3d Interfaces for Leopard?

[MacRumors]

An Ars Technica blog entry claiming that one of Apple's secret Leopard features will be 3d user interfaces sparked a bit of discussion across the Mac web.

The article is self-described as "wild speculation" so no specific inside knowledge is claimed. The author imagines:

We've already seen the iPhone seamlessly zoom in, zoom out, and flip icons, windows, and screens. Think about what a real computer could do here. Cover flow and multi-party iChat video show a glimpse of what a 3D accelerated user interface could look like, with light sources, reflections, and more.

While this is based in speculation, we have heard rumors that much of Apple's new Finder interface will take advantage of the new technologies in Leopard -- specifically Core Animation. Apple is already promoting the use of Core Animation in building better user interfaces. From a WWDC 2007 session titled "Building Animated Cocoa User Interfaces":

Delight your users with dynamic, responsive user interfaces. In Leopard, standard AppKit NSViews can be rendered and animated using Core Animation. Learn how to combine familiar Cocoa controls, views, and event handling with the power of Core Animation layers to create stunning user interfaces.

Apple is already using Core Animation in Leopard's Time Machine and details about Core Animation's capabilities are listed on their site.

 

[markfc]

Sounds good!

Now lets speed this baby along so I can get my new MacBook!

 

[Barabas]

I've been waiting for this since the first Jurassic Park movie...

 

[sionharris]

"whatever vista can do, we will do better"

 

[SheriffParker]

I hope it makes Aero look like a socially challenged teenager from the early 90's.

 

[yagran]

mwhaha microsoft should have thought to emulate what leopard might be rather than copy tiger. haha. vista gets pwned again

 

[MacVault]

mwhaha microsoft should have thought to emulate what leopard might be rather than copy tiger. haha. vista gets pwned again

But, unlike Mac OS X, at least Vista is out

 

[dmw007]

I hope this is indeed a secret feature of Leopard, sounds pretty cool!

But, unlike Mac OS X, at least Vista is out

And it is not even as good as Mac OS X 10.4, so who cares?

 

[DeSnousa]

IF this is indeed true, this new interface will blow the media off Vista. I think Steve Jobs is trying really hard to make Mac OS become a dominant OS and Leopard will have to be it with the release of Vista.

 

[yagran]

But, unlike Mac OS X, at least Vista is out

yeh. but vista = tiger, when was tiger out again? o yeh BEFORE VISTA.
leopard is the next gen! microsoft are just laggining behind.

 

[siurpeeman]

i've doubted the "top secret" features of leopard, but now i'm starting to believe they're there. i'm hoping for a new user interface, and i'm hoping it'll be better than anything we can imagine.

 

[yagran]

how much must it suck to boy a windows fanboy?! lol

 

[justflie]

i've doubted the "top secret" features of leopard, but now i'm starting to believe they're there. i'm hoping for a new user interface, and i'm hoping it'll be better than anything we can imagine.

I'd say the new UI is a slam dunk. Here's why: The same black (or dark gray) and white color scheme is popping up not only in Leopard builds (ie Time Machine, Quick Look, DVD player), but also in some very prominent Mac software titles (Toast Titanium, some bits of Acrobat, as well as in CS3, and on the lesser side of things, VLC in full screen mode). Unless all of these important software makers are taking a shot in the dark and all just happened to come up with very similar themes, I think this is what we will see in Leopard.

 

[giganten]

Interesting, could be cool.

 

[zombitronic]

I've speculated it before and I'll speculate it again...weighted, dynamic objects in a 3D UI! Please.

 

[Veracon]

To be honest I'm not too excited about this. I don't want to relearn using a computer just to use a new operating system, and I definitely don't want to learn something that's completely different from the other OS I use on a daily basis.

On the plus side, this almost obligates them to include some decent GPUs in the MacBooks.

 

[johnee]

do you think a feature like this would be better suited for mac osx 11.0? Or would this be a response/reaction to vista?

speaking of which....
when do we expect osx 11.0 ?

 

[justflie]

To be honest I'm not too excited about this. I don't want to relearn using a computer just to use a new operating system, and I definitely don't want to learn something that's completely different from the other OS I use on a daily basis.

On the plus side, this almost obligates them to include some decent GPUs in the MacBooks.

While I don't want to learn a new OS either, I don't think that's what it would be. Sure, it might take a few minutes to get the hang of it, but the idea behind this isn't (or at least shouldn't be) eye candy for the sake of eye candy. This type of thing would need to be functional, efficient, and intuitive, otherwise it's a waste of time (money) and system resources. I'm sure the engineers at Apple understand that, especially while working under SJ.

 

[TheManOfSilver]

4 words: Coverflow replaces the dock

Remember where you heard it first

 

[zombitronic]

To be honest I'm not too excited about this. I don't want to relearn using a computer just to use a new operating system, and I definitely don't want to learn something that's completely different from the other OS I use on a daily basis.

I feel your angst, but these are the kinds of things I look forward too. Welcome to the future.

 

[nickane]

I've been waiting for this since the first Jurassic Park movie...

That's exactly what I thought of when I read the article, only I was thinking of how pointlessly clunky it would be. I seem to remember joking about that UI with a room full of Maya guys recently, when we were discussing that movie's VFX. Why would anybody want 3D icons when they're moving a 2D cursor around a 2D display?

 

[kw78]

PD UI and touchscreen / pad

Imagine a 3D UI combined with a touchscreen or - KISS - a larger "widescreen" touchpad

 

[serpico]

Oh, great, more eye candy. How does this help me with improving my day to day tasks? Just bring out the new iPod already.

 

[zombitronic]

Anyone watch Cowboy Bebop? Ed's "swim-through" 3D web browser...how pointlessly cool would that be?

 

[nickane]

do you think a feature like this would be better suited for mac osx 11.0? Or would this be a response/reaction to vista?

speaking of which....
when do we expect osx 11.0 ?

Exactly. This won't be quite the overhaul ppl are making out. The 10.x releases have been fairly incremental despite all the hullaballoo they generate on MR. Leopard will probably be more substantial, because Vista finally poses a long-expected threat, but not by much. Its only been 2 years since Tiger came out, where as MS had almost 7 years since XP to pilfer 3-4 OSX releases worth of ideas.

But 11.0 can't be that far away: we're running out of cat names.