Desktop of the Future?

Jul 28, 2006

Could this be the future of computer desktops? Could this be the future of, dare I say, Web 3.0 desktops?

Point one, I think the idea is intriguing, however I wonder how many people would actually want to use a computer desktop in this fashion. The concept, at least the idea of replicating a real desktop, reminds me of those cheesy desktop application/OS programs that shipped with PC's in the mid 90's. You had a in/out box, a tray of tools, a note pad, etc. Neat idea, bad execution. In this case though the execution is what makes it breath taking, the shuffling, dragging, sorting etc, makes it seem more like a real desktop, like you are interacting with physical objects. Maybe people are ready for that in a desktop/application. I still remember the days when people thought computer mice would just be a fad, no one wants to interact with a computer like that. Ahhh hindsight.

Point two, if this is the future of desktops, especially web based versions since that is where applications seem to be gravitating, what better tool for enabling such a concept than the Flash plugin. Honestly what other technology could possibly pull this off. AJAX, it does not have the display and rich interface abilities. Sparkle, wait and see .... still waiting (hmmm when is Avalon getting launched again). Using Flash and/or Flex a good development team could pull off something like this today (no I am not smoking anything).

If this is where applications are going, from an interaction standpoint, and it is a big IF, Adobe is in an amazing position to be the key technology enabler of such a computing revolution. Can't wait to see what the future holds.