A patent has been leaked, which may well reveal the secrets behind Apple's next operating system.
Dubbed a 'multidimensional application environment', the patent, uncovered by Mac Rumours, essentially shows a 3D desktop unlike anything that has been seen on a computer before.
Unlike Windows Vista and OS X, which dabble in 3D purely from a cosmetic point of view, this 3D sketch shows off things like three-dimensional function icons that will fall if not placed correctly on the desktop – a bit like the physics model used in LittleBigPlanet.
Not Snow Leopard
Another new feature is when you open a window it will act differently depending on where you drag it. So, instead of a 2D flat image in the middle of the screen, drag it to the side of the desktop 'room' and it would change appropriately.
Using a similar stacking system as employed in OSX, documents can also be stacked behind each other in multiple rows.
The patent looks to be for a completely new operating system, so don't expect these 3D tweaks to magically appear in Snow Leopard next year, but the drawings do give an interesting insight into how Apple perceives the future of OS design.
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simmerdesigns
December 17th 2008
3. @pixel_pimp your problem is already solved with DefaultFolderX: http://www.stclairsoft.com/DefaultFolderX/working.html
It's a pretty genius bit of software.
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shokk
December 15th 2008
2. Microsoft Bob? Is that you?
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pixel_pimp
December 12th 2008
1. I like it. But it not for me and I don't work on the desktop. I work in applications, the Open/Save and Finder are where I do 99% of my work. I work on a computer. I don't use it at home (i do but only for fun). I make a living using Apple and Adobe in the creative field. I much rather have Apple spend time working on advanced Open/Save Dialogs that learn what I am doing (projects, jobs, web surfer, research). How many times have you worked on a project then switch to another project to have to navigate through all these folders. Then you have to do it again, again and again, which has made me use the sidebar. I need a genius for the Open/Save dialog box, a self learning skynet that will help me, 12 hours a day, when clients call at 6:30, when there is a pile of emails in the inbox at 9:45am.
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