Improve productivity with a 3D virtual desktop that allows 4 desktops at once (XP and Vista)
All the Beryl / Windows fans are probably giving cold-stares at all the lucky Linux users that can enjoy 3D Desktops. Well, those days are over thanks to the guys over at Chris’Soft. They’ve come out with a new tool called Yod’m 3D. Basically, it allows you to have four different desktops instead of just one. They are situated on a virtual cube which can be revolved to switch between the different desktops. It’s not as amazing as Berryl, but part of the effect is still there.
I have yet to see a similar program that allows you to have a virtual desktop manager such as this, so if you have, please let me know.
Now onto the program. Before downloading, you need to be aware of the requirements:
- Windows XP / Vista
- Direct X9
Most people should fit these with no problem, but if you are running Vista with a weak video card, you may notice some delay when switching between windows.
If you fit those requirements, you can download Yod’m 3D here. The program requires no installation whatsoever - just some unzipping.
When you first start the program, you’ll see that everything is in French. I’m pretty sure you can figure out how to set it to English, but just in case:
The program is very straight-forward. You press Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right arrow to switch between the desktops, although alternatively, you can use the Shift, Control, Alt, and Windows buttons as well. You can also use your mouse instead of the arrow keys.
Ctrl + Shift + Up enables you to see a “far” view of the desktop.
As well, you can also drag windows between desktops. Simply minimize the desired window and click on it holding the left mouse button. Then push the combination set to activate the cube and drag your window in the desired direction. One thing to take note of is that you should only move your window slightly. The program is extremely sensitive to mouse movement when you’re doing this and you can easily find yourself in a never-ending spinning cube situation.
If you’re concerned about RAM usage, it doesn’t really use much compared to my other processes. It uses about 1.4MB of RAM when idle.
Although I can certainly see improvements for this program, it certainly has a lot of potential. You can visit the program developer’s website here.
Still need help? Check out our new forums where you can get an even faster and better response!
March 17th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Good guide Albert, even I’m going to find this useful.
Will this lag my computer during the process of switching desktops?
March 17th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
With your video card (if its still the same one as mine), only sometimes. I find it lags less with the keyboard than the mouse.
March 18th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Don’ know why but on my sistem it takes a lot of memory usage, now it’s in idle and it take 35,000-40,000 (just like explorer.exe)
Aniway very good tool
March 18th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Hmmm… at that time I was only using 3 windows. They all had a couple firefox windows open and one photoshop. I notice that when you switch, it tends to spike in RAM, but as you stay in one desktop, the RAM decreases again. Are you constantly switching?
March 18th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
not constantly, but with four windows plenty of object (media player, browser, and other programs) ram usage was 40,000 and more; as soon as i launch the program ram usage is 35,000-37,000. I’ve got vista x64 and 2 gb ram.
March 28th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
Well with 2GB of RAM, that shouldn’t be too much
April 12th, 2007 at 2:32 am
handy n neat like OS X feature…I’ve got 1GB RAM so I have to really consider what I have open but a very neat app. One step closer to the features of OS X Leopard….:)
June 8th, 2007 at 11:05 am
HI!
This is cool, but how do you add the desktops?
December 13th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
does anyone know of a link to the yodm 3d?
the one listed is dead.
if not, does anyone know how to get the new deskscapes full version for free?
any help would be greatly appreciated…
thanks.
January 13th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
i cant download this app? can somebody please help me!!!!? looks really cool!!! thank you!
January 13th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
I’ve reuploaded it. Try now.
January 15th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
There is another application which is exactly similar to this one. Its called DeskSpace. But the problem is that it is in language other than english.
January 25th, 2008 at 1:10 am
Hi , I like your blog post expecially the article for desktops wallpaper and your post regarding looks very interesting. Nice to share it with us. I found you on Yahoo while searching for desktops wallpaper . I Just Stumble it on Friday .
February 1st, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Found out that Yodm 3D was bought by Otaku Software and now they are charging for the program. I couldn’t find it anywhere for free.
March 4th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
I’m using this program at home and it works amazingly. So I’ve tried to use it at school too as I am in a lot of classes that use computers. Some of them work with it, and some give me an Direct3D error telling me there might not be enough memory. If anyone knows how to fix this plz respond ;). Otherwise it’s no big deal. Here’s exactly what the error says, word for word (yes, I know, bad grammar in the error, but the guy who programmed is French, right?):
Direct3D error (4 : Not available)
Maybe not enough video memory
Close all game before running Yod’m 3D.
Try change some options.
March 8th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Fantastic app, thamks
March 9th, 2008 at 12:12 am
jmh010: They are school computers so I am not too surprised. I guess this is the fault of the school computers
March 9th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Figured it out… DirectX isn’t even installed on those lol. Don’t want to play wiht it enough anymore there. Not worth the trouble..
March 9th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
cool! I got it!
June 19th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Nice! I was just bored at work and was checking if there was any “new” Virtual Desktops out there. Even though this isn’t new it is free (sense the link to the older version). Works great! I well have to say after spinning the cube around for a while and just playing around I realize that it was up to 50,000 in my task manager. It probably well need a shut down every so often. I just wish the program was still free!
August 11th, 2008 at 9:32 am
How do you change the lanuage? It only gives me a choice of frnch
September 19th, 2008 at 4:08 am
The Wikipedia article about Yodm3D lists “Kool Lite Software” as a download site for the free version. Here’s the URL for the Yodm3D entry, which also has a quick list of basic instructions:
http://www.klitetools.com/comments.php?catid=58&id=5280#5278f
The zipfile hosted at that site includes support for about a dozen languages [including English].