New interactive patent reveals OS X system may have 3D desktop

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has just approved a new patent from Apple. This patent describes many features of the future OS X system, and the most eye-catching one is a patent called "browsing and interactively opening windows", which is the 3D desktop program that Apple has been working hard to develop. The user interface described in the patent seems to be to integrate the Cover Flow style into the desktop operating system. The document also mentions other ways to increase ease of use, such as shaking the device through gravity sensing used on iOS devices.

　　According to the patent description, users can use a new control method to make the computer desktop present a 3D desktop stereoscopic effect. This interface allows for a better experience, increases the viewing angle of the desktop space, and can better help navigation. The current OS X desktop already uses 3D effects, such as shadows and depth of field. The method in the patent will push the 3D effect to a higher level. Traditional desktop displays display windows and icons as two-dimensional windows on a flat background. Interaction with items on the screen can be done by clicking the mouse, which means that the space for displaying the desktop, icons, and other user interface elements will be affected by the size of the screen.

　　As described in the patent, the 3D desktop adds a Z axis, but this control method is more complicated than the previous system. Apple has previously experimented with similar technology, but in the end it was not applied to the system. To overcome these obstacles, the operating system described in the patent can seamlessly switch between two-dimensional and three-dimensional environments. In addition, in a three-dimensional environment, users can also activate Cover Flow mode to switch freely between open windows.

　　In 3D mode, independent application windows are like current OS X windows. For example, when a window is activated, the application's menu bar can be displayed directly on the system menu bar. In addition, when a new window is opened, the user can rearrange and change the order and size of the window. In addition to the Cover Flow feature, Apple's patent also provides two ways to control windows, using conventional methods such as mouse and keyboard and new methods using gyroscopes, accelerometers, cameras and other sensors. Users can activate sensor control commands through some shortcut key combinations or gestures.

　　We don't know in which future OS X version Apple will add this Cover Flow style window management using the new patent, but in the latest iOS 7 system we have seen the visual difference design, which also indicates that in the future Apple will begin to gradually add 3D multi-dimensional perspective elements to the operating system.

　　The "Browsing and Interactively Opening Windows" patent was applied for registration by Apple in 2010, and the patent inventors are Fabrice Robinet and Thomas Goossens.