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Add Touchscreen capability to your iMac

V

vcoleiro1

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 5, 2011
71
4
Saw this popup on Indiegogo. Basically it turns your 21" or 27" iMac screen into a touchscreen. Looks pretty cool.

Here is the project link : http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-imac-reinvented

Apparently it uses IR technology to capture finger position and is a lot more accurate than a normal touchscreen. There is no glass involved , also it seems to be plug and play - Here's a couple of quotes from the project page

"How does C2T work?

C2T utilizes infrared technology overlaid across the screen to enable you to control the functions of the iMac by touch. Using a glass free design coupled with our unique and patented "beam collation algorithm" technology the C2T has reinvented the iMac and how you will use it in the future."

"Do I need additional software or drivers?

No. C2T is PNP (Plug & Play) so it requires no additional software or drivers. Simply plug in the USB wait 10 seconds and your iMac will be touch enabled."



What does everyone think, good idea?
 
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As has been said here many times, touch does not work on an iMac, Apple has it right the way they are doing it now with a multitouch Trackpad, and it go even much farther if they had a bigger device to control by touch on the desktop where your arm is, not by reaching over to the display.
 
^ I think a touch screen would work well in showing designs, pictures etc where say 2-3 people are interacting with the screen . A touchpad wouldn't work in this situation

A Touch pad is also too disengaged from the screen items to work as efficiently IMO. Try pin point swipes etc using the touchpad , not good, you have to find the start point then swipe - for example having to rotate a 3d object in a window.
 
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I've seen devices used like this as a kiosk on Mac's dating back to the 'lamp shade' iMac.

I think it would be very useful for some and a nice option, used in conjunction with the KB and mouse or touchpad but with gesture devices like Leap motion that might be a better option at you don't need to be within arms length of the screen.
 
Okay, the first thing I do when someone touches my screen is yell...'DON'T TOUCH THE FRIGGIN SCREEN'....so a touch screen iMac? Not for me.

Having said that, I am on the waiting list for the LEAP (https://www.leapmotion.com/) device coming out next month that adds hand gestures to any mac, in front of the screen. No actual touching. Think of minority report the movie. Similar to that, though I know in my heart it won't be any where near that good. But I like gadgets, and will come back once I've got it with a review.
 
Omne666 said:
Okay, the first thing I do when someone touches my screen is yell...'DON'T TOUCH THE FRIGGIN SCREEN'....so a touch screen iMac? Not for me.

Having said that, I am on the waiting list for the LEAP (https://www.leapmotion.com/) device coming out next month that adds hand gestures to any mac, in front of the screen. No actual touching. Think of minority report the movie. Similar to that, though I know in my heart it won't be any where near that good. But I like gadgets, and will come back once I've got it with a review.
Click to expand...



That. Is. Badass.
 
A touchscreen on iMac should work for those who wants to make some abdominal fitness.
 
I like the style and finish of the the touch screen add on. Looks like they put some thought into designing a finish which integrates well with the aesthetics of the iMac.
 
I always scold my wife for touching the screen on my iMac. She thinks I am nuts.

But regardless, OSX is not too touch friendly anyways. After using iOS, a traditional OS will never be touch friendly unless it goes the way of Windows 8. Which I can't see Apple doing any time soon.
 
Actually, ML isn't that bad on the swiping gestures. I've dumped most of my dock icons now, accessing them through launch pad with swipe gestures, bounce around safari pages with swipes, do most of my scrolling with swipes, enlarge and shrink pages in a number of apps, so whilst I grant not fully gesture orientated yet, it's pretty good. I haven't had a big play with Windows 8 so can't compare.

I use a combo of trackpad and Magic Mouse for all this.....track pad on its own is not accurate enough for me in a lot of my work.
 
Yeah, LeapMotion seems to have this area covered, if it works well.

As screens get bigger you don't wanna have to be so close as to touch it, unless you have a special application where the screen is a table top or something.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but with the LeapMotion device you can use pointers and other objects instead of a finger. And they seem to be hoping for apps that extend the capability of the hardware; simply using the iMac's built in gestures would be kinda nice but not too much different than a track pad.
 
basically that link is a "pretty" touch overlay kit. i bought one of these overlay kits years ago. its a piece of glass with a pastic border you put over your screen and plug in using usb and power. it is really inexpensive and works pretty good. I found a basic 27 inch kit for 300 here

http://peauproductions.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=425

its worth the 100 dollar upgrade for the 6 point touch upgrade though. it does have mac drivers. i would get one myself but ive already experimented with this type of screen setup and its cool and everything but i dont care much for touch devices.
 
While it does seem "obvious" that there should be a touch screen iMac I think of several reason why there shouldn't be. The biggest one is found by simply looking at the touch devices I have already have. Finger prints, smudge marks, etc. No thank you.

Oh, and just to poke a little fun at the video... they really should have given their "hand model" a manicure before filming.
 
Acorn said:
basically that link is a "pretty" touch overlay kit. i bought one of these overlay kits years ago. its a piece of glass with a pastic border you put over your screen and plug in using usb and power. it is really inexpensive and works pretty good. I found a basic 27 inch kit for 300 here

http://peauproductions.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=425

its worth the 100 dollar upgrade for the 6 point touch upgrade though. it does have mac drivers. i would get one myself but ive already experimented with this type of screen setup and its cool and everything but i dont care much for touch devices.
Click to expand...

Just updated my original post, this seems to be vastly different to those overlays. It isn't a glass touchscreen overlay but rather a glassless IR field that detects finger location far more accurately.
 
What is C2T for iMac?

Hi, my name is Ethan and I am the CEO of Convert 2 Touch. I wanted to pop in and comment on the thread about the C2T and answer some of the questions regarding what it is.

As other posters have mentioned there are already several options that allow users to control the iMac with touch. What makes C2T unique is it is a glass free device that uses a patented "beam collation algorithm" technology (which is built into the devices firmware).

Simply put this is a complex matrix of infrared beams, which cover the surface of the screen and allow a user to control the iMac via touch. As the beams are approximately 5mm from the screens surface the user only needs to break the beam to control the functions rather than physically touch the screen itself.

C2T has been developed to enhance an already amazing product.

As Apple has not moved to develop the iMac with a touch screen to date we saw an opportunity to do this ourselves. C2T is perfect for users in the market who are looking for a fully functional and integrated touch device for their iMac, which still allows full use of the keyboard and mouse.

I have been a Mac user myself since the mid 80’s and have had an Apple Service Centre for 7 years. C2T was born out of our own need to enhance the way we interacted with the 50+ iMac’s we have in our Design Department and Service Centre.

We have already completed the design and production for the 21” iMac (pre 2012 version) and have been using this for the past 6 months without issue. The design has proven to be robust, reliable and an asset to our staff who use the iMac’s in their daily working environment.

We now want to produce C2T for the 27” (pre 2012 version) and the new 21” & 27” models. To achieve this we goal we have launched an Indiegogo Campaign to fund the tooling of and changes we need to make to our factory for full production.
 
Convert 2 Touch said:
Hi, my name is Ethan and I am the CEO of Convert 2 Touch. I wanted to pop in and comment on the thread about the C2T and answer some of the questions regarding what it is.

As other posters have mentioned there are already several options that allow users to control the iMac with touch. What makes C2T unique is it is a glass free device that uses a patented "beam collation algorithm" technology (which is built into the devices firmware).

Simply put this is a complex matrix of infrared beams, which cover the surface of the screen and allow a user to control the iMac via touch. As the beams are approximately 5mm from the screens surface the user only needs to break the beam to control the functions rather than physically touch the screen itself.

C2T has been developed to enhance an already amazing product.

As Apple has not moved to develop the iMac with a touch screen to date we saw an opportunity to do this ourselves. C2T is perfect for users in the market who are looking for a fully functional and integrated touch device for their iMac, which still allows full use of the keyboard and mouse.

I have been a Mac user myself since the mid 80’s and have had an Apple Service Centre for 7 years. C2T was born out of our own need to enhance the way we interacted with the 50+ iMac’s we have in our Design Department and Service Centre.

We have already completed the design and production for the 21” iMac (pre 2012 version) and have been using this for the past 6 months without issue. The design has proven to be robust, reliable and an asset to our staff who use the iMac’s in their daily working environment.

We now want to produce C2T for the 27” (pre 2012 version) and the new 21” & 27” models. To achieve this we goal we have launched an Indiegogo Campaign to fund the tooling of and changes we need to make to our factory for full production.
Click to expand...

Thanks for providing that info.

Looks like a quality product you have designed. I hope it does well .
 
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