change the paradigm!

[Ian Bicking <ian bickiia earlhall earlham edu>]

Hibbard M. Engler writes:
> I have read the information on gnome, and applaud the work being done.
> Except, that its not the right thing to do.
> 
> Instead of making a cool 2D user interface with the capability of 3D in a
> window,  why not make the system a 3d interface with the capability to run
> 2D windows?
> 
> That is a paradigm shift.  That will stand out from the croud.  That will
> beet Microsoft.

There's a problem: screens are very 2D.  3D is only an illusion, a bit
of pretend.  To base a functional, utilitarian interface on illusion
doesn't make sense.  The reality of a computer's expression is 2D, the
degree to which information is expressed is limited by the fact it is
2D -- a 3D picture on a 2D medium can't get around this limitation.
In fact, in the attempt play pretend a 3D medium often is *less*
expressive because the 3-dimensionality is fluff, not expressing
meaningful information, just using up valuable real estate.

2D is here to stay for the foreseeable future.  Graphics cards makers
would love for everyone to have computers with the false illusion of
3D, because then people who weren't playing games or involved in
production graphics/CAD might buy their cards.  Still, their arguments 
are rather thin.


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< Ian Bicking                 |  bickiia@earlham.edu                >
< drawer #419 Earlham College |  http://www.cs.earlham.edu/~bickiia >
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