Spatial Interfaces
johnpalmer.site
Spatial Interfaces
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Re: Spatial Interfaces
#2we're working on a 3d avatar-based communication platform at mozilla called Hubs (hubs.mozilla.com) that is predicated on the idea that shared spatial awareness and use of media in a shared space will be a common utility in the future, especially in VR + AR.
Re: Spatial Interfaces
#3> I could place my personal site on a street near the websites of my friends. We could form a little village.
Wasn’t this the thought behind the addressing of pages on GeoCities?
Re: Spatial Interfaces
#4we're working on a 3d avatar-based communication platform at mozilla called Hubs (hubs.mozilla.com) that is predicated on the idea that shared spatial awareness and use of media in a shared space will be a common utility in the future, especially in VR + AR.
This is super neat! Thanks for the heads up :) there seems to be a bug where mic audio isn’t transmitted on mobile (iPhone X Safari, iOS 12.4)? Other than that works shockingly smoothly on mobile. Nice work.
Re: Spatial Interfaces
#5> I could place my personal site on a street near the websites of my friends. We could form a little village. Wasn’t this the thought behind the addressing of pages on GeoCities?
Yes, web-rings specifically!
Re: Spatial Interfaces
#6Skeuomorphism can be horrible. Just give a glance at what Microsoft attempted a couple of years ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5teG6ou8mWU
Why should we have to emulate real world interactions, the whole idea of computing is to make tasks easier, less of a cognitive burden, not replicate them in a virtual world. Sure there are specific kinds of software that are in need of a more humane approach but I'm not sure skeuomorphism is the answer.
Re: Spatial Interfaces
#7> I could place my personal site on a street near the websites of my friends. We could form a little village. Wasn’t this the thought behind the addressing of pages on GeoCities?
There is NeoCities now, but it lacks the village aspect.
https://neocities.org/
Re: Spatial Interfaces
#8>It seems that the only way to build an app that replicates the full functionality a deck of cards is to build a 3D simulation or game. Model the cards in 3D and put them on a 3D table. As long as you have controls for reaching out and picking up the cards, and moving them in space, you can do anything you can do in real life.
Unless you also want to enable castle building, no, I think a 3D interface would only add unnecessary complexity and cognitive burden. A 2D UI on desktop with keys for moving, flipping, looking at cards, and stacking, splitting, shuffling decks seems feasible.
On the other hand, if you spend time surveying the state-of-the-art in 3D input and real-time 3D physics engine, it will be clear how far away a functional deck of card simulation is. We simply don't have the tech now, and won't for the next 10 years.
3D games work because their focus is extremely limited (racing, shooting games), and/or low resolution (minecraft). As soon as you try to emulate the real world, you get things like Surgeon Simulator[1], where the awkwardness of the medium becomes fun in and of itself, albeit extremely unproductive.
[1] https://store.steampowered.com/app/518920/Surgeon_Simulator_...
Re: Spatial Interfaces
#9Oi. I’m guessing the author is young and doesn’t know that much work was put into spatial UI in the 80s/90s and flopped for good reason: we might live in a 3D world, but that doesn’t mean computers should emulate that... the world doesn’t change dynamically in front of me like with a computer. Turns out that computers are hard and complicated, and simplifying their interaction works best.
That and most of these problems can be solved in other, better ways... for the actual parts that are worth answering (no one is asking who is everyone meeting with now, and tiny avatars don’t answer that any better than a simple list).
Re: Spatial Interfaces
#10Skeuomorphism can be horrible. Just give a glance at what Microsoft attempted a couple of years ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5teG6ou8mWU Why should we have to emulate real world interactions, the whole idea of computing is to make tasks easier, less of a cognitive burden, not replicate them in a virtual world. Sure there are specific kinds of software that are in need of a more humane approach but I'm not sure…
I hate to be pedantic but 1995 is more than a "couple of years ago".