BumpTop - a modern computer desktop

[JerecDrak2]

Check this (http://arstechnica.com/software/news/2009/04/hands-on-bumptop-may-be-the-desktop-revamp-you-waited-for.ars) Ars Technica article out. Pretty cool stuff no? It has some really nifty ideas (and some redundant ones too imo).What do you all think? Is turning your computer desktop into a "real" desktop crazy?

[cardinals_fan]

There's an open source project hoping to do something like this:

http://apps.sourceforge.net/phpbb/twimu/
http://sourceforge.net/projects/twimu/
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=866390

Not much has happened yet, but they're hanging in there.

[djmh]

cool idea , but i prefer having nothing on my desktop ...
and i think thats windows too ....
boooo ...

[Chemical Imbalance]

Reminds me of KDE4's plasma except more 3D. Perhaps something like this could be worked into Compiz someday?

[PurposeOfReason]

I see no point besides bling and proving a concept. There are far better ways to organize data and work with it than that.

[Sealbhach]

Looks nice, but I prefer to use a file manager to organise my stuff, I never keep anything on the desktop.

.

[wildman4god]

It's cool and all, and they are planning on a Linux and mac version, however its not really that useful. But I would still install it just to impress my friends.

[Newuser1111]

It's not good.

[chucky chuckaluck]

yuk. having a computer means not having to put things in aphabetical order myself. if it weren't such a pain in the butt to do things like that in real life, it would be a better way to do things. this sounds like a mac app especially designed to mess up your hair in a 'hip' fashion.

[Tomosaur]

Probably more annoying to use than the traditional. 3d desktops never really work out well for the simple fact that it becomes difficult to track where you left something.

[spupy]

So... this is the computer equivalent of a messy unorganized desk? I think I will stick with the computer equivalent of a well ordered cabinet.

[vishzilla]

I guess the same piling up data, sorting things, copying and uploading to Facebook can be emulated on a 2D desktop too. I don't fancy a 3D desktop, its too overwhelming

[unoodles]

Well, on their download page ( http://bumptop.com/download.php ) they ask for people to submit if they want it for OSX or Linux.
Personally, I don't really want it.

[SomeGuyDude]

Very cool looking.

I wouldn't use it.

[blithen]

Like many of you have said I would play with it and show off to my friends. But I would actually use it.

[tjwoosta]

this is nothing new

i was using this in vista over a year and a half ago


i cant see it going anywhere fast, its fun to look at and play with, but is no where near efficient or productive

[Chilli Bob]

I thought the whole point of having a computer was to organise your data so you didn't have messy papers all over the place. Now this project takes your neatly organised data and uses it to simulate a messy desk?? What were they thinking?

This is as bad as those touch screen photo managing apps that require you to use both hands to paw through a jumbled pile of photos, because it's "more natural" than using a scroll wheel to navigate through neatly arranged thumbnails.

[Kareeser]

I think the idea shows real promise, and brings the computer one step closer to the actual desk, which is exactly what BumpTop is trying to recreate.

I noticed that some of you have empty desktops, which is great! I wish I had an empty desktop sometimes... but other times, I dump things onto my desktop primarily because it's a "working space", and I reference files there often! It's much easier to minimize my firefox window and open up an OpenOffice doc, than it would be to open Nautilus, navigate to wherever I've archived my file, and open it up again.

BumpTop takes this step one further and adds a splash of flair... I like it... can't wait for it to come to Linux :)

When it comes down to it, if you don't want it:

sudo apt-get remove bumptop

Or the alternative... if we WANT it, we can install it ourselves :)

[spupy]

What I'm curious about is how well this integrates with the OS and other apps. Lets say you have one pile on your desktop with pictures from your last holiday, and several other piles of pictures of various other events. Now lets say you want, for some reason, to import one of your holiday pictures in a Word document. You open the import dialogue, browse to the desktop and what - search through all pictures, because a pile doesn't correspond to a folder?

[pwnst*r]

ew. not thanks.

[pt123]

looks very useful, and with time new workflows can be added to it

Great way to prioritise your todos in different piles, and be able to access the different piles at the same time.

[SomeGuyDude]

In other threads I've praised Compiz (which I'm using right now) because of its ability to make the desktop feel three dimensional, like an actual object with papers on it.

However, there's an upper limit to it. I don't need to "make piles" of things or tape stuff on the walls. Actually my desktop is empty, I refuse to have any icons on it at all because my browser is always maximized and thus anything sitting on the desk itself is going to be covered.

Make my computer feel realistic, but this is going to totally screw up efficiency.

[ceaualbi]

I think it's messy. They must put something like some kind of scrolling presentation of a pile of photos, videos, files, and so on (too many system resources).

By the way, perhaps they maybe had seen desktop cube or any other effects working under kde and tried in their particular way, to make something, different? Ha ha ha, just kidding!

[witeshark17]

Looks nice, but I prefer to use a file manager to organise my stuff, I never keep anything on the desktop.

. Agreed, and that kind of desktop is just a lot of system over head for some eye candy. ):P

[undecim]

They've just been acquired by Google.

http://bumptop.com/

[madjr]

They've just been acquired by Google.

http://bumptop.com/

not on sale for windows or mac users anymore, i guess google is going for that full featured 3d OS

bumptop + linux kernel + android + tablet ?

[HappinessNow]

Installed, but don't see much use of it in it's current state...let's hope Google improves this one

[Dixon Bainbridge]

Looks like a desktop for people that like to spend more time "organising" their work than actually doing it.

Pointless, counter-productive, and inane. Perfect for pads then.