Idea: New Look for MSDN Help

At some point, I hope the traditional help viewers, like dexplorer.exe for MSDN local help, can evolve beyond the traditional tree view of categories into a view with the ability to display more information.

For example, it might be useful to have a 3D look where each node could contain more information than just a category or item title. In the diagram below, each node contains some information about what is contained below (category counts, item counts, content ratings (pulled from the online site), and a star if you have a favorite underneath the node. The color coding could indicate where you spend most of your time, or where you have been most recently.

I know this could use a tremendous amount of screen real estate, but judging from Scott Swanson’s blog, most developers have moved well past 1024x768. In fact, I’m starting to wonder if I’ll be the last developer to start using dual 21 inch monitors.