Sure we have a lot of nifty new multimedia tools to play with, from video to Flash to any number of nifty AJAX widgets, Java applets, and hybrid technologies that add flash and dash to our sites. But if you cut out most of the fluff, we're left with a browsing experience that's not all that different than the earliest days of HTML and JavaScript. Most Web browsing still holds to a print metaphor of linked pages...not all the different than ol' Vannevar Bush's proposed Memex system.

Computers have gotten a lot more powerful, that's for sure. In fact, you don't have to look any farther than some of the most popular games out there to see the bleeding edge of technology. While most of us spend our workdays (and our browsing time) embedded in a jacked-up version of the print world, our downtime is spent immersed in photorealistic three-dimensional worlds where we have freedom of movement, control over our environment, and multiple layers of information being fed to us in a seamless environment. And for good reasons...modern computers can handle it.

So why haven't browsers (and office software, for that matter) kept pace with developments in graphic technology? It's not that there haven't been attempts in the past...the VRML craze of the late '90's and early 2000's arose from the "Virtual Reality" craze. But with the exception of a few experiments in Web-based 3D worlds and some rotatable 3D objects on random sites, 3D online never really took off. Why?

First, most of the early experiments were a bit ahead of their time. While the promise of "virtual reality" online was great, the delivery was usually a little disappointing, with most of the 3D experiences being little more than low-polygon proofs-of-concept rather than useful objects. Secondly, navigating in 3D space isn't all that intuitive for those of us weaned on a desktop metaphor (PDF link). We're used to "files" and "folders" laid out on a 2-D grid where "depth" is only used to indicate information hierarchies. In addition, as anyone who's played a 3D shooter on a PC knows, navigating in 3D space requires two hands...often not practical for those who want to move quickly and get work done. Not that people didn't try: this famous paper told the tale of using the game Doom as a systems administration tool. Neat idea. Didn't take off.

But with more powerful computers and more folks being weaned on 3D shooters (and other 3D environments), along with the growing popularity (and familiarity) of online 3D MMPORPGs and "virtual worlds" such as SecondLife could it be time to start thinking about moving into the third dimension on the Web?

Perhaps. Some recent experiments in 3D browsers show some promise. While the metaphors may differ a bit, ranging from virtual "cities" filled with Web pages to multi-panel displays, to a full-360-degree view with "pages" floating all around, most are a far cry from the early VRML experiments. One (SphereXPlorer) even offers a 3D replacement for Windows, moving everyday work into the three-D environment with a 3D file system. For Mac OSX users, 3D-Space VFS also offers a 3D view of the desktop and file system.

Unfortunately, if you're looking for a full-on Neuromancer-like "Cyberspace" experience, these browsers and file systems aren't quite there yet. Most seem a little too much like "gee whiz" tricks designed to elicit oohs-and-aahs while you show off your new hardware. They generally aren't faster and more efficient than traditional browsers and offer little value beyond the traditional browsing experience.

But does that mean that 3D is a dead end? No. Instead, it seems like the current marriages of 3D and Web browsing may just lack the vision to break free from the metaphor that we're all familiar with. After all, there are many documented benefits 3D offers over traditional 2D navigation and organization systems (check out Microsoft's work with the Data Mountain system for some good examples), not the least of which are taking advantage of human spatial memory for document organization, being able to easily see relationships between documents, and more fully understanding the semantic structures behind sites and pages. Seeing information in three-dimensions does have great benefits...if we can break away from the old metaphors.

Just as the usefulness of the Web has evolved over time as we've moved away from the "publication" metaphor and on to the "services" metaphor (ie. Web 2.0), the next leap could take place when we begin to move out into the third dimension and start to take advantage of the benefits of 3D space (spatial memory, organization, clearly visible hierarchies, enhanced management) and stop trying to utilize old 3D metaphors ("building" or "cities") that merely slow down information access. We've got the hardware...now it's time to use it.

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