or more entertaining, transitions that may incorporate desktop elements.

Additionally, it could refer to a desktop that is in constant motion, or constantly reacting to user input, or constantly able to display updating information.

[MacVault]

Originally Posted by TheSlush

...This new technology might allow for subtler, or more entertaining, transitions that may incorporate desktop elements.

Additionally, it could refer to a desktop that is in constant motion, or constantly reacting to user input, or constantly able to display updating information.

Now that sounds like something Mac OS X needs. This would be very cool!

[hotdamn]

Originally Posted by TheSlush

My guess is that this refers to, for instance, a smoother transition between screensaver and desktop. Currently with most screensavers, it's often a quick-cut from one to the other (although I don't know if that's what one would necessarily call "jarring" per se). This new technology might allow for subtler, or more entertaining, transitions that may incorporate desktop elements.

do yourself a favor and google fenetres volantes.
welcome to a year ago.

[mainstreetmark]

To quote that caveman in the commercials,

"Uh....... what?"

Maybe everything's gonna do stuff like the transition between normal mode and Frontrow.

[Analog Kid]

Talk of picture "recipies" brought to mind Core Image-- it's Applespeak for how CI calculates pictures on the fly by passing it through a bunch of filters. It's how Aperture gets away with only storing master images and computing modified images on the fly. The patent does reference CI in the detailed description. Core Animation might figure into this too, but the patent was filed 10/05 which I think was before Core Animation was really in development, no?

A lot of talk about not having to put the background image in RAM since it can be computed on the fly. Is that really such a big deal?

[mobopro]

One other possibility for this patent... perhaps it's to enable remote logins. If the desktop was proceduralized enough, it'd take less bandwidth. With powerful clients taking on the burden of display, it'd mean you could have your Mac wherever you had a network connection to it.

Just a thought.

[Project]

An example.

[longofest]

Originally Posted by mobopro

One other possibility for this patent... perhaps it's to enable remote logins. If the desktop was proceduralized enough, it'd take less bandwidth. With powerful clients taking on the burden of display, it'd mean you could have your Mac wherever you had a network connection to it.

Just a thought.

The patent doesn't explicitly say it, but that is a good thought!

[Peace]

This would work great for spaces/windows virtualization

Each space has it's own desktop picture.Transitioning from one space to another space that has a different desktop picture.

[ready2switch]

This may be either a really dumb question or a brilliant one.

So, when they say the transitions are too "jarring", are they referring to the user experience or to the hardware/system?

From my limited knowledge and perception, it almost sounds to me like it's something that would make these transitions smoother for the computer, with a sort of side-effect of making the screen transition more smoothly for the user.

Of course, I don't know what I'm talking about. It just seems like a waste of resources to say "the cut between desktop and screen saver just doesn't LOOK smooth enough. Let's fix it!" when there are so many other things waiting to be worked on.