BumpTop

Last updated
BumpTop
Original author(s) Anand Agarawala
Developer(s) Google
Initial releaseApril 8, 2009 (2009-04-08)
Final release
2.5 / March 31, 2010;13 years ago (2010-03-31)
Repository
Operating system Windows XP and later, Mac OS X Snow Leopard and later
Size 17–21 MB
Type Desktop environment
License Apache license 2.0
Website bumptop.github.io

BumpTop was a 3D desktop environment that simulates the normal behavior and physical properties of a real-world desk and enhances it with automatic tools to organize its contents. It is aimed at stylus interaction, making it more suitable for tablet computers and handheld PCs. It was created at the University of Toronto as Anand Agarawala's master's thesis. Agarawala also gave a presentation at the TED conference about his idea. The 1.0 version was released on April 8, 2009, along with a fully featured pro version as a paid upgrade. [1] On April 30, 2010 the author announced that BumpTop was being discontinued and that they were taking the software "in an exciting new direction." [2] Two days later, it was announced that the company had been acquired by Google. On January 5, 2011, Google released a sneak preview video of Android 3.0 Honeycomb [3] showing a 3D desktop with features purportedly taken from BumpTop. [4] [5]

Contents

Product

In BumpTop, documents are represented as three-dimensional boxes lying on a virtual desk. The user can position the boxes on the desk using the stylus or mouse. Extensive use of physics effects like bumping and tossing is applied to documents when they interact, for a more realistic experience. Boxes can be stacked with well-defined gestures. Multiple selection is performed by means of a LassoMenu, which fluidly combines in one stroke the act of lasso selection and action invocation via pie menus. BumpTop currently supports Windows XP, Vista, and 7, and a version for Mac OS X was released into private beta on January 18, 2010. The Mac edition omits the pie menu in favor of a more normal selection menu. [6]

The software installer and the application phone home. While the download page on the official website does state: "Internet connection required for activation", [7] this may not appear in other sources such as Cnet. There is no explicit dialog box asking the user to confirm this connection at the time it is required.

BumpTop automatically updates to the latest version.

Multi-Touch

With the release of BumpTop 1.2 on October 9, 2009, [8] multi-touch support was added for Windows 7. It added 14 new gestures to the system that used multiple touches on the screen. One such gesture is “scrunching” your hand to pull files into a pile. Just like the regular version of BumpTop, the extensive use of physics is applied to these multi-touch gestures. Multi-touch support has since been added to Mac OS X as well.

Multi-touch support is currently only available in the Pro version of the software.

BumpTop Inside

On August 18, 2009, [9] BumpTop announced their new “BumpTop Inside” program. Partnering with HIS, PowerColor, and SAPPHIRE, a free copy of BumpTop will be included with their graphics cards. The reasoning behind the partnership was to allow BumpTop to be spread to more customers, as well as allowing BumpTop to use the power of the newly bought graphics card. “BumpTop creates a brand new user experience for computer desktops,” said Ted Chen, CEO of TUL Corporation. “We are excited to add this innovative application into our graphics solution. Backed by the power of PowerColor graphics, BumpTop will make the user experience more vivid and change the way the traditional computer desktop is used.” [10]

Reception

BumpTop has been generally well received by critics, with many of them excited about the possibility of BumpTop's features becoming standard in GUIs. CNET Editor Seth Rosenblatt gave it 5 stars, citing that “it could push how we use our computers into a whole new dimension.” [11] Thanks to the added multi-touch support, Engadget says that “Bumptop gives Windows 7 touchscreen PCs purpose.” [12] CrunchGear simply says “BumpTop: A Better Windows desktop.” [13] On BumpTop's website, they have 23 quotes of positive reviews from professional editors. [14]

Acquisition by Google

In April 2010, it was announced that Bumptop had been acquired by Google. It was unknown what Google had planned for the software, though there were speculations about plans to revamp it for a new Android based tablet UI. [15] Shortly after its acquisition, Bumptop announced plans to remove the software completely from its website, only giving "End of Life" support to those who bought the Pro version. [16]

The server-side licensing and validation system was then removed from Google and users that had the licensed version got it reverted to the free version after some time. This actually made activating the software impossible without using cracks.

Finally, in August 2012, Google released the source code of BumpTop on GitHub under the Apache license. According to released source code, the project is no longer maintained.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pocket PC</span> Obsolete type of computer, similar to smartphones

A Pocket PC is a class of personal digital assistant (PDA) that runs the Windows Mobile or Windows Embedded Compact operating system that has some of the abilities of modern desktop PCs. The name was introduced by Microsoft in 2000 as a rebranding of the Palm-size PC category. Some of these devices also had integrated phone and data capabilities, which were called Pocket PC Phone Edition. Windows "Smartphone" is another Windows CE based platform for non-touch flip phones or dumber phones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ArtRage</span> Bitmap graphics editor by Ambient Design Ltd.

ArtRage is a bitmap graphics editor for digital painting created by Ambient Design Ltd. It is currently in version 6, and supports Windows, macOS and mobile Apple and Android devices and is available in multiple languages. It caters to all ages and skill levels, from children to professional artists. ArtRage 5 was announced in January 2017 and released in February 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows Mobile</span> Family of mobile operating systems by Microsoft (2000-2013)

Windows Mobile is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft for smartphones and personal digital assistants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet Explorer Mobile</span> Mobile version of Internet Explorer web browser by Microsoft

Internet Explorer Mobile was a mobile version of Internet Explorer developed by Microsoft, based on versions of the MSHTML (Trident) layout engine. IE Mobile comes loaded by default with Windows Phone and Windows CE. Later versions of Internet Explorer Mobile are based on the desktop version of Internet Explorer. Older versions however, called Pocket Internet Explorer, are not based on the same layout engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tablet computer</span> Mobile computer with integrated display, circuitry and battery

A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being computers, have similar capabilities, but lack some input/output (I/O) abilities that others have. Modern tablets largely resemble modern smartphones, the only differences being that tablets are relatively larger than smartphones, with screens 7 inches (18 cm) or larger, measured diagonally, and may not support access to a cellular network. Unlike laptops, tablets usually run mobile operating systems, alongside smartphones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KDE Plasma 4</span> Graphical environments provided by KDE

KDE Plasma 4 is the fourth generation of the KDE workspace environments. It consisted of three workspaces, each targeting a certain platform: Plasma Desktop for traditional desktop PCs and notebooks, Plasma Netbook for netbooks, and Plasma Active for tablet PCs and similar devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zune</span> Microsofts former digital media brand

Zune was a brand of digital media products and services that was marketed by Microsoft from November 2006 until it was discontinued in June 2012. Zune consisted of a line of portable media players, a music subscription service known as Zune Music Pass plus Zune Marketplace for music, TV and movies, streaming services for the Xbox 360 game console, and the Zune software media player for Windows PCs which also acted as desktop sync software for Windows Phone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe AIR</span> Cross-platform runtime system for building rich web applications

Adobe AIR is a cross-platform runtime system currently developed by Harman International, in collaboration with Adobe Inc., for building desktop applications and mobile applications, programmed using Adobe Animate, ActionScript, and optionally Apache Flex. It was originally released in 2008. The runtime supports installable applications on Windows, macOS, and mobile operating systems, including Android, iOS, and BlackBerry Tablet OS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parallels Desktop for Mac</span> Virtual machine software

Parallels Desktop for Mac is software providing hardware virtualization for Macintosh computers with Intel processors, and since version 16.5 also for Apple silicon-based Macintosh computers. It is developed by Parallels, since 2018 a subsidiary of Corel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pen computing</span> Uses a stylus and tablet/touchscreen

Pen computing refers to any computer user-interface using a pen or stylus and tablet, over input devices such as a keyboard or a mouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google Chrome</span> Web browser developed by Google

Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, built with free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox. Versions were later released for Linux, macOS, iOS, and also for Android, where it is the default browser. The browser is also the main component of ChromeOS, where it serves as the platform for web applications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HP TouchSmart</span> Range of tablet PC laptops

HP TouchSmart is a series of tablet PC laptops and touchscreen all-in-one desktop computers designed by HP. It features various Intel or AMD processors and runs Windows Vista or Windows 7 as standard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HTC Evo 4G</span> Android smartphone developed by HTC Corporation

The HTC Evo 4G is a smartphone developed by HTC Corporation and marketed as Sprint's flagship Android smartphone, running on its WiMAX network. The smartphone was launched on June 4, 2010. It was the first 4G enabled smartphone released in the United States.

The history of tablet computers and the associated special operating software is an example of pen computing technology, and thus the development of tablets has deep historical roots. The first patent for a system that recognized handwritten characters by analyzing the handwriting motion was granted in 1914. The first publicly demonstrated system using a tablet and handwriting recognition instead of a keyboard for working with a modern digital computer dates to 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft Tablet PC</span> Microsofts former line of tablets

Microsoft Tablet PC is a term coined by Microsoft for tablet computers conforming to a set of specifications announced in 2001 by Microsoft, for a pen-enabled personal computer, conforming to hardware specifications devised by Microsoft and running a licensed copy of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition operating system or a derivative thereof.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorola Xoom</span> Android tablet developed by Motorola Mobility

The Motorola Xoom is an Android-based tablet computer by Motorola, introduced at CES 2011 on January 5, 2011. It was the first tablet to be sold with Android 3.0 Honeycomb. The Verizon branded Xoom was the first tablet to run Android 3.1. The Motorola Xoom went through the FCC on February 10, 2011 only 14 days before release. The 3G version was released on February 24, 2011, and the Wi-Fi version was released March 27, 2011. It was announced concurrently with three other products: the Motorola Atrix, the Motorola Droid Bionic, and the Motorola Cliq 2. CNET named it the "Best of the CES" 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows 10 Mobile</span> Mobile operating system developed by Microsoft

Windows 10 Mobile is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft. First released in 2015, it is a successor to Windows Phone 8.1, but was marketed by Microsoft as being an edition of its PC operating system Windows 10.

The HP Slate 21 is a computer developed by Hewlett-Packard that runs the Android operating system. It was announced on June 24, 2013, via HP's blog The Next Bench with a price of $399.00, and released in September that year. It is described as either an all-in-one desktop computer or a large tablet computer.

Comparison of user features of operating systems refers to a comparison of the general user features of major operating systems in a narrative format. It does not encompass a full exhaustive comparison or description of all technical details of all operating systems. It is a comparison of basic roles and the most prominent features. It also includes the most important features of the operating system's origins, historical development, and role.

References

  1. ↑ Lardinois, Frederic (2009-04-07). "Bumptop Launches: Make Your Physical Desktop Virtual". ReadWriteWeb. Archived from the original on 2009-04-09. Retrieved 2009-04-08.
  2. ↑ "An important BumpTop announcement". 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  3. ↑ Rubin, Andy (5 January 2011). "A Sneak Peek of Android 3.0, Honeycomb". Google Mobile Blog. Google. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  4. ↑ "Honeycomb Confirmed to Be Android 3.0, Demoed in Official Google Video". Androidpolice.com. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  5. ↑ "Honeycomb: Android for Tablets". Googlesystem.blogspot.com. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  6. ↑ "OSX/Linux Support". Getsatisfaction.com. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  7. ↑ Archived April 11, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Archived February 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Archived April 30, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ "PowerColor Announce Partnership with Developer Bump Technologies" (PDF). Powercolor.com. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  11. ↑ "BumpTop 2.0 build 5790 - Download.com". Download.cnet.com. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  12. ↑ "Video: Bumptop gives Windows 7 touchscreen PCs purpose". Engadget. 8 April 2009. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  13. ↑ "Bumptop: A better Windows desktop | TechCrunch". Crunchgear.com. 2009-04-08. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  14. ↑ "Can You Feel The Love?". Archived from the original on February 7, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Google Buys 3-D Multitouch Desktop Software Maker BumpTop". Fast Company. 2010-05-03. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  16. ↑ Ben Parr 523 (2010-05-02). "Google Acquires BumpTop and its 3D Desktop Technology". Mashable.com. Retrieved 2012-02-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.