New York based SpaceTime has released SpaceTime 3D, a web browser that literally takes tagged browsing 3D.
SpaceTime allows users to map out their browsing progress in a visual timeline, treating each site as an object that can be manipulated and rearranged within the 3D environment. Users can alternate between a 3D and 2D perspective as required.
SpaceTime’s search functionality loads multiple search results as a stack of separate pages, simultaneously loading 10 results at a time, each in its own window. Users can the flip through results, re-arrange the pages or manipulate them. SpaceTime search currently supports Google, Google Images, Yahoo!, Yahoo! Images, Flickr, eBay and others.
It’s difficult to describe the user experience. It’s pure eye candy, sort of like Second Life meets Firefox. As a standalone browser SpaceTime 3D lacks most of the extras you’d expect from a browser. There’s no bookmark support, there’s really nothing aside from the 3D rendering and search. I can’t see people abandoning their traditional browsers to embrace this; however the barrier to success comes not from millions of users, but from enough users to see a return through direct deals with Google and others through search affiliation fees, the same model used for Flock and Firefox.
Wow … that is really cool looking … talk about taking browsing the web to a whole new level!
Darin
This is somewhat like what VISTA is doing with their flip through open windows technology.
But is is exciting to see the very early beginnings of what the Web will probably evolve to in the next decade, as processor speed, memory and bandwidth continue increasing dramatically
SearchEngineWeb
it is similar to Vista however you get full movement in all directions. You’re also right, it’s probably a sign of what web browser might look like in 5-10 years time.
“This is somewhat like what VISTA is doing with their flip through open windows technology.” - you`re right. But it very cool looking )))
Its cool and innovative, but not really functional besides the image search 3d scroll ability. The problem with all these cool eye candy applications is that they are not really thinking about how these new models of interface can actually help bring a new way to view an asset on the internet. Once they bring me a 3D virtual website model, then I will be fully impressed than compared to all this gimmicky eye candy hype.
There is a problem - there is a problem!!!!!!
http://www.spacetime3d.com/com.....d.php?t=28
Now, this really a reason to get pissed off - how could they have been warned several times within days that it is buggy and not have taken action?
Read this bizarre forum response about using the desktop icon -
Any developer should know by now to test everything in Windows Vista = before asserting that it will run in Vista.
Even using a latest, state of the art PC with Vista Pro -it is not working
SearchEnginesWeb is not pleased >:( >:-( >:-|
Whoa, that’s cool.
georgespamungus@gmail.com
Please no… The web is flat, and doesn’t have a distorted cloud background. Post date is 2007, is June 5 the new April fools day?
Looks really slick, I’d try it just for fun, just like sun-java’s lookingglass 3d and beryl in ubuntu! Im sure my 5 yr. old sister would love to play with it too!
WOW….Cooooollll…
It is way cool if you are using it to browse for eBay search. You can view each of item in style
Might be good for Nintendo Wii browsing.
Yummy, looks awesome. Maybe soon on PocketPCs around the world?
I just tried it, strange, exciting experience…
What a waste of development time, not to mention user processor cycles. I suppose it’s probably kind of fun to work on a product that appeals to 5-year-olds, but I really don’t see the value here, especially if it doesn’t fully work. As a software engineer, I am _so_ not impressed, and would not bother to switch from Firefox. Plus, the last thing I need is yet another non-standards-compliant browser to worry about being cross-compatible with - wasn’t IE7 enough of a bad thing?
Cool….but limited productivity. As i have stated before (http://nomarginalutility.blogspot.com/2007/05/3d-io-as-vw-enabler.html ) this type of application is very limited when used whithin the confines of our 2D screens. It is probably useful for images and such..but not for textual or numerical info.
Also it is VERY similar to stuff MS is doing not onl in Vista but in some of MS reasearch groups. I would imagine there would be no freedom to operate here…are they infringing on MS patents?
Mike
This app is down to Web 0.1 and is completely useless :
- Why download heavy client search engine ? (Bandwith costs…)
- Why launch heavy client instead of using you traditionnal browser ?
- Why browsing each tab since most of search engine sprovide multiple results on main pages ?
- Huhu, Why i’ll waste my time to wait for the “fetching result download bar” while google display the results in a few seconds ?
- Internet is not supposed to rely on heavy configuration with powerful 3D video cards…
- Are you concerned by accessibility ?
- And so on…
Well, Vista copied the so-called 3D effect from Linux, so no kudos to Microsoft for implementing something that should have been implemented in XP.
The idea of doing something like this probably dates back at least a decade; time to dust off old SIGCHI proceedings to find a dozen clones.
This being said, hats off to SpaceTime for bringing something out of academia and into the real world. I’ve downloaded it and plan to use it — if it really works. I was surprised, however, that it was downloaded as a Firefox add-on (sort of). In other words, the executable didn’t download in a normal fashion, I wasn’t able to save it to my hard drive. Just be aware that this will happen. It will appear to load as a Firefox add-on (in Firefox, of course), like a XPI file (down)loads.
I am installing now …..
{1st time firefox tried to handle it}
- Problem extracting ……
{ I right clicked save link as …} 7.9mb
- Opening / taking a while to install / SAYS PROBLEM EXTRACTING AGAIN
- Im runnig windows XP SP2 / 2 gig RAM /
This is retarded. Such a literal translation of 2d space to 3d space. I think this simulation of flying browsers make ones life just more complicated. Check out Lisa Strausfeld’s Financial Viewpoints from 1995 if you want to see a better innovation in 3d interface space.
More like ‘Get a First Life’ AMIRITE? Aw crap, wrong thread. /smirk
I mused the other day if there would be a way to do this with social relationships over time throughout all the 387423874 social networks people use. In a way, weighted tag clouds do visually draw attention to the most common topics— I’d love to see the same kind of thing applied to ‘who or what is it that I’m really paying attention to?’
More like ‘Get a First Life’ AMIRITE? Aw crap, wrong thread. /smirk
I mused the other day if there would be a way to do this with social relationships over time throughout all the 387423874 social networks people use. In a way, weighted tag clouds do visually draw attention to the most common topics— I’d love to see the same kind of thing applied to ‘who or what is it that I’m really paying attention to?’ — and doing that over time. That almost requires a type of spatial illustration, to conceptually be able to pan around and see those ‘in the back of the room’ so to speak.
Sure, everything can be done in a flat hierarchial outline order to visualize, yet that might not address visual recognition the same way.
Might be a simple start in that direction… people are bringing up the same two or three things in that past and might not be looking at the longer future or its conceptual development over time.
And hey, how amusing that we might be flying through big pillars and skyscrapers of binary light! It’s the year 2000, where are the flying cars?! Heh.
I used a bad character, comment #19 can be deleted (the shorter one) as can this one. Sorry TC!
looks cool but too much animation..I guess..
That’s a cool application…
see my review on spacetime 3D Web browser experience with SpaceTime
I find it very interesting!
I like technologic and I know that it will work very good one day.
I will be happy to get to know this browser better.
As a developer, nothing is perfect from the first revision!!!
To all you little people when will you start to encourage without being envious