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BumpTop: Nice for anything...but my Desktop
Merlin Mann | Jun 23 2006
BumpTop Prototype - HoneyBrown.ca Don’t get me wrong — like apparently everyone this week, I think the BumpTop demo is right purty. The little interface widgets are beautiful and functional, and the physics of the motion seem realistic. It looks lovely. But would I ever, in a million years, seek this out as a Desktop replacement? You bet your butt I wouldn’t, and I’ll tell you why (as well as what it would be great for). See, here’s the thing: once your computer (and your related world, writ large) has excellent indexing, search, and access via something like Quicksilver, this kind of “physical” interface metaphor starts seeming quaint, if not downright exhausting. I guess I just never find myself shuffling and re-organizing large numbers of files in a way that isn’t more than satisfactorily addressed with sorting, Smart Folders, icon views, and searching. I throw stuff into the most general piles I can stand, then let Quicksilver and Spotlight do all the heavy lifting. Maybe that’s me, but this seems like a recipe for non-stop fiddling. Having said that I can imagine several situations where I’d personally want to toss items into piles and use functionality similar to BumpTop.
But as an interface to my file and folder system? Meh. The metaphor of personal computer as physical space has been strained beyond usefulness, in my opinion. It’s the lack of physicality that affords such insane productivity for Quicksilver users. Everything is abstracted into nouns and verbs and I get to mash them up however I need to. I’m unconstrained by “here” and “there.” Maybe I’m not who this would be targeted at, but I think I could be if it were applied to almost anything except my Desktop’s contents. What do you think? 48 Comments
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 As an overall desktop UI...Submitted by Andre Torrez (not verified) on June 23, 2006 - 8:23am.
As an overall desktop UI I agree, right now I only need to scan one or two file lists to find what I need (or just use spotlight or QS), who wants to rummage through stacks of files bouncing around? What I want it for is my download folder. You know the browser’s default folder where stuff accumulates after a day’s worth of browsing and installing stuff? I would like an interface much like that one where I could go through and separate, select, and trash stuff. For that job I really want to rummage and stack rather than what I do now, which is sort and scan for things. I also think it’d be pleasing to clean up a messy folder just like it’s pleasing to clean up a messy room. »
lowfat is bumptop for pictures,...Submitted by no one in particular (not verified) on June 23, 2006 - 8:15am.
lowfat is bumptop for pictures, basically. »
I think you make some...Submitted by Steve Ivy (not verified) on June 23, 2006 - 8:33am.
I think you make some great points, Merlin - this interface would be great within constrained, focused (perhaps “task-oriented”) environments. Generic file management is too broad a category now for physicality to adequately represent the interactions. This is also why I can’t get behind Siracusa or Gruber lementing the Finder’s drift away from spatial metaphors. But managing my photos? Heck yeah. Also, when working on design layouts, when I need to be able to easily manage a relatively small set of assets. It would be insteresting to be able to rummage in a physical set of piles and then drag a group of images or assets into a Photoshop or InDesign window. Maybe what we need is the desktop recast as a workbench. You use your non-spatial Finder to Search, Find, and Organize files into projects/groups/whatever, when use the spatial workbench to »
... get stuff done in...Submitted by Steve Ivy (not verified) on June 23, 2006 - 8:35am.
… get stuff done in a more modal, focused environment. /me’s mind wanders… Maybe they’re “rooms” instead of Virtual Desktops. You have a blogging room, a design room, a reading room… Ok, that’s enough for today. :-) (Sorry for the split comment, I hit the wrong button). »
Agreed, it's pretty. But for...Submitted by Sean (not verified) on June 23, 2006 - 8:48am.
Agreed, it’s pretty. But for some reason it fills me with…well, anxiety. I already have a desk with piles of stuff on it — I don’t need one that follows me wherever I go. Whether the piles are tidy or not, I’m not really interested in a work environment that constantly cries out to be cleaned up. »
Also worth mentioning: Candians say...Submitted by Sean (not verified) on June 23, 2006 - 8:50am.
Also worth mentioning: Candians say “lasooo.” Awesome. »
I looked at it once...Submitted by Cliff (not verified) on June 23, 2006 - 9:02am.
I looked at it once and never wanted to see it again. What a pain. It kept coming up in the delicious popular rss feed though :( »
Personally, I already use my...Submitted by Finch! (not verified) on June 23, 2006 - 9:03am.
Personally, I already use my desktop like this to an extent. I group things I need to work on together, and folders that are used often are kept in the corner. Having BumpTop as a dynamic desktop would be great for me, but I can definitely see how it would be a boon to some people. »
Don't miss this live-action bumptop...Submitted by Daniel (not verified) on June 23, 2006 - 9:06am.
Don’t miss this live-action bumptop on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFsJcMF8MAo Funny!! »
The thing that strikes me...Submitted by alan (not verified) on June 23, 2006 - 9:10am.
The thing that strikes me as a possible use is for online collaboration letting any user pickup and examine files. »
About Merlin Mann Bio Merlin Mann is an independent writer, speaker, and broadcaster. He’s best known for being the guy who started the website you’re reading right now. He lives in San Francisco, does lots of public speaking, and helps make cool things like You Look Nice Today. Also? He looks like this, answers questions, and has something like a life. Merlin’s favorite thing he’s written recently is a short essay called, “Better.” |
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