Telstra Experiments With 3D News Site

The resolute failure of 3D experiments like Google Lively doesn’t seem to dissuade people from trying to force a 3D interface onto a 2D screen. Telstra has just joined the ranks by offering a “3D video wall” option for its BigPond News service. To access the 3D service, you need the Cooliris plug-in (which works with Firefox, IE and Safari, but no Linux options), after which you can scroll round a wall of news stories and choose what you want to read. Beyond the headline, however, you still get returned to the existing page, which makes for a jarring navigational experience. Existing Telstra customers (who won’t have it counted against their cap) might find it an interesting diversion, but beyond that, a standard news site still seems more useful (and less bandwidth-greedy) to me.