window warp

This was posted back in 2004; it hasn't been put to any use since (well, Vista has something similar, but that doesn't count)

I thought I might post this while there are still a number of OSX developers running around the blog. There is a nice undocumented window manager call, CGSSetWindowWarp, which lets you twist and bend windows. I played around with a few years ago, but never got around to using it for anything.

The warped windows are fully functional, with the exception that mouse input is not remapped. Still some work to do there.

Some suggestions for things to do with it:

3D Exposé replacement: "rotate" the screen, so can you can see windows from the side and pick one out.
Fish-eye window manager: keep full-sized windows in the center of the screen; shrink and warp when they reach the edge
Rotational virtual desktops: something similar to the FrontRow menu, where the windows would be on the outside of a cylinder. You could zoom out slightly, then spin the cylinder to get to the windws you want.
Wobbly windows: pretend that the windows are only pinned to the desktop at the top, and use the motion sensor and some simple physics to wobble the windows.

Followup

I posted some code in the comments over at the company blog.

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