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Apple Discloses Methods for Transitioning Between Mouse-Based and Touch Interfaces
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I don't think the patent actually says that. I think that this patent is a method of transitioning between different USER INTERFACE elements (mouse and touch). So if you're doing some traditional task (typing), you leave it in the normal mouse mode, which has small cursor-sized buttons, menu bars, etc.
If you want to switch to touch mode, you pull the monitor close and everything changes to touch input - larger buttons, iPad-esque drop down menus, etc.
Personally I think it is brilliant. No one wants to totally get rid of the mouse and keyboard - but there are some tasks that are easier and more fun using your hands. If you don't want to use it, you are never forced to!
This is going to blow every previous implementation of touch (e.g. HP) out of the water I don't know how I feel about the 2 operating systems OS and iOS on a desktop Mac. This would make perfect sense for something like sishaw mentioned, but as a desktop device?
I don't know.
And won't until the actual machine is releasd, but my arthritic wrist is already tingling at touch screen angle.
From what I've read, the patent never mentions a separate OS at all. I think that that is just an inference that MacRumors is making. It only mentions touch User Interface elements - menu bars, touch-sized icons, etc. There's no mention at all of iOS homescreen, app buttons, etc. That would seem more appropriate for a dashboard-like approach.
I think that this approach from Apple is genius though. It's there for people that want to use touch, and completely invisible if you never want to use it!
iMac G4!
Looks like the old but forever iconic iMac G4 design is back, with a vengeance!
Let's just hope we get a new Pixar ad!
Looks like the old but forever iconic iMac G4 design is back, with a vengeance!
Let's just hope we get a new Pixar ad!
Finally rumors about the damn Mac and not a freaken iPhone! I need some Macintosh rumors, I'm getting pretty sick of this iPhone stuff. I love my iPhone, but my first love was the Mac.
No duh. I've drawn and described this very idea for 2 years. It's obvious.
Why use a keyboard? Now, an iPad that is fast enough to run a larger iOS so it can be used as a portable AND a desktop handling 90% of the stuff people do on desktops now is the key.... that'll take a while for the hardware to get to that point. Maybe around 2018 it will be common.
Nah. WHY?
Why use a keyboard? Now, an iPad that is fast enough to run a larger iOS so it can be used as a portable AND a desktop handling 90% of the stuff people do on desktops now is the key.... that'll take a while for the hardware to get to that point. Maybe around 2018 it will be common.
There is already an "i-device" like this around (on verge of release).
The Lenovo IdeaPad U1 from Lenovo.
windows7 when in the case with build in keyboard, and touch based OS when used as a tablet.
(The touch OS isn't as well developed as iOS, but at least it also has a full OS on board.
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/landing_pages/products/new-product-showcase
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5DYuVN6nuY
The Lenovo IdeaPad U1 from Lenovo.
windows7 when in the case with build in keyboard, and touch based OS when used as a tablet.
(The touch OS isn't as well developed as iOS, but at least it also has a full OS on board.
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/landing_pages/products/new-product-showcase
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5DYuVN6nuY
I did. Did you? Theres nothing in the example from Apple that suggests anything about OS switching. The author implies it but not the patent.I haven't read the actual patent, if you have I'd be interested in the link.
From the article:
"Then to switch to a touch-based input.."
"corresponding UI which should translate to using iOS"
etc etc
I am well aware that Apples touch OS is iOS but there no real reason to assume that its the only way they plan to do touch on desktops. In fact the pictures show iOS and OSX layouts for touching. Its pretty apparent the author read tha article and assumed its primarily for OS switching.
It would make a lot more sense if changing the angle would switch to a "touch mode" for the application since then you could continue what you are doing, and also give you access to iOS apps (obviously this means iOS would be integrated into the next desktop OS)
So unless those captions for the pictures are from the patent itself, which I doubt, I still dont see anything in the summary about "OS switching" thats a direct quote from the article and can be separated from the authors opinion. It looks more like it activates a different way to interact with the OS.
Have you tried voice commands. even in the best case where the computer understands perfectly it has two very big problems
1) It is slow. Try doing something like clicking a link on a web page that has perhaps 20 links on it using voice. Fingers are faster.
2) Today many users can't use a command line interface. Voice is just line command line but without typing. When you speak you have to know the commands, yu are not just selecting from a menu or pointing to an icon. This is to much for most users.
Voice will work but not before computer AI is good enough to know your intent. You need to be able to give very high level commands like you've give to a human assistant "Send Bob an email tell him thanks." The AI would have to know which Bob and what to thank him for and then show you the text before sending it. Maybe in 50 years? (that's an inside joke as we've been saying that it's 50 years away now for 50 years, and Yes AI research is at least 50 years old now and its still 50 years away from it's goal)
*They* have been saying that for over a decade... Over 15 years ago in college, I worked on a voice-recognition input system project for the VA medical center.
We demo'ed a working system with leaned vocabulary (somewhat like Voice Control for 3GS and later iPhones), and the accuracy was still only like 98%... if you think of how many commands you could issue (ie, like page-back, close, etc), a 2% error rate is quite frustrating, and obviously the demo was successful, but we didn't get the additional funding for input augmentation/replacement projects at VA (work shifted more towards more intuitive graphical UIs for replacing paper input, a much less ambitious goal).
The idea that Dragon and Google use for voice lends much better accuracy, but is useless without completely pervasive (wireless for portable devices) connectivity... which again, has a coverage issue (AT&T claims 97%, but for something as critical as voice control, I'd hope it's more like 99.99%)
Heh, I was thinking about a whole other kind of transition. Suppose you are looking at a web page and you want to see more of the text below the screen...
With a mouse or trackpad, you move down to do the scroll. On a touch screen, you swipe UP instead. Thee two types of irteractions are going to clash, as touchpad and touch screen start appearing on the same device. It's that kind of transition I was thinking of when I read the headline.
With a mouse or trackpad, you move down to do the scroll. On a touch screen, you swipe UP instead. Thee two types of irteractions are going to clash, as touchpad and touch screen start appearing on the same device. It's that kind of transition I was thinking of when I read the headline.
But the Magic Trackpad supports multitouch, so what can happen is the cursor stays on Macs, clicking, double-clicking and stay the same. The current multi-finger trackpad gestures (scrolling, back/forward, expose) will also stay the same. Pinch-to-zoom can require users to first move the cursor to the area then pinch to zoom.
Did I miss any iOS-specific multitouch gestures?
Also, these can become the "default trackpad preferences" in the new OSX while new Macs with touchscreen have the additional option to disable the cursor and use the touchscreen, very much like how Apple first introduced the multi-finger gestures to Macbook users.
It would have to either be a small screen or have the longest, sturdiest, retractable neck ever to hold up a 27in iMac in 'touch mode'.
Plus wouldn't it be really strange to have two interfaces on one device? iOS and OS X are pretty different and if someone is just learning to use an Apple product that could be really confusing. I guess I'll leave it up to their genius to figure that out.
The only downside I see is if this patent means OS X -> IOS + OS X -> IOS on all machines in the near future.
Plus wouldn't it be really strange to have two interfaces on one device? iOS and OS X are pretty different and if someone is just learning to use an Apple product that could be really confusing. I guess I'll leave it up to their genius to figure that out.
The only downside I see is if this patent means OS X -> IOS + OS X -> IOS on all machines in the near future.
This reminds me of those "Jailbroken iPads with BT Mouse" youtube videos from a while ago. How did those iPads interact with the mouse?
I was just talking about this exact configuration a month or so with a friend. After having a play on the in law's HP touch screen computer and my arm becoming tired the only way I could see it working was if the screen was able to rotate into an almost horizontal position in front of you.
Also, in my job I do a lot of drafting and photoshop work. In the rotated position this would be a great way for me to draft, just like on a drawing board.
Also, in my job I do a lot of drafting and photoshop work. In the rotated position this would be a great way for me to draft, just like on a drawing board.
It would! Only problem is Apple is obsessed with having the thinnest products around, and unless they use SSDs only (and thus push up the price) it'll be relatively thick compared to the Apple-way of things.
I'd buy one though.