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For six years, the Internet Nexus served as my technology blog, but I've since started blogging at the SuperSite Blog instead. If you're looking for the blog, please head there. --Paul

Friday, July 09, 2004

Behind The Scenes of Project Looking Glass

Java.net: "I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Hideya Kawahara, lead developer for 3D Project Looking Glass, Sun's 3D desktop technology, open source project on java.net. Before meeting with Hideya, I must confess that I had been operating under the mistaken assumption that Project Looking Glass was intended as a replacement window manager for Linux, a 3D novelty of no more consequence than any of a long list of failed attempts at reinventing the traditional 2D desktop in a new 3D world. Instead, what I found was considerably more interesting. In effect, Project Looking Glass is a rational approach toward using the latest 3D hardware advances to provide a state-of-the-art desktop environment, familiar yet far more engaging, for a traditional 2D desktop user. The demonstration Hideya gave me of the system was quite dynamic. Windows spin and zoom, stack, become translucent, flip to reveal additional information on the back, and more. A sample 3D audio CD selector can be dragged around, and the elements move in a manner that conveys an appealing weight and physicality. The demonstration basically fell into two areas: a theoretical next-generation window manager and examples of user interface elements in a 3D environment. By providing integration with the X windowing system, the demonstration showed existing 2D applications spinning and flying about, with transparency and video running seamlessly as the windows move. By open sourcing the environment, Hideya hopes that as the platform matures that not only will existing 2D applications spin and fly, but that third-party developers will be able to use Project Looking Glass to build rich, interactive 3D applications with a whole new suite of interactions. One additional revelation: Project Looking Glass is actually built using Java 3D as a key foundation technology, and the primary programmatic interface for 3D-aware applications in this release is Java technology. So conceptually, a write-once-run-anywhere application could be built using Project Looking Glass, providing desktop applications with rich 3D interactivity."

Great interview.

[ Posted at 9:21 AM | Permalink ]