I’ve long viewed screen real estate as a huge constraint to be worked around. The tasks and ideas in my mind just don’t fit on a single screen. It’s rare for me to use just a single screen or even a single computer unless it’s my laptop outside of my office. Most of the time I’m using 2-3 machines and lately more and more that ratchets up to 4-5. Typically one of the machines has a dual display so at any given time I have 3-6 screens visible.

The volume of information flowing through IBM Jazz or any development environment doesn’t fit on a single screen so it’s a huge productivity drain to constantly search for, then minimize and maximize windows. Virtual desktops help, but then windows are out of sight.

Like the Web, things change over time, but unlike the Web, a large part of the Second Life experience revolves around scheduled events. In Second Life, the time dimension is incredibly important, because the real-time social dimension is incredibly important. Whereas most of the Web is designed for asynchronous interaction (post a message, wait for a reply, come back later to check), Second Life pretty much depends upon synchronous interaction. This makes the time dimension that much more visible, which is why I think we’re really talking about a 4D version of the World Wide Web.

…

Even parts of the web that include real-time chat are only adding one dimension to a typically flat (2D) environment. Not quite 4D.

Therefore, I’m predicting that the real future of Second Life will be seen to be the first four-dimensional version of the World Wide Web. The 4D Web adds a very visible sense of “place” and sense of “time” to our online experience, while accommodating the diversity of communication needs. It’s not a 3D game. It’s not a flat web page. It’s something that combines the best attributes of both, in a way we can naturally relate to.

Kitto Mandala’s blog