If you hear about “Mac OS X 3D,” first thought that should pop up into your mind is that its current interface has a very well done 3D look, but sometimes, it’s more to a “3D OS” than just that. The interesting part is that, at least in theory – for now, Apple is taking user interfaces into the Sci-Fi realm, with a real “Mac OS X 3D” that allows you to move icons around back and forth, not only on the screen, but in the 3D space around you!
In a recent report by AppleInsider, it is said that “A series of Apple patent filings published this week reveal the Mac maker has spent a considerable amount of time outlining a new multi-dimensional interface for Mac OS X that would make better use of screen real estate by increasing the number of virtual surfaces capable of housing application and interface elements.“
The most interesting part is a filing labeled “Multi-Dimensional Desktop,” showing a 3D interface with walls, top, and floor protruding from a back surface – probably the screen of a future “3D display,” since I don’t think we’re going to see 3D holografic interfaces that soon…
What I like about all this is that, being given the current looks of Mac OS X, Apple’s future “Mac OS X 3D” may turn into the first real 3D desktop environment, since Vista’s current interface has, in my opinion, a “forced” 3D design, while Leopard looks extremely natural.
Credited to Apple employees Imran Chaudhri, John Louch, Christopher Hynes, Timothy Bumgarner, and Eric Peyton, this 54-page filing I mentioned above may be the foundation of a whole new age in desktop computing, but nobody can say “when” just yet, so would you like to try an give it a guess? I will start by telling that Apple will give us Mac OS X 3D before the end of 2015.