Looking Glass makes desktops 3D

By PETER GRIFFIN

The computer desktop client has not had a major overhaul in some time but Sun Microsystems is looking to shake-up the user interface with its 3D creation, Looking Glass.

Sun has added Looking Glass to its Java desktop operating system to make it attractive to users wanting an alternative to Microsoft's Windows platforms.

Looking Glass allows a 360-degree desktop to be created and applications to be rendered in 3D.

Web browser windows, Star Office clients, media players or email clients can be tilted to sit at an angle to the viewer, stacked in a corner of the screen to save room, or made semi-transparent so other windows can be viewed through them.

Windows are also double-sided and can be flipped over in a more elaborate form of switching between applications.

For example, a web browser will display search engine results on the rear of the pane, allowing the user to return instantly to the original search page.

Expected to be released as part of Sun's Java Desktop System release 5 in nine months, Looking Glass is designed for busy knowledge workers who want quick access to multiple windows of information.

Sun's software business manager for Australia, Laurie Wong, said computers were increasingly able to handle more advanced user interface graphics, but users were still confronted with less efficient ways of presenting information.

"Computers with graphics accelerators have come down in price so much there's no need to have a plain [two dimensional] desktop anymore."

One of Wong's virtual desktops features the surface of Mars. Users can pan around, storing files on the Mars landscape.

Looking Glass was just a new way of presenting the same information, said Wong. "It's evolution rather than revolution."

Developers would have to rewrite their applications for them to work with Looking Glass.

The interface uses the 3D rendering toolkit OpenGL and X-Windows platform software. Local 3D screen-maker Deep Video Imaging is attempting to do a similar thing to Looking Glass on a more elaborate scale using a combination of screen technology and software.

Several Australian companies are also testing the new software.

wwws.sun.com/software/looking_glass