3D maps for deep words
New technologies of navigation and information gathering online are preparing a revolution in Internet browsing.
Since its introduction in the mid-nineties, the Internet has changed in many ways. Initially, the pages consisted only of text, and there was great controversy over whether it was permissible to place images on a web page. Today, it’s quite natural for the page to be full of various pictures, animations and other video clips. However, there remains something unchanged - to go from one page to another, you still need to click on the hyperlink.
However, a Norwegian scientist named Frode Higland proposed a new principle of navigation. He made a free browser extension, called Hyperwords, that turns every single word or phrase into a hyperlink. It is enough to click on any word, number or phrase, as pop-up menus with subsections will appear. With the next click, you can translate text into one of many languages, convert a currency or unit of measurement, and also call up suitable pictures, videos, scientific works, maps, Wikipedia articles and web pages found using Google.
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Of course, any user can now use all this information, but for this he will need to open separate browser windows. According to Higland, Hyperwords is designed to “lower the threshold” of curiosity, allowing you to ask questions more easily. This year, he is going to release a new version, which will step outside of the Internet browser, and will be able to turn each of the words in any window into a clickable “hyperword”.
Hyperwords appeared relatively recently and has less than 200,000 users. But this is only one of the many similar undertakings aimed at modifying Internet browsing, stretching more connecting threads between data, presenting information in new ways and allowing it to be more convenient to manage. Another example is Cooliris, a Silicon Valley startup that also invented a browsing extension called Previews. If you hover the mouse over a hyperlink, a small window pops up with an image of the page to which the link leads, so that the user can get an idea of ​​whether he should follow this link. Since January, this free program has been downloaded by more than two million people.
Another application from Cooliris, called PicLens, collects images on sites such as Google, Flickr, eBay and Facebook and displays them on a special three-dimensional “wall”. Viewers can scroll through pictures left and right, zoom in and out, viewing hundreds of images in seconds. Each picture can be viewed in full screen mode, or displayed in the context of the contents of its home page. The free program has already been downloaded more than 5 million times. Her new version, which was released in April, turns the search results on YouTube into a similar 3D wall with video clips. Cooliris chief technologist, Austin Schumaker, believes that Internet users are experiencing “subconscious discomfort” because of the need to click “next, next, next” to view the content.
Immersive browsing
PicLens gives an idea of ​​how the Internet of the future might look like: a three-dimensional environment in which pages appear in front of the user, like moving streams, grouped in a logical sequence. This approach uses the principles of spatial memory. The President of the Rhode Island School of Design, John Meyda, explained that it’s difficult for people to navigate in a two-dimensional cluster of information flows, and it’s rare that anyone opens more than two or three windows at the same time. 3D-browser allows you to simultaneously display more than 100 windows, even on a laptop monitor.
Until recently, Mr. Meida worked as a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and participated in the development of the E15 browser, which allows using a special mouse to move in three-dimensional space. Researchers in their laboratories for many years using three-dimensional browsers, which until now have not been the subject of widespread consumption. Only in recent years, high-speed Internet and powerful computers have spread sufficiently to cause the emergence of a mass market for 3D browsers.
Startup SpaceTime has developed a three-dimensional browser, which, since its release in January, has been downloaded more than 2 million times. The head of SpaceTime, Edward Beckhash, said that the idea of ​​this browser came under the impression of video games and glossy animated graphics of the iPhone. Beckhash said that he feels that, with all the competition among manufacturers, everyone is willing to make an effort to “take users to a new conceptual level”.
The movement promises to start a rapid growth at the end of July, when the popular virtual world of Second Life, is launching a new option that will allow its residents to publish web pages on the walls. The president of Linden Labs, which launched Second Life, Joe Miller, called 2D browsing separate. At the same time, browsing in Second Life will be more social activities, since the virtual inhabitants of this world will be able to gather and communicate with each other literally next to specific pages.
A browser called 3B, developed by the same company, also gives browsing more social significance. When users search for any products, the browser automatically sends them to the chatroom for those who are looking for such things, and where they can communicate with each other. In the same place, they are given, in fact, search results. More than 200 retailers, including Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart and Gap, exhibit their products in the 3B system. Some of them provide live consultants to answer customer questions. 3B receives a percentage of each sale, made thanks to its browser. Director of the company, Niki Maurice, believes that this business model works fine, in particular, due to the fact that women linger longer in the store when they are not alone.
Microsoft is also developing a 3D browser for mobile devices called Deepfish. Developed and other three-dimensional browsers. This is a very attractive technology that makes a vivid impression. However, a scientist from Carnegie Mellon University, Dave Ferber, who is also one of the founding fathers of the Internet, believes that the fascination with spectacular visualization may give way to a more important need for three-dimensional navigation. He drew attention to the Hyperwords, which, in his opinion, can be widely distributed (and also cause the appearance of many of its clones). It allows people to stretch more binder threads between things that interest them personally. For example, the user can select the option to search for any of the clicked words or phrases on the pages of their favorite Bolivian or Peruvian newspapers. Also, users of Hyperwords can easily place the selected text or word in a personal blog, Facebook profile, send by email or via IM-service. Ferber believes that this new type of interconnection gives "depth" to ideas and words, but at the same time it creates a much more complex network. He believes that without three-dimensional maps, it will be possible to get lost there.
Translation from English:
Roman Ravve
Crossposted from worldwebstudio
Since its introduction in the mid-nineties, the Internet has changed in many ways. Initially, the pages consisted only of text, and there was great controversy over whether it was permissible to place images on a web page. Today, it’s quite natural for the page to be full of various pictures, animations and other video clips. However, there remains something unchanged - to go from one page to another, you still need to click on the hyperlink.However, a Norwegian scientist named Frode Higland proposed a new principle of navigation. He made a free browser extension, called Hyperwords, that turns every single word or phrase into a hyperlink. It is enough to click on any word, number or phrase, as pop-up menus with subsections will appear. With the next click, you can translate text into one of many languages, convert a currency or unit of measurement, and also call up suitable pictures, videos, scientific works, maps, Wikipedia articles and web pages found using Google.
')
Of course, any user can now use all this information, but for this he will need to open separate browser windows. According to Higland, Hyperwords is designed to “lower the threshold” of curiosity, allowing you to ask questions more easily. This year, he is going to release a new version, which will step outside of the Internet browser, and will be able to turn each of the words in any window into a clickable “hyperword”.
Hyperwords appeared relatively recently and has less than 200,000 users. But this is only one of the many similar undertakings aimed at modifying Internet browsing, stretching more connecting threads between data, presenting information in new ways and allowing it to be more convenient to manage. Another example is Cooliris, a Silicon Valley startup that also invented a browsing extension called Previews. If you hover the mouse over a hyperlink, a small window pops up with an image of the page to which the link leads, so that the user can get an idea of ​​whether he should follow this link. Since January, this free program has been downloaded by more than two million people.
Another application from Cooliris, called PicLens, collects images on sites such as Google, Flickr, eBay and Facebook and displays them on a special three-dimensional “wall”. Viewers can scroll through pictures left and right, zoom in and out, viewing hundreds of images in seconds. Each picture can be viewed in full screen mode, or displayed in the context of the contents of its home page. The free program has already been downloaded more than 5 million times. Her new version, which was released in April, turns the search results on YouTube into a similar 3D wall with video clips. Cooliris chief technologist, Austin Schumaker, believes that Internet users are experiencing “subconscious discomfort” because of the need to click “next, next, next” to view the content.
Immersive browsing
PicLens gives an idea of ​​how the Internet of the future might look like: a three-dimensional environment in which pages appear in front of the user, like moving streams, grouped in a logical sequence. This approach uses the principles of spatial memory. The President of the Rhode Island School of Design, John Meyda, explained that it’s difficult for people to navigate in a two-dimensional cluster of information flows, and it’s rare that anyone opens more than two or three windows at the same time. 3D-browser allows you to simultaneously display more than 100 windows, even on a laptop monitor.
Until recently, Mr. Meida worked as a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and participated in the development of the E15 browser, which allows using a special mouse to move in three-dimensional space. Researchers in their laboratories for many years using three-dimensional browsers, which until now have not been the subject of widespread consumption. Only in recent years, high-speed Internet and powerful computers have spread sufficiently to cause the emergence of a mass market for 3D browsers.
Startup SpaceTime has developed a three-dimensional browser, which, since its release in January, has been downloaded more than 2 million times. The head of SpaceTime, Edward Beckhash, said that the idea of ​​this browser came under the impression of video games and glossy animated graphics of the iPhone. Beckhash said that he feels that, with all the competition among manufacturers, everyone is willing to make an effort to “take users to a new conceptual level”.
The movement promises to start a rapid growth at the end of July, when the popular virtual world of Second Life, is launching a new option that will allow its residents to publish web pages on the walls. The president of Linden Labs, which launched Second Life, Joe Miller, called 2D browsing separate. At the same time, browsing in Second Life will be more social activities, since the virtual inhabitants of this world will be able to gather and communicate with each other literally next to specific pages.
A browser called 3B, developed by the same company, also gives browsing more social significance. When users search for any products, the browser automatically sends them to the chatroom for those who are looking for such things, and where they can communicate with each other. In the same place, they are given, in fact, search results. More than 200 retailers, including Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart and Gap, exhibit their products in the 3B system. Some of them provide live consultants to answer customer questions. 3B receives a percentage of each sale, made thanks to its browser. Director of the company, Niki Maurice, believes that this business model works fine, in particular, due to the fact that women linger longer in the store when they are not alone.
Microsoft is also developing a 3D browser for mobile devices called Deepfish. Developed and other three-dimensional browsers. This is a very attractive technology that makes a vivid impression. However, a scientist from Carnegie Mellon University, Dave Ferber, who is also one of the founding fathers of the Internet, believes that the fascination with spectacular visualization may give way to a more important need for three-dimensional navigation. He drew attention to the Hyperwords, which, in his opinion, can be widely distributed (and also cause the appearance of many of its clones). It allows people to stretch more binder threads between things that interest them personally. For example, the user can select the option to search for any of the clicked words or phrases on the pages of their favorite Bolivian or Peruvian newspapers. Also, users of Hyperwords can easily place the selected text or word in a personal blog, Facebook profile, send by email or via IM-service. Ferber believes that this new type of interconnection gives "depth" to ideas and words, but at the same time it creates a much more complex network. He believes that without three-dimensional maps, it will be possible to get lost there.
Translation from English:
Roman Ravve
Crossposted from worldwebstudio
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/31612/
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