Excerpt: 3D Web
3D laptops and desktops are already here — but the only people spec’ing up to use them are hard-core gamers and toddlers watching Up for the umpteenth time. The real driver to push multiple dimensions into the mainstream will be 3D operating systems and the 3D Web.
Apple has already filed a patent for a ‘multidimensional desktop’ (we’re guessing it’s not referring to an ability to travel through time, although that would be nice) and rumours are flying of a possible 3D desktop and navigation in Windows 8.
The kickstarter for 3D websites is likely to be X3D, a 3D graphics standard that’s trying to muscle its way into the HTML5 party. X3D is an open source effort that’s already part of the MPEG-4 specification and is compatible with next-generation scalable vector graphic systems. Software teams are already working on a massive 3D model of the Earth, ways to animate people in 3D and developing new types of user interface so you don’t try to push your mouse, like, into the screen, man.
Likely release date: First X3D websites — 2011. 3D OS — 2012. Mass adoption of 3D Web — 2013.
Read the full story at: http://crave.cnet.co.uk/laptops/bendy-screens-3d-web-and-windows-8-we-see-the-future-of-computing-50001545/