Sphere XP

**kcnychief** · March 16th, 2006

This thing is wicked cool, it gives you a 3D look at your desktop. The screenshots are jaw-dropping

http://www.spheresite.com/

**perris** · March 16th, 2006

didn't they get that idea from vista?

how much memory to run it without slowing down your other apps?

when they say "free trial" they don't say how long that means, any ideas?

**Grandmaster** · March 16th, 2006

That looks pretty cool. Actually, they probably got their idea from Expose perris

I don't know if my GMA 900 could handle all that though

**kcnychief** · March 16th, 2006

Well Expose first, Vista 2nd, but regardless this will run on XP, which Expose will as well.

Advantages to SphereXP - it's free (but still in beta). Last I checked there was a cost for the Expose for Windows.

EDIT: I also think Expose was 2D, not slanted like that...

**Grandmaster** · March 16th, 2006

Expose is part of OSX dude

I think you're talking about a program that attempts to mimic expose.

And yeah, Expose is 2D.

**perris** · March 16th, 2006

how much memory to be safe?

my lap only has 512

**kcnychief** · March 16th, 2006

Originally Posted by Grandmaster

Expose is part of OSX dude I think you're talking about a program that attempts to mimic expose.

And yeah, Expose is 2D.

I know it is, but this is a Windows based thread and I was talking about the Windows version of Expose

It's only $7, but still costs money

http://www.onlinetoolsteam.com/WindowsExposer/

Perris - 256MB is minimum, and 512MB is recommended. You could give it a shot, here are the requirements in full...

Requirements: -Windows XP (2000), 3D accelerated graphics adapter (min 64MB), processor
should be at least 1.0 GHz. 256 MB RAM (512MB recommended)
-.NET Framework 2.0 installed !!!

EDIT: I guess this would be a program trying to "mimic" expose, heh

**perris** · March 16th, 2006

what it takes to run the graphix and what it takes to then run everything else smoothe are two differant animals

get it going and let us know how it runs on your box with other apps going on

**kcnychief** · March 16th, 2006

Originally Posted by perris

what it takes to run the graphix and what it takes to then run everything else smoothe are two differant animals

get it going and let us know how it runs on your box with other apps going on

Will do, but can't until I get home, currently at work.

Also, my system is a little beefier than yours, might not be a fair comparison

Also should stress it's in Beta, so it is probably buggy.

vertigo · March 16th, 2006

i don't like the aliasing, which was evident on vista screenshots too

plus i cant see how it'll make me more productive, even with a decent system like mine :P

Yharn · March 16th, 2006

doesn't support dual monitors.... at least that I could find in the 5 mins I messed with it.

**Evil Marge** · March 16th, 2006

Glaanieboy posted about this 2 year ago,I wanted to try it but hubby moaned that I had too much pointless junk on the computer that I only use once before getting bored so I never did

http://forum.osnn.net/showthread.php...ight=Sphere+XP

**Khayman** · March 16th, 2006

tried it for a few mins, doesn't seem to offer anything actually useful

Looks nice though

heh, way to site precedence Marge

**omg its nlm** · March 16th, 2006

Looks like a cool app, I don't think I can run it on my old PC

**kcnychief** · March 16th, 2006

Originally Posted by Evil Marge

Glaanieboy posted about this 2 year ago,I wanted to try it but hubby moaned that I had too much pointless junk on the computer that I only use once before getting bored so I never did
http://forum.osnn.net/showthread.php...ight=Sphere+XP

Hmmm, that's a bit odd.

I can't believe it's still in beta after 2 years?

**gonaads** · March 16th, 2006

Research and Developement, she is sloooooooow.

They probably lost funding for a bit, or they found girlfriends.

**kcnychief** · March 16th, 2006

Or maybe the lost their girlfriends, and in turn their funding

**NetRyder** · March 16th, 2006

As Marge pointed out, it's been around for a while. I tried it a long time ago, but found it to be more gimmicky than actually useful. The faux-3D arrangement of windows on an essentially 2D surface didn't really feel right. I think that's one of the reasons why none of the mainstream operating systems have full 3D user interfaces yet; usability testing probably showed that it was more confusing than beneficial.

Now when there's an actual major paradigm-shift in the future, and we're no longer restricted to the current keyboard-mouse-display mode of operation, a true 3D UI might actually become truly usable. Think of a "UI" where you interact directly with virtual objects projected into a 3D space.

**Vanquished** · March 18th, 2006

I thought the point was mainly to look cool...
Also, i wonder if its one of those things where it went into development then it lost its momentum...

**Vanquished** · March 18th, 2006

Originally Posted by Vanquished

I thought the point was mainly to look cool...
Also, i wonder if its one of those things where it went into development then it lost its momentum...

Wow...
Im using this...
Its so amazing, there is now hold up on my machine and it is so cool, I have icons that are behind me (virtually), it increases the desktop space like 100 times over!

Definately get it!

March 16th, 2006	Top \| #1
kcnychief █▄█ ▀█▄ █ Joined: April 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 16,949 Reputation: 4941 Power: 305	Sphere XP This thing is wicked cool, it gives you a 3D look at your desktop. The screenshots are jaw-dropping http://www.spheresite.com/ XBOX Live Gamertag: kcnychief

March 16th, 2006	Top \| #2
perris OSNN Godlike Veteran Joined: January 2002 Location: new york Posts: 12,258 Reputation: 4333 Power: 291	Re: Sphere XP didn't they get that idea from vista? how much memory to run it without slowing down your other apps? when they say "free trial" they don't say how long that means, any ideas? IT'S NOT WHAT YOU'VE DONE IT'S WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO

March 16th, 2006	Top \| #3
Grandmaster Electronica Addict Joined: February 2002 Location: Santa Clara, CA Posts: 10,574 Reputation: 2960 Power: 260	Re: Sphere XP That looks pretty cool. Actually, they probably got their idea from Expose perris I don't know if my GMA 900 could handle all that though

March 16th, 2006	Top \| #4
kcnychief █▄█ ▀█▄ █ Joined: April 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 16,949 Reputation: 4941 Power: 305	Re: Sphere XP Well Expose first, Vista 2nd, but regardless this will run on XP, which Expose will as well. Advantages to SphereXP - it's free (but still in beta). Last I checked there was a cost for the Expose for Windows. EDIT: I also think Expose was 2D, not slanted like that... XBOX Live Gamertag: kcnychief

March 16th, 2006	Top \| #5
Grandmaster Electronica Addict Joined: February 2002 Location: Santa Clara, CA Posts: 10,574 Reputation: 2960 Power: 260	Re: Sphere XP Expose is part of OSX dude I think you're talking about a program that attempts to mimic expose. And yeah, Expose is 2D.

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March 16th, 2006	Top \| #6
perris OSNN Godlike Veteran Joined: January 2002 Location: new york Posts: 12,258 Reputation: 4333 Power: 291	Re: Sphere XP how much memory to be safe? my lap only has 512 IT'S NOT WHAT YOU'VE DONE IT'S WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO

March 16th, 2006	Top \| #7
kcnychief █▄█ ▀█▄ █ Joined: April 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 16,949 Reputation: 4941 Power: 305	Re: Sphere XP Originally Posted by Grandmaster Expose is part of OSX dude I think you're talking about a program that attempts to mimic expose. And yeah, Expose is 2D. I know it is, but this is a Windows based thread and I was talking about the Windows version of Expose It's only $7, but still costs money http://www.onlinetoolsteam.com/WindowsExposer/ Perris - 256MB is minimum, and 512MB is recommended. You could give it a shot, here are the requirements in full... Requirements: -Windows XP (2000), 3D accelerated graphics adapter (min 64MB), processor should be at least 1.0 GHz. 256 MB RAM (512MB recommended) -.NET Framework 2.0 installed !!! EDIT: I guess this would be a program trying to "mimic" expose, heh XBOX Live Gamertag: kcnychief

March 16th, 2006	Top \| #8
perris OSNN Godlike Veteran Joined: January 2002 Location: new york Posts: 12,258 Reputation: 4333 Power: 291	Re: Sphere XP what it takes to run the graphix and what it takes to then run everything else smoothe are two differant animals get it going and let us know how it runs on your box with other apps going on IT'S NOT WHAT YOU'VE DONE IT'S WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO

March 16th, 2006	Top \| #9
kcnychief █▄█ ▀█▄ █ Joined: April 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 16,949 Reputation: 4941 Power: 305	Re: Sphere XP Originally Posted by perris what it takes to run the graphix and what it takes to then run everything else smoothe are two differant animals get it going and let us know how it runs on your box with other apps going on Will do, but can't until I get home, currently at work. Also, my system is a little beefier than yours, might not be a fair comparison Also should stress it's in Beta, so it is probably buggy. XBOX Live Gamertag: kcnychief

March 16th, 2006	Top \| #10
vertigo OSNN Senior Addict Joined: December 2005 Posts: 330 Reputation: 150 Power: 83	Re: Sphere XP i don't like the aliasing, which was evident on vista screenshots too plus i cant see how it'll make me more productive, even with a decent system like mine :P

March 16th, 2006	Top \| #11
Yharn meh. Joined: June 2002 Location: Indiana, USA Posts: 324 Reputation: 30 Power: 124	Re: Sphere XP doesn't support dual monitors.... at least that I could find in the 5 mins I messed with it. Little Us

March 16th, 2006	Top \| #12
Evil Marge I Rule Joined: July 2002 Location: Teesside, the land of smog Posts: 6,547 Reputation: 2337 Power: 209	Re: Sphere XP Glaanieboy posted about this 2 year ago,I wanted to try it but hubby moaned that I had too much pointless junk on the computer that I only use once before getting bored so I never did http://forum.osnn.net/showthread.php...ight=Sphere+XP . Google+

March 16th, 2006	Top \| #13
Khayman I'm sorry Hal... Joined: January 2002 Location: England Posts: 5,514 Reputation: 1210 Power: 194	Re: Sphere XP tried it for a few mins, doesn't seem to offer anything actually useful Looks nice though heh, way to site precedence Marge "I'm on the server side. I don't know what side you're on"

March 16th, 2006	Top \| #14
omg its nlm lvl 17 Hax Joined: January 2004 Location: Minnesota Posts: 1,829 Reputation: 1210 Power: 133	Re: Sphere XP Looks like a cool app, I don't think I can run it on my old PC \| Vista Ultimate \| AMD 4900 \| Nvidia 9600 512 \| 2 gigs Corsair Ram \| Cooler Master Stacker 830 \|Dell 22 Inch Wide screen \|

March 16th, 2006	Top \| #15
kcnychief █▄█ ▀█▄ █ Joined: April 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 16,949 Reputation: 4941 Power: 305	Re: Sphere XP Originally Posted by Evil Marge Glaanieboy posted about this 2 year ago,I wanted to try it but hubby moaned that I had too much pointless junk on the computer that I only use once before getting bored so I never did http://forum.osnn.net/showthread.php...ight=Sphere+XP Hmmm, that's a bit odd. I can't believe it's still in beta after 2 years? XBOX Live Gamertag: kcnychief

March 16th, 2006	Top \| #16
gonaads Beware the G-Man Joined: March 2002 Location: XP-erience, NTFS, OSNN, Bay Area, California Posts: 18,474 Reputation: 4070 Power: 348	Re: Sphere XP Research and Developement, she is sloooooooow. They probably lost funding for a bit, or they found girlfriends. *"I play violent video games, I could snap at any second."*

March 16th, 2006	Top \| #17
kcnychief █▄█ ▀█▄ █ Joined: April 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 16,949 Reputation: 4941 Power: 305	Re: Sphere XP Or maybe the lost their girlfriends, and in turn their funding XBOX Live Gamertag: kcnychief

March 16th, 2006	Top \| #18
NetRyder Tech Junkie Joined: April 2002 Location: New York City Posts: 13,256 Reputation: 4260 Power: 298	Re: Sphere XP As Marge pointed out, it's been around for a while. I tried it a long time ago, but found it to be more gimmicky than actually useful. The faux-3D arrangement of windows on an essentially 2D surface didn't really feel right. I think that's one of the reasons why none of the mainstream operating systems have full 3D user interfaces yet; usability testing probably showed that it was more confusing than beneficial. Now when there's an actual major paradigm-shift in the future, and we're no longer restricted to the current keyboard-mouse-display mode of operation, a true 3D UI might actually become truly usable. Think of a "UI" where you interact directly with virtual objects projected into a 3D space. http://kunal.kundaje.net

March 18th, 2006	Top \| #19
Vanquished B's logo for a game! Joined: January 2006 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 4,840 Blog Entries: 1 Reputation: 1816 Power: 144	Re: Sphere XP I thought the point was mainly to look cool... Also, i wonder if its one of those things where it went into development then it lost its momentum... Phenom II X4 955 BE \| 12GB DDR3 1600mhz \| Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 \| ATI Radeon 5770 CrossfireX \|Windows Awesome (I Mean... Windows 7 Ultimate!) OSNN - The Best Place to Stay on the Internet! Watch Improv-A-Ganza!

March 18th, 2006	Top \| #20
Vanquished B's logo for a game! Joined: January 2006 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 4,840 Blog Entries: 1 Reputation: 1816 Power: 144	Re: Sphere XP Originally Posted by Vanquished I thought the point was mainly to look cool... Also, i wonder if its one of those things where it went into development then it lost its momentum... Wow... Im using this... Its so amazing, there is now hold up on my machine and it is so cool, I have icons that are behind me (virtually), it increases the desktop space like 100 times over! Definately get it! Phenom II X4 955 BE \| 12GB DDR3 1600mhz \| Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 \| ATI Radeon 5770 CrossfireX \|Windows Awesome (I Mean... Windows 7 Ultimate!) OSNN - The Best Place to Stay on the Internet! Watch Improv-A-Ganza!