File managers 3D: why did not they succeed?

[crixtiano]

I recently installed Ubuntu on my PC with two file managers in 3D.

I had seen similar file managers in films such as Jurassic Park, but had never installed any of them.

This weekend, as if by chance I found the repository of Ubuntu two of them: the tdfsb and S3D.

The idea of using a file manager 3D is very cool and leave your PC a little futuristic.

But despite this, managers have not done much 3D success. There are virtually no mention of them. In distros is the massive use of 2D file managers own.

Why do you think the managers were unable 3D considerable space betwen users and are not very popular?

Thanks!

Cristiano Meira Magalhaes

[darrelljon]

I don't think 3D tricks on desktops get used much either. If I wanted 3D files I'd use a filing cabinet.

[stderr]

Well, looking over the two 3D file managers you've listed, I reckon I understand why! They are both primitive to the point of being of little practical use. If you consider how quickly one can navigate in a terminal, in comparison those are at best clumsy and take forever.

My (very brief) experience of tdfsb:

- Fullscreen doesn't work as it should with NVIDIA twinview (unusable for me, and default windowed size is tiny)
- Mouse sensitivity needs to be adjustable
- Default viewpoint in new directories is unnaceptable
- Speed (2|w) is hard to master to the point of it becoming easy/efficient
- Large directories are practically impossible to navigate
- Taking mouse focus is necessary for 3D, but slightly irritating for a file manager (even with the 'r' release key)
- Doesn't appear to be a simple way to perform custom actions on a selected file
- It's aesthetically unpleasing

and much more. I think a lot, lot more work would need to go into it before it became useful.

All that said, it is a very interesting idea, but similar to darrelljon, I think you'd need to put a lot more thought into the design to make a really useful and efficient 3D file manager. Credit to the developers for trying though! :)