After reading lots of discussion on new tab implementation in Safari (Software forum), I thought maybe it's a good idea to take a look at the bigger picture.
I guess the general problem is, with so much content to display *at the same time*, how do you do it so that minimal (and absolutely necessary) info is displayed properly without cluttering and distraction.
Example 1: tabs in web browsers
Most of time we just want to know what pages are opened and be able to switch among them.
Example 2: knobs, sliding bars etc. in an audio editing program (think of a virtual soundtable) - we need to read lots of (possibly numerical) info at the same time and be able to tweak settings.
One thing I absolutely love in OS X is the feel of the visual depth: they are hinted by the use of backdrop (shadows) and transparency. Sure objects in OS X are no real 3D objects, but these make them more convincingly 3D-like.
Why not take a further step? I.e., use depth as a new dimension for accessing info? E.g., have a "magic finger" to touch through the current window to access objects behind the blocking window? This is like temporarily opening up a portion of the current window to allow users to interact with the occluded views?
Clearly depth has its limit - multiple items can't be displayed at the same time. And this does not address completely the 2 problems mentioned above.
This is my $.2. Now it's your turn.
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