One thing that’s always stuck in my mind, was the scene in Johnny Mnemonic where the title character dons some nifty internet goggles and a pair of datagloves and accesses this fully interactive 3D internet.
“That’s awesome!” I said, gazing at the TV screen. “Mum, can we get the internet?”
What? I was 13 at the time, I didn’t know better.
Sadly, despite the fact it’s now 2008, the human race as a whole is missing out on three things:
-Flying cars
-Robots sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor
-Full 3D immersion with computer programs.
However, if we want to get the Johnny Mnemonic/Hackers experience happening, there are a couple of programs that can set us on the right track in terms of getting prepared for the future.
Shock Desktop 3D
Shock Desktop 3D is a freeware BumpTop clone that replaces the standard point and click desktop interface with something that simulates an actual desk. When activated, you’re taken to a top-down 3D view of all your icons, which you can re-arrange, stack into piles, or mindlessly fling around the place with reckless abandon (PROTIP: this is better done if you’re viewing your icons as cubes. If you’re going to make a mess, do it properly!). If you or someone else finds the Shock Desktop a bit too much to handle, switching back is a measy 2 or 3 mouse clicks. No uninstalling or configuring required!
Desktop imitating life?
From the looks of things, it’s a pretty decent alternative to BumpTop if you weren’t involved in the beta and want to see first hand what it’s like. There are a few things it’s missing, but seeing as it’s completely free, one can’t really complain too much.
The downer to Shock Desktop 3D is that you’ll need a somewhat decent computer to run it. It eats up a bit of memory, and with all the icons bouncing around, you’ll need a good video card too. Granted, it doesn’t have to be some sort of Skynet-esque thing that could run Crysis on full detail, but something mid-range should get Shock Desktop 3D running smoothly.
All in all, Shock Desktop 3D is a pretty neat little program if you want to view one’s desktop in a new, more interactive light and gives a good picture of what BumpTop may have to offer us when it’s finally released.
3DNA Desktop
This may seem like a cop-out, but I’ve dabbled with 3DNA Corp’s 3DNA Desktop before. For the sake of playing around with my desktop, I thought I’d revisit the program.
Unlike Shock Desktop 3D, 3DNA Desktop transforms your desktop into a full 3D environment modelled on a house. Think Half-Life 2 if all Gordon Freeman did was sit around the house all day randomly poking things and playing with toys. You can even switch to “mouselook” mode for that true First Person Shooter feeling, though Half-Life fans may be disappointed that there’s no Gravity Gun.
With 3DNA, change your desktop into a bitchin' bachelor pad!
Some of the elements in 3DNA desktop are customisable as well. Scattered about the place are picture or poster frames which you can add your own picture to, or pick from stock images that come with 3DNA. You can also change the world, sky or theme you’re using via downloadable addons. There are also interactive elements such as a basketball game, and a little 3DNA logo-shaped playtoy that you can throw around.
Accessing applications is much like a regular desktop, point to whatever you need and double-click.Like Shock Desktop 3D, switching between standard and 3D desktops is a piece of cake, either by accessing the quicklaunch menu or clicking a button which sits at the bottom right of the screen.
While it looks pretty, 3DNA is by no means perfect. If you don’t have a decent enough computer, 3DNA Desktop will cause you quite a few headaches ranging from slowdown to the program shitting bricks and shutting down entirely. Thankfully, the installer comes with a hardware checking program which will tell you if 3DNA Desktop will run on your system or not.
Your applications bay. For all your application needs.
Another pain is that it does take some fiddling to get your 3DNA Desktop looking how you need it to look. While customization is intuitive, you will need to do a lot of it if you want to avoid using the start menu. On the bright side, there’s plenty of space for all your shotcuts and folders to be placed into, so you don’t need to worry about space for them all.
At the end of the day, 3DNA is probably one of the best 3D desktop programs of its kind out there. Navigation and customization is insanely easy, it looks fantastic (for what it is), and switching between 2D and 3D is a sinch. While it’s not the cheapest out there, there’s not a hell of a lot more you could ask out of 3DNA…
…. Except maybe a BFG9000 and a cyberdemon or two.