<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
is	O
a	O
document	B-Application
browser	I-Application
(	O
chooser	O
)	O
application	B-Application
that	O
has	O
been	O
developed	O
by	O
MATT	O
Services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
was	O
first	O
released	O
as	O
a	O
beta	O
version	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
in	O
July	O
2006	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
latest	O
stable	O
release	O
on	O
23	O
March	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
Chooser	O
was	O
also	O
used	O
for	O
a	O
defunct	O
Macintosh	B-Device
finder	O
application	B-Application
,	O
but	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
direct	O
relationship	O
between	O
the	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
has	O
been	O
developed	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
design	O
principles	O
of	O
the	O
Lookable	O
User	B-Application
Interface	I-Application
,	O
which	O
is	O
related	O
to	O
Richard	O
Bolt	O
's	O
concept	O
of	O
"	O
Lookable	O
Graphics	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
is	O
commercial	B-Application
software	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
available	O
for	O
use	O
under	O
a	O
License	O
from	O
MATT	O
Services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
design	O
concepts	O
behind	O
Spectasia	B-Application
go	O
back	O
to	O
2003	O
and	O
were	O
embedded	O
in	O
Alan	O
Radley	O
's	O
idea	O
for	O
a	O
Lookable	O
User	B-Application
Interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
prototype	B-Application
systems	O
were	O
developed	O
and	O
tested	O
at	O
MATT	O
Services	O
in	O
the	O
UK	O
,	O
and	O
these	O
systems	O
were	O
also	O
demonstrated	O
at	O
major	O
University	O
Departments	O
worldwide	O
including	O
University	O
College	O
London	O
's	O
department	O
of	O
Computer	O
Science	O
(	O
2003	O
)	O
,	O
Imperial	O
College	O
London	O
's	O
Department	O
of	O
Electrical	O
and	O
Electronic	O
Engineering	O
(	O
2003	O
)	O
,	O
The	O
University	O
of	O
Hawaii	O
's	O
Department	O
of	O
Computer	O
Science	O
(	O
2003	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Toronto	O
's	O
Computational	O
Vision	O
Group	O
(	O
2005	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
employs	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
three-dimensional	O
representation	O
or	O
3D	O
,	O
specifically	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
provide	O
an	O
impression	O
of	O
depth	O
for	O
on-screen	O
item	O
locations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
noteworthy	O
that	O
Spectasia	B-Application
uses	O
curvilinear	O
perspective	O
to	O
present	O
item	O
choices	O
to	O
the	O
user	O
,	O
being	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
perspective	O
which	O
has	O
been	O
ably	O
described	O
in	O
the	O
book	O
Curvilinear	O
Perspective	O
:	O
From	O
Visual	O
Space	O
to	O
the	O
Constructed	O
Image	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
names	O
its	O
visual	O
representation	O
a	O
Lookable	O
User	B-Application
Interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
different	O
beta	O
versions	O
of	O
Spectasia	B-Application
were	O
released	O
between	O
July	O
2006	O
and	O
September	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Beta	O
releases	O
of	O
Spectasia	B-Application
were	O
downloaded	O
more	O
than	O
50,000	O
times	O
and	O
no	O
major	O
bugs	O
were	O
reported	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
stable	O
release	O
announcement	O
for	O
Spectasia	B-Application
(	O
Version	O
7.2	O
code	O
name	O
Eos	O
)	O
was	O
originally	O
made	O
on	O
30	O
October	O
2008	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
latest	O
release	O
(	O
Spectasia	B-Application
2009	O
Artemis	O
)	O
was	O
made	O
on	O
23	O
March	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Spectasia	B-Application
3D	O
Chooser	O
was	O
first	O
publicly	O
released	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
(	O
XP	O
and	O
later	O
only	O
)	O
and	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
on	O
30	O
October	O
2008	O
in	O
English	O
,	O
officially	O
a	O
stable	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
latest	O
releases	O
of	O
Spectasia	B-Application
has	O
been	O
through	O
extensive	O
user	O
testing	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
and	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
current	O
software	O
version	O
(	O
Spectasia	B-Application
2009	O
Artemis	O
)	O
may	O
work	O
on	O
some	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	O
XP	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
is	O
not	O
supported	O
on	O
this	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Plans	O
are	O
being	O
made	O
to	O
include	O
Spectasia	B-Application
in	O
Dr	O
Kim	O
Veltman	O
's	O
SUMS	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Primary	O
design	O
goals	O
were	O
improvements	O
in	O
browsing	O
and	O
choosing	O
efficiency	O
for	O
program	B-Application
,	O
file	B-Operating_System
and	O
Web	O
bookmark	O
links	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
's	O
3D	O
shape	O
,	O
on	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
has	O
a	O
distinct	O
pattern	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
Spectasia	B-Application
,	O
browsing	O
and	O
choosing	O
are	O
typically	O
faster	O
and	O
more	O
efficient	O
activities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
consists	O
of	O
around	O
40,000	O
lines	O
of	O
Java	B-Language
and	O
Java	B-Language
3D	I-Language
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
manage	O
the	O
tree	O
data	O
structures	O
required	O
to	O
render	O
XML	B-Protocol
and	O
HTML	B-Language
source	O
files	O
into	O
a	O
3D	O
form	O
in	O
real	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
current	O
release	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Spectasia	B-Application
code	O
base	O
is	O
Spectasia	B-Application
2009	O
(	O
code	O
name	O
Artemis	O
)	O
which	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
23	O
March	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
is	O
available	O
in	O
three	O
separate	O
editions	O
,	O
named	O
Home	O
(	O
the	O
Free	O
edition	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
also	O
the	O
Professional	O
and	O
Ultimate	O
editions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
user	O
testing	O
has	O
demonstrated	O
Spectasia	B-Application
to	O
be	O
snappy	O
and	O
responsive	O
,	O
taking	O
only	O
2	O
–	O
5	O
seconds	O
to	O
launch	O
,	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
allows	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
create	O
up	O
to	O
100	O
items	O
(	O
Home	O
)	O
,	O
1000	O
items	O
(	O
Professional	O
)	O
and	O
10,000	O
items	O
(	O
Ultimate	O
Edition	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
user	O
can	O
import	O
his	O
or	O
her	O
own	O
Icons	B-Device
into	O
Spectasia	B-Application
in	O
the	O
png	O
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
typically	O
uses	O
a	O
similar	O
amount	O
of	O
computer	B-Architecture
RAM	I-Architecture
memory	I-Architecture
to	O
a	O
modern	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
,	O
around	O
100	O
–	O
200	O
MB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
particularly	O
intensive	O
sessions	O
,	O
running	O
the	O
program	B-Application
for	O
hours	O
and	O
with	O
multiple	O
imports	O
and	O
system	O
refreshes	O
,	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
is	O
very	O
stable	O
and	O
reports	O
of	O
crashes	B-General_Concept
during	O
use	O
are	O
almost	O
non-existent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
systems	O
it	O
has	O
been	O
noted	O
that	O
on	O
occasion	O
Spectasia	B-Application
fails	O
to	O
launch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
work-arounds	O
have	O
been	O
reported	O
other	O
than	O
restarting	O
Spectasia	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
is	O
an	O
application	B-Application
which	O
is	O
upgraded	O
periodically	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
plug-ins	B-Application
or	O
data	O
feeds	O
are	O
currently	O
supported	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
is	O
a	O
Lookable	O
User	B-Application
Interface	I-Application
,	O
and	O
employs	O
a	O
novel	O
set	O
of	O
display	O
elements	O
and	O
controls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
employs	O
a	O
curvilinear	O
perspective	O
grid	O
,	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
Data	O
Wave	O
"	O
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
present	O
Item	O
Choices	O
to	O
the	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
Data	O
Item	O
on	O
the	O
Wave	O
is	O
then	O
represented	O
by	O
an	O
"	O
Icon	B-Device
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
are	O
free	O
to	O
create	O
Items	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
is	O
Spectasia	B-Application
that	O
chooses	O
when	O
,	O
where	O
and	O
how	O
to	O
display	O
corresponding	O
Icons	B-Device
on	O
the	O
Wave	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Firstly	O
,	O
a	O
Data	O
Item	O
representing	O
a	O
'	O
clickable	O
 '	O
link	O
to	O
a	O
Data	O
resource	O
–	O
possibly	O
a	O
local	O
Program	B-Application
,	O
File	B-Operating_System
or	O
else	O
a	O
Web	O
Link	O
to	O
an	O
Internet	O
resource	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Secondly	O
a	O
Wave	O
Item	O
which	O
represents	O
another	O
Wave	O
view	O
altogether	O
,	O
which	O
when	O
clicked	O
on	O
brings	O
that	O
Wave	O
's	O
vista	B-Application
into	O
view	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
an	O
extended	O
Data	O
Wave	O
has	O
Items	O
located	O
outside	O
of	O
the	O
current	O
view	O
,	O
then	O
Spectasia	B-Application
indicates	O
this	O
fact	O
with	O
a	O
small	O
Sphere	O
which	O
appears	O
on	O
the	O
left	O
or	O
right	O
hand	O
side	O
of	O
the	O
Wave	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
has	O
two	O
different	O
Item	O
selection	O
modes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Secondly	O
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
select	O
an	O
Item	O
for	O
deletion	O
or	O
else	O
for	O
a	O
New	O
Icon	B-Device
action	O
,	O
you	O
can	O
right-click	O
over	O
the	O
Item	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Selecting	O
a	O
Wave	O
Item	O
causes	O
Spectasia	B-Application
to	O
bring	O
into	O
view	O
another	O
vista	B-Application
,	O
containing	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
Items	O
present	O
on	O
that	O
Wave	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Simply	O
clicking	O
on	O
subsequent	O
"	O
Wave	O
Icons	B-Device
"	O
allows	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
navigate	O
his	O
or	O
her	O
way	O
through	O
the	O
various	O
Waves	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
move	O
back	O
up	O
the	O
Wave	O
structure	O
to	O
a	O
parent	O
Wave	O
simply	O
right-click	O
the	O
mouse	O
anywhere	O
on	O
the	O
Spectasia	B-Application
window	O
whereupon	O
the	O
parent	O
Waves	O
contents	O
will	O
once	O
again	O
be	O
animated	O
into	O
view	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
easy	O
to	O
create	O
program	B-Application
,	O
file	B-Operating_System
and	O
web	O
links	O
in	O
Spectasia	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
You	O
can	O
simply	O
drag	O
and	O
drop	O
Items	O
from	O
your	O
desktop	O
into	O
the	O
Spectasia	B-Application
window	O
,	O
whereupon	O
they	O
will	O
be	O
inserted	O
as	O
Data	O
Items	O
into	O
the	O
current	O
Wave	O
's	O
view	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Creating	O
a	O
new	O
Wave	O
is	O
performed	O
by	O
typing	O
a	O
Wave	O
name	O
into	O
the	O
text	O
box	O
on	O
the	O
Status	O
Bar	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
pressing	O
the	O
return	O
key	O
,	O
whereupon	O
Spectasia	B-Application
will	O
create	O
a	O
new	O
Wave	O
Item	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
www.spectasia.com	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
some	O
browsers	B-Application
it	O
is	O
possible	O
to	O
simply	O
Drag	O
and	O
Drop	O
a	O
Web	O
Link	O
directly	O
from	O
your	O
Browser	B-Application
Window	O
and	O
into	O
Spectasia	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
action	O
is	O
not	O
supported	O
in	O
all	O
Browsers	B-Application
,	O
but	O
this	O
functionality	O
has	O
been	O
tested	O
successfully	O
on	O
Firefox	B-Application
,	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	I-Application
and	O
Safari	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
supports	O
the	O
importing	O
of	O
Browser	B-Application
Bookmarks	O
from	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
common	O
Browsers	B-Application
,	O
including	O
Chrome	B-Application
,	O
Firefox	B-Application
,	O
Safari	B-Application
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
has	O
many	O
other	O
features	O
and	O
we	O
suggest	O
that	O
interested	O
users	O
download	O
and	O
try	O
the	O
software	O
out	O
for	O
themselves	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cyral	O
Roger	O
from	O
Softonic	O
said	O
of	O
the	O
Spectasia	B-Application
beta	O
"	O
The	O
3D	O
board	O
itself	O
is	O
an	O
interesting	O
alternative	O
to	O
the	O
Finder	O
..	O
it	O
is	O
an	O
original	O
3D	O
launcher	O
..	O
showcases	O
items	O
in	O
a	O
3D	O
view	O
,	O
which	O
proves	O
particularly	O
impressive	O
on	O
big	O
screens.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
Eos	O
7.2	O
has	O
been	O
rated	O
"	O
Good	O
"	O
on	O
Softpedia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
is	O
mentioned	O
in	O
Dr	O
Kim	O
Veltman	O
's	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
has	O
been	O
featured	O
in	O
an	O
article	O
in	O
Engineering	O
Technology	O
Magazine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
has	O
been	O
featured	O
in	O
.Net	O
Magazine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
has	O
been	O
featured	O
in	O
MacFormat	O
Magazine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spectasia	B-Application
has	O
been	O
reviewed	O
on	O
FreeDownLoadsCenter.com	O
where	O
a	O
reviewer	O
said	O
"	O
The	O
software	O
Spectasia	B-Application
1.5	O
provides	O
you	O
with	O
easy	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
items	O
and	O
saves	O
a	O
lot	O
of	O
your	O
time	O
that	O
you	O
had	O
to	O
otherwise	O
spend	O
on	O
the	O
surfing	O
through	O
the	O
menus	O
and	O
folders	O
..	O
</s>
<s>
Patent	O
applications	O
are	O
pending	O
(	O
or	O
have	O
already	O
been	O
published	O
)	O
in	O
relation	O
to	O
Spectasia	B-Application
.	O
</s>
