The OpenCroquet Project is near its first release. As written on their homepage: “WHAT IF…” …we were to create a new operating system and user interface knowing what we know today, how far could we go? What kinds of decisions would we make that we might have been unable to even consider 20 or 30 years ago, when the current set of operating systems were first created?
OpenCroquet developer’s release in September 2004
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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Anyone read the book or seen the movie? Seems like that kind of 3D is back. Got to try this!
I’d heard about this a long time ago, but I don’t remember seeing anything that had stuck me as interesting. This time around, glancing at the screenshots and briefly perusing the system descriptions, I’m pretty awestruck. Finally, an OS (or a pseudo-OS I guess you could call it, since it sits on top of existing OSes) that is truly different and trying to be innovative. Will it succeed? We’ll have to see what it’s like to use it in real life, but so far I’m extremely impressed and excited. I can hardly wait for the September preview!
Jared
I personally liked the strong connections with art, croquets web page had…
The rabit looking at the browser is probably a reference to Alice in the wonderland…Although the look and feel of some screenshots reminds me of TRON (the movie) as well.
I had an idea similar to this. But my was a Python interactive, development, instructional and learning environment. Something similar to squeak, but very visual, network transparent, collaborative and possibly 3D.
The objective in my mind was to create a multipurpose entertaining, educative and development environment for instructional purposes, for learning and for developing all kinds of applications from games, to webservices to applications, you name it, in the Python programming language.
It will be designed for kids, college students, aspiring hackers, professional developer etc. The only difference between what I had in mind and the project is that this project is an OS, while mine is just a an environment that would run on a specific OS and desktop platform.
Heh, I won’t be surprised if someone has already come up with something similar.
first impression: vague ideas, stupid 3d interface and why a new OS for this?
read the FAQ! it’s really not a new OS, it’s also not a platform for everything. it’s just an application running on top of other operating systems coded in Squeak (Smalltalk). And Alan Kay is involved… 🙂
I love the images they used on every page… and the font of CROQUET. Sheer elegance
Anonymous wrote:
> […] it’s also not a platform for everything.
> it’s just an application […]
what you call “boring stuff” is just a new view of computing for users, a new way of using computers and consider them.
if it is an os or not, this is not the point.
one day you will not say to your friend “connect on my computer”, but “visit my virtual space”.
one other day you will not open a folder to find your imaging programs, but you’ll change the sensitivity of your environment.
how it will transform or highlight or use transparency, etc… will be the responsability of third party applications, allowing you to personalize your space. the next generation after window managers 🙂
you make me think about PC users between 1985-1995 years arguing: “multitasking os is useless, no need to execute 2 programs at once”.
Anonymous wrote:
> […] it’s also not a platform for everything.
> it’s just an application […]
what you call “boring stuff” is just a new view of computing for users, a new way of using computers and consider them.
if it is an os or not, this is not the point.
one day you will not say to your friend “connect on my computer”, but “visit my virtual space”.
one other day you will not open a folder to find your imaging programs, but you’ll change the sensitivity of your environment.
how it will transform or highlight or use transparency, etc… will be the responsability of third party applications, allowing you to personalize your space. the next generation after window managers 🙂
you make me think about PC users between 1985-1995 years arguing: “multitasking os is useless, no need to execute 2 programs at once”.
That looks really interesting and unlike other 3d desktops it actually looks like some effort was put in to the looks. I can’t wait to play around with it.
also intersting, but in my opinion not so innovative how OpenCroquet: Project Looking Glass! ( http://wwws.sun.com/software/looking_glass/ )
Get Ready to Use Your Imagination!
What if windows were translucent so that you could see the multiple windows you’re working on at the same time? What if you could tack a note to yourself right on the Web page you’re viewing? What if your CD or movie database became a 3D jukebox, where titles were joined with images to make finding what you want easier than ever?
in fact, according to the FAQ:
– quote –
Croquet runs on all major platforms (Windows, MacOS, Linux) and requires a reasonable hardware graphics capability on your computer
– /quote –
What if windows were translucent so that you could see the multiple windows you’re working on at the same time?
Would your brain be able to handle that? And what would you gain? coolness? At least I bet it’s not productivity.
What looks cool in movies might not be very practical in the real world.
What if you could tack a note to yourself right on the Web page you’re viewing?
Meta-data? Allready there, for years. I don’t need to flip the freaking window over to take a note.
What if your CD or movie database became a 3D jukebox, where titles were joined with images to make finding what you want easier than ever?
Again, just meta-data, and it’s allready there. I have my music and movie collection nicely archived with thumbnails as file attributes. What would I possibly gain of having a 3D jukebox? 2D is superior for most things, and it’s most of the time much more productive. I’m not saying that the desktop metaphore is the most practical one, but i haven’t found any reason to use a 3D workspace on a 2D screen yet. Not even with special pointing devices.
Use your imagination, but try to think of some practical solutions, not just stuff that looks cool.
“What would I possibly gain of having a 3D jukebox? 2D is superior for most things, and it’s most of the time much more productive.”
But, but, but… it’s one more!
given that mr. Kay was in that group that actually invented the idea of a graphic interface, I think you can give them some credit that the group is quite good at finding new useful ideas.
I hope these guys do not get diverted and suddenly decide they don’t like the open source way of doing things. You never know what happens when the green stuff is shown around !
I’m thoroughly impressed; I want.
Call me crazy, but the graphics of a big rabbit zapping a chessboard and the ability to “beam” into different apps on different computers (the red dashes and the views of Earth, Moon, and Mars) made the whole thing seem like an elaborate practical joke.
It looks kind of like the web browser on steroids. Kind of like what people where hyping what you could do with vrml, but more useful. If the way people have taken to the sims and mmorpgs is any indication this could be a hit. It may not be efficient, but people seem to love creating little virtual worlds and letting others visit. Since OpenCroquet lets the users use all of their applications in this environment they would never have to leave it. It allows for replacing the desktop metaphor with a dollhouse metaphor.
Myself I am more interested in the technical aspects. How much bandwidth does it take to let others explore my virtual world? How readable is text? It will be interesting to try their developers release they are promising for September 2004.
And yes it is metadata, but it is doing something new with metadata. All people seem to do with metadata is improve searching, this is using it to create environments.
Kinda cool cuz I’m getting tired of the linux vs. BSD vs. MS vs. the world crap going on in these forums over the last few years. I hope this kind of idea would take off. I must admit that the graphics have much to be desired at this point but they have a really cool idea that could possibly change computing as we know it. Too bad some people don’t recognize it. Things that might just seem cool today make people millionaires tomorrow. Why do you think that linux is so popular today? Do you still call us hobbyists? I make money from free sh*t. You can’t beat that.
You can’t beat that.
Hell yeah, if I won the lottery… ;0 I could spend the rest of my life doing crazy cool stuff like the these guys are doing. It looks like a really awesome idea!
Call me crazy, but the graphics of a big rabbit zapping a chessboard and the ability to “beam” into different apps on different computers (the red dashes and the views of Earth, Moon, and Mars) made the whole thing seem like an elaborate practical joke.
I think there is some reference to “Project Looking Glass” here. “Looking Glass,” “Croquet,” and the “White Rabbit” are all references to “Alice In Wonderland”. Capiche?
The collaborative “beaming” into remote applications has been possible on many other systems for some time, but this does take it to a new level. This is not a hoax, methinks.
Looks nice.
if they were to put this inside a window on a traditional 2-D desktop, or vice versa: Put the 2-D desktop inside of the virtual world as an object to be interacted with. I really like the ideas presented here, BUT, like anything, they need lots, and LOTS of work to make them feasible/usable. Go back to using win 3.1, or System 7, and then you’ll appreciate all of the little tweaks that have been made to the traditional interface over the years.
I like the idea of having a 2-D “desk-top” where you would go back to working on your desk, only to leave, and be able to teleport to what your friends/coworkers make available to you. Maybe they could have a warp to a watercooler room where you could chat. Maybe you could have a conference room with every one’s streaming video arranged around a conference table. Virtual “desktops” could become 3-D desks. I am interested in seeing a robust framework so that these situations can be easily implemented.
Well, I could do without the whole 3D thing, but being able to work productively and naturally in a cooperative way through means of the internet and other networked communications has always been difficult. I hope they get that right. Lately, emails and IRC haven’t been cutting it.
I thought of some more reasons this could be revolutionary. This seems like the internet on steroids. All these new metaphors for interacting with remote resources… Also, having multiple 2-D workspaces in a 3-D environment may just be the paradigm break that allows Joe Sixpack to differentiate between working on his computer, and accessing remote resources. Not that he’d have to understand that he’s talking to another computer, but that that computer could be abstracted into “Jane Sixpack’s Office,” or any some such.
i read the user guide and don’t believe that this could be a fast and productive GUI. it seems you will spend most of your time in navigation through a 3d world on a 2d screen.
please enlight me, what is it good for?
I’m very interested in this technology probably more so for the fact that it was written in Smalltalk, a great programming platform forgotten about by most developers due in part to all the super hype over of all things Java and now C# (basically Java++). Hopefully, this will bring back some buzz for Smalltalk. Yea!!
yeah, completely redoing the interface is going to take a LOT of work to get it to be anywhere NEAR productive. Notice how usability in 2-D applications is a mix of making it do what the user expects, and allowing what the user expects to, making the results, and how to get there predictable, AND, having the program’s functions quickly and readily available. Personally, I believe you can make almost ANYTHING usable. It’s the nitty-gritty 9/10, rather than the 1/10 of high-level abstractions of “paradigm” that make something intuitive, usable, and scalable. There are so many different, emerging technologies that could enhance the “modern” desktop if further developed: Voice navigation, network transparency, self-configuring networks, metadata systems, ad infinitum. They need not replace, but complement the current system. I believe that this could be a great complement if implemented well. (I think it should be in a window on the 2-D desktop. I must say that with mice and keyboards as the mainstays of human-computer interaction, it will take a LOT to replace the 2-D desktop.
It’s very interesting what you’ve posted here!
My “opinion” is that this is not really more than just an innovative idea today! I think that OpenCroquet isn’t very fast or productive as well. Maybe in the future it will be the standard possibility for an OS and kids will have computers with a 3D OS and work so productive and quick that we can’t imagine that today! It’s just (maybe a good idea). But I don’t want to say too much, ’cause nobody of us have tested it. After that, we can post our really opinions!
As my school- and workfriend Michael Lotz (www.mmlr.ch) said: “With a keyboard this 3D system can’t be very productive, we need another input device to work fast and productive!”
So, I thought about that, and I realized that the human body (later maybe human’s brain) is goin’ to be a interface! Then we could use the potencial from these 3D OSs! Or not?
In the near future maybe as seen in Minority Report with our hands and fingers and the next step could be the clothing, like in Futurama
That would be innovative and give us the possibility to work productive with there new GUI’s… I know, I talked too much about these visions, but in my eyes, visions are very important for the IT market! What would be the IT without strange ideas and visions of crazy little geeks? *lol* 
This is “just” a shell/visualization system with some interresting properties… IMHO.
yeah, right, it’s not a OS, yet! when everyting’s goin’ well, it will be surely an OS! I’m really sorry for that, i posted this and after that i nounced it an OS, shame on me
but hey, i’m so tired, i’m wondering why i can write normally at all
The only good idea I saw that I liked on a quick look at the site was allowing other people see your ‘desktop’, but that’s already possible with PCanywhere and Apple’s remote desktop.
We can do a ‘three dimentional’ interface, but that does not mean we should. I have not heard of, read, or seen anything that points to a better or more easier computer-using-interface with 3D interfaces.
But I do think that a 3D interface might work if it did not use <windows>. Windows were meant for a 2D interface, may be something else could work for 3D.
Looks like Project Looking glass on crack.