I don't know. Research that tends to make computers more tactile and replicate common real-world actions seem to completely ignore how typical users work on computers. Not one of my fifty corporate users does anything fancy with their files or folders. Most don't even switch from grid view to detail view unless I do it for them. They delete by right-click 'delete' and will not be comfortable lassoing and crumpling. Making neat piles is useless because they have memorized the haphazardly arranged desktop icons and will freak out if anyone arranges them (Ooops!).
Also, where are the file names? Who really opens files solely by their icons? Most of my users have 1000s of PDFs or Excel files nested in multiple levels of folders. How is the 'fan out widget' going to help them, especially if the long file names can't be displayed neatly? The files most users (corporate or even small business) deal with are something like:
\\FileServer\PublicDrive\CONTROLLED DOCUMENTATION
\Quality System Docs\OP - Operating Procedures
\OP 12 R41 Cleaning of Tanks and Totes for Water-Based.pdf
The real-world unsolved problem is how does someone without much experience get to the right file with minimal effort. The answer could be a number of things like tagging, deep search, meta-info, file ranking based on usage etc. The problem research like this concentrates on is "how do I manage my 4 excel files, 12 mp3s, and 100 jpgs?" Yes, it's a wonderful app but it doesn't solve one problem for today or tomorrow's users.
I thoroughly believe that we need to continue research into better UI, even when the technology cannot be applied immediately. But I don't think making already simple things more tedious or complex for the sake of coolness is the way to go. Personally, I never see my desktop and barely have any icons on it so I'd never use this. My users would get confused because they lasso'ed the wrong file and now it's in a pile they can't find anymore.
If you don't see the filenames, then you're looking at an old demo version of BumpTop. You're right that it's pretty important to have ;-)
BumpTop is definitely not for everyone, but that's fine. Not all software has to be designed for your 50 corporate users, because they certainly have different needs than the rest of us. A designer, for example, might really appreciate the visual and spatial aspects of the system, because it's more meaningful than a bunch of PSDs named icon-concept1, icon-concept2, etc.
Also, although the 3D and physics is the most noticeable thing about BumpTop, it's actually got quite a few very useful features that are completely orthogonal to the 3D/physical aspect. For example: type to find on filenames, thumbnails of several different document formats, seamless photo browsing, and icons that grow or shrink based on your usage of a document.
Also, where are the file names? Who really opens files solely by their icons? Most of my users have 1000s of PDFs or Excel files nested in multiple levels of folders. How is the 'fan out widget' going to help them, especially if the long file names can't be displayed neatly? The files most users (corporate or even small business) deal with are something like:
The real-world unsolved problem is how does someone without much experience get to the right file with minimal effort. The answer could be a number of things like tagging, deep search, meta-info, file ranking based on usage etc. The problem research like this concentrates on is "how do I manage my 4 excel files, 12 mp3s, and 100 jpgs?" Yes, it's a wonderful app but it doesn't solve one problem for today or tomorrow's users.I thoroughly believe that we need to continue research into better UI, even when the technology cannot be applied immediately. But I don't think making already simple things more tedious or complex for the sake of coolness is the way to go. Personally, I never see my desktop and barely have any icons on it so I'd never use this. My users would get confused because they lasso'ed the wrong file and now it's in a pile they can't find anymore.