3d isn't how to think about the interface outlined there. Basically, apple is investigating making multitouch part of the "normal" os x interface. A touch inte

3d isn't how to think about the interface outlined there. Basically, apple is investigating making multitouch part of the "normal" os x interface. A touch interface has to overcome the fact that fingers aren't good for precise pointing, and thus a lot of tasks that are tedious-but-doable with a mouse (like positioning windows, or using pulldown menus, or clicking small icons) become hugely painful with a finger. It's pretty obvious what a good touch interface for os x would have to be like: - the app is designed with full-screen mode in mind - the app's primary content area fits in one central area - the tools and so on are in sidebars-and-bottom-bars ...and the app would avoid: - overlapping windows (either within the app, or between apps) or floating palettes - lots of little icons or finely-detailed controls In other world: every app would look like iphoto or ical or itunes. A "2.5d" interface like in this patent makes a lot of sense: each open app is in its own "slice", and you navigate forwards and backwards through the slices using some multi-finger gestures. The edge of the screen is used to show contextual information about what's currently open, and provides cues as to how to navigate to different items (eg: is that photo "behind me" or "in front of me"?). In a touch-heavy environment the gimmicky 3d interfaces from the past all of a sudden become potentially a lot more helpful. You'll notice apple's been working on possible solutions to making a touch interface usable for a long time: - a lot of the expose tools make more sense as ways to easily navigate between windows with a finger (eg: hit the expose key, see all open windows in miniature, then touch the one you want to maximize...) - dashboard makes a lot of sense in a touch context, as a way of easily pulling down some lightweight apps without disturbing your current ui arrangement - spaces makes a lot of sense in a touch context: each collection of screen layouts in its own little slice that's given a spatial location, and so not only do you not destroy a layout by bringing a different app to the top, you also give spatial cues as to where your other open programs are