Software

WPF UniveRSS – your RSS in 3D, right now

By Tony ⋅ February 11, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

UniveRSS 3D vista reader

If “real” hackers write computer programs in 3D (you know, Swordfish, The Matrix, etc), why should RSS be any different? UniveRSS is a 3D Vista RSS reader, that showcases WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation), and represents RSS feeds as 3D cubes spinning around in a virtual universe. A nifty idea…

You navigate through the feed galaxies in a game-like environment, freely moving in all three dimensions. Selecting items in lists will turn the cube to the next side displaying the item’s content including images. Just click the right mouse buttons and you turn back to the list view or to the galaxy.

UniveRSS 3D cubes, feed, content

After a bit of use, UniveRSS doesn’t seem very practical for actually managing and keeping up with one’s RSS news feeds. Though that’s ok, because UniveRSS was more of a showcase application anyways. It was designed to demonstrate WPF features – 3D animations, data binding, and data visualization. There’s even source code available!

Though it doesn’t leave me with the same wow factor, as what Apple’s Core Animation has done for the iPod ads. Are album covers simply more colourful than RSS feeds? Ether way, it seems that both Apple and Microsoft are pushing richer media, interfaces, and interactive effects, which means just one thing – we are getting one step closer to doing everything in 3D. Just like in the movies!

[Thx Dan for letting me use your Vista computer]