Sun are making quite a bit of progress with their Looking Glass Java desktop environment. There is a nice demo of what it looks like on their Xtreme Technology page.
It allows users to dock windows to the side of the screen, and then fold, or tilt them backwards so they take up less space. Another neat trick is the ability to turn a browser around and write a post-it note on the back of an individual web page. Although this looks really funky, I'm not sure how useful it will turn out to be at the end of the day.
A few other 3D environments I came accross whilst reading around include 3DNA (essentially an interactrive desktop background), Blueberry 3d (a virtual reality where programs are stored on walls throughout the room) and 3dwm (a full on VR environment which is best viewed with dedicated equipment).
Along the way, I had the XPde shown to me, which is an XP look and feel for linux. Anything to get people to switch to a proper operating system!
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