One for the geeks; some very interesting developments in the computing world recently. I've been trying to find time to get through some of Sun Microsystems webcasts from their NC03-Q3 launch event, which is a couple of weeks old now. Anyway, I watched Jonathan Schwartz' keynote on Sun's Software Strategy (if you want to watch, you'll have to navigate the menus yourself from the previous hyperlink) and towards the end, he demos a new technology that they have in development that they are calling Project Looking Glass. This is a new desktop environment that will run on the Sun Java Desktop System.
As a quick overview, the Sun Java Desktop System is a desktop environment with applications that is intended to offer a viable alternative to Windows on the desktop. It will be available running on either Solaris or SuSE Linux, and has its roots in the open source community, and especially with the Gnome desktop environment.
Anyways, the real jaw-dropper was the in-development stuff in Project Looking Glass - it rocks! There is a short article here at Infoworld describing how there is a possible link with Apple, as some elements are similar to those found in OS X. However, Project Looking Glass does some stuff that is even cooler, with the desktop being a truly 3-dimensional space in which you can manipulate windows in all directions. If this stuff is interesting to you, I strongly suggest you have a look at the video of Schwartz' keynote at NC03-Q3 - just watch the last fifth or so of the video (just after the failed IP phone demo!).
The Sun Java Desktop System will be available for production use at the end of the year, but Project Looking Glass is still in development.
As a quick overview, the Sun Java Desktop System is a desktop environment with applications that is intended to offer a viable alternative to Windows on the desktop. It will be available running on either Solaris or SuSE Linux, and has its roots in the open source community, and especially with the Gnome desktop environment.
Anyways, the real jaw-dropper was the in-development stuff in Project Looking Glass - it rocks! There is a short article here at Infoworld describing how there is a possible link with Apple, as some elements are similar to those found in OS X. However, Project Looking Glass does some stuff that is even cooler, with the desktop being a truly 3-dimensional space in which you can manipulate windows in all directions. If this stuff is interesting to you, I strongly suggest you have a look at the video of Schwartz' keynote at NC03-Q3 - just watch the last fifth or so of the video (just after the failed IP phone demo!).
The Sun Java Desktop System will be available for production use at the end of the year, but Project Looking Glass is still in development.