Spectasia is a new way to access content on your Mac visually; named a Lookable User Interface.
Here, wide-angle perspective creates a fixed 3D location for every item. Pinpointing any link is then as easy as looking towards it, and, Spectasia claims on their website, “you can select items up to 10 times faster than with Menus!”
Spectasia provides a range of features and benefits, including:
• Browse, navigate and select item choices inside a 3-D panorama
• Create 3-D links to all your stuff: programs, media files, etc.
• Drag and drop items directly into the Spectasia window
• Maneuver up and down levels rapidly using the Clickstream Memory
• Perform instant text searches using the unique Spotlight Tool
• Switch between Gadget and Full-screen modes instantly
• Optimised for use on high-resolution displays
• 3-D object texture shading and unique lighting affects
• Crystal clear and optimised graphics for use on multi-core chipsets
• Create an unlimited number of items and levels
• And much more
Spectasia says that users will find that Spectasia 3.0 provides a significant saving in retrieval time. It “takes the hassle out of locating items.” Memory tests prove that users can remember the precise 3D locations of many items. “The need to search and then re-search the screen for the same items, over and over again, and day after day, is eliminated,” the company’s website reads.
Spectasia 3.0 for your Mac is available in a free 30-day trial edition. The full version retails for £20 (around US$35).
More info and download link here.
It might work.
It sure as hell is dead ugly.
Made for Windows…?!
Quicksilver, thanks.
That’s REALLY unattractive. Interesting concept though.
Is it me or does this have a distinct BOB feel about it?
I doubt this is faster than Quicksilver or spotlight…
I see 3-D perspective, but that’s a far cry from true 3-D visualization.
Everything is still on one plane, which is 2-D. Just because that one plane is tilted with respect to the screen that doesn’t make it 3-D.
HotSauce reborn.
Unattractive? AND totally useless! How can someone get ALL his apps and stuff ready to be found and used on that… thing?
A “few” of the others including Spectasia’s implementation:
http://desktopvr.wordpress.com/applications/3d-desktops/
What is this? Fisher Price OS?
Fugly. It looks like a board game.
With a horrific name like Spectasia, how could it possibly be any good.
I’ll stick with LaunchBar, thanks.
LUI, LUI, Oh no, we gotta go now, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
uhhh, no thanks.
3D-Space VFS has been around for years and does this effect much better IMHO. It’s by Marc Moini, the very same expert who gave us Smart Scroll – the app no-one should be without.
And the point is?
This would be good if there was a holographic display with hand motion actions.
not a mouse and keyboard and a single 2D screen.
Gosh! That’s got to be the ugliest thing I ever saw. May be good enuf for the PC world, but I think I’ll pass dude.
This is an insult. That is the worst gui I’ve ever seen in my life.
This is insulting to mac users, a developer thinking that this is something people want to use?
Somebody please pass me my gun.
OMG its OS X Bob……..
I think I might try it out… though it looks damn ugly. Maybe skins can be applied or the whole look can be modified
I can see a use for it. On a giant touch screen. you can spin the palette with your fingers and touch the app you want to run.
better than a hierarchy menu system, or tapping through folders.
But as such it would only work on touch interfaces, and only on large touch interfaces(ie the iTouch is too small)
@ OBill-Wan
What is BOB? Bombs Over Bagdad? -Major Outkast Fan here…
This looks like a college programming assignment…it’s ugly as ell. Besides, it only seems to let you browse your apps…what about documents? I’ll pass.
purpose? Not sure why i would want this… seems like a really clunky implementation too, not very “apple” looking.
@Mac_ATTY,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_bob
If somebody can come up with something like that, it really shows how outdated the Finder is. Maybe I’ll try it for giggles, u never know.
been reading MDN for years and this was the most enjoyable. i must admit you guys win the prize for the funniest posts… i nearly died laughing!!!