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Apple Exploring MultiTouch Interface Gestures

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Note the "Rt Click" gesture! Now we see that multi-touch technology is in fact driven by Steve's desire to avoid, at all costs, a multi-button mouse. The man will render the mouse obsolete before he gives it that second button!
 
Small White Car said:
Give it another 2 decades and she'll be flying space shuttles with her toes while you and I and all the rest of the 'mouse users' will be sleeping in boxes under the freeway overpass.
Click to expand...

Yikes! Pretty bleak. Guess I better start practicing with my toes to keep up with those whippersnappers!



Sent from my iPhone
 
from what i've read about this technology, it works best when a rubber chicken is dangled in the other hand.
 
In regards to learning a new input language; I find it exciting and refreshing, from both a physical and mental state. If it physically feels more natural than its predecessor you feel a deeper involvement with the device. The Nintendo Wii and the iPhone demonstrate this experience. I don't feel the hesitation, as some do, to adopt a new way of interacting with our surroundings, mainly technology. Others, however, latch on to a process, grow comfortable and are weary of change.

I'm in my mid 20s. Do you guys feel that this is a generational preference or a personal one?
 
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BKF said:
Note the "Rt Click" gesture! Now we see that multi-touch technology is in fact driven by Steve's desire to avoid, at all costs, a multi-button mouse. The man will render the mouse obsolete before he gives it that second button!
Click to expand...

That is so true . LOL
 
zombitronic said:
I'm not saying that I expect this in the upcoming iMacs, but with iMacs being all about the built in display, unless Apple develops a Mac Tablet, the iMac seems like a logical debut for this technology in the desktop form factor.

The other alternative would be selling a touch capable Apple Display for non-iMacs, or as mentioned, an external desktop trackpad. Touching the "objects" on screen seems to be the more natural form of input, for example, the iPhone's interface.
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i think i disagree... with an iMac sitting on your desk at eye level, reaching up and touching the screen would get tiring, and not be as efficient. that's why the fingerworks gesture pad is so cool... you just leave your hand on it.

although we may get to gesture-aware monitors some day, i bet the first iterations will use the trackpad on laptops, and mice on desktops (then tablet portables). having a multi touch surface on a mouse could allow you to instantly execute way more commands than 8 buttons ever could, all without moving your arm. And Apple can keep there 1-button mousies. Or maybe a keyboard could have a multi-touch area. if only apple would redesign their keyboards... 😉
 
Simplicity & ease of use will determin success

Back in the second half of the 80's there were attempts to replace the full ~101 key keyboard with a simplified, more ergonomic keyboard that will work on applying key combinations to about 11 keys, without moving the hand. In a way, similar to hand gestures. These keyboards were deployed at court houses in Israel to short hand the discussions in the court. Some people who practiced a lot managed to write extremely fast, but for most it was unfriendly, unintuitive, and eventually deserted. It will be interesting to see how Apple will deploy a similar concept in an intuitive way...
 
Maybe an iPhone-like multi-touch keyboard is in the works? That would be cool. And it could change the interface based on the software (like a keyboard in GarageBand, tool palettes Photoshop, a timeline or clip organizer in Final Cut, etc.

I think that would be awesome.
 
zombitronic said:
In regards to learning a new input language; I find it exciting and refreshing, from both a physical and mental state. If it physically feels more natural than its predecessor you feel a deeper involvement with the device.

snip

I'm in my mid 20s. Do you guys feel that this is a generational preference or a personal one?
Click to expand...

I completely agree with your comments about a deeper level on communication.

But to answer your question, give yourself another decade or two. My parents thought they were hip and open to new things too. And so did their parents. At some point in your life it is likely that some 'thing' will come along that is so "new" that it'll be some kind of fundamental adjustment for you to accept that 'thing.'
 
Ready for my G5 iTablet with moldi-touch, expected on Tuesday 8/7/2007 as the first G5 based Moldi-touch Apple computer, LOL.
 
salvatorereda said:
Its about time we use all ten fingers when we use a computer.
Click to expand...

Hmm. "Fingers: they're not just for typing!" I guess that could fly...

Well, this is one more step towards the blending of the virtual and the real. Pretty soon we can pinch a bag of chips on the screen before we drag it into a shopping cart? Make sure the bag feels like it's still sealed before we buy it?

The real questions for the future are these: when will we get totally sucked into the virtual food chain, and what will be at the top?! ;-)
 
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zombitronic said:
In regards to learning a new input language; I find it exciting and refreshing, from both a physical and mental state. If it physically feels more natural than its predecessor you feel a deeper involvement with the device. The Nintendo Wii and the iPhone demonstrate this experience. I don't feel the hesitation, as some do, to adopt a new way of interacting with our surroundings, mainly technology. Others, however, latch on to a process, grow comfortable and are weary of change.

I'm in my mid 20s. Do you guys feel that this is a generational preference or a personal one?
Click to expand...

As someone who is 70, I find those attitudes to be generational for the most part. Although I enjoy keeping up with technical changes, I find that there are very few of my generation with whom I can share such experiences. I, for one, thoroughly enjoy using my iPhone and eagerly await the implementation of more touch technology. It promises to be a great aid to those with aging arthritic hands.
 
My toes are second class citizents?

Not I, but there are people missing the ability to use their hands or that do not have hands, they use instead their feet.

Hope there is a solution for them.
 
brooker said:
although we may get to gesture-aware monitors some day, i bet the first iterations will use the trackpad on laptops, and mice on desktops (then tablet portables).
Click to expand...

I have been hoping that Apple will put all of their MultiTouch technology into their laptop trackpads. It would be amazing if they could do a software update and enable this on "older" machines as well.
-Chasen
 
EagerDragon said:
My toes are second class citizents?

Not I, but there are people missing the ability to use their hands or that do not have hands, they use instead their feet.

Hope there is a solution for them.
Click to expand...

Right on. Certainly multi-touch is very exciting... for those capable of doing it. Hopefully Apple won't forget that there are Mac people with RSI, etc who need to use ergonomic keyboards and the like.
 
If there has to be a chart explaining what all the gestures do then by definition it's not very intuitive.

From M-W, especially 2(c)

Intuition.
1 : quick and ready insight
2 a : immediate apprehension or cognition b : knowledge or conviction gained by intuition c : the power or faculty of attaining to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference
 
zombitronic said:
In regards to learning a new input language; I find it exciting and refreshing, from both a physical and mental state. If it physically feels more natural than its predecessor you feel a deeper involvement with the device. The Nintendo Wii and the iPhone demonstrate this experience. I don't feel the hesitation, as some do, to adopt a new way of interacting with our surroundings, mainly technology. Others, however, latch on to a process, grow comfortable and are weary of change.

I'm in my mid 20s. Do you guys feel that this is a generational preference or a personal one?
Click to expand...

i totally agree and I'm 25 and my friends in the same age feel the same as well, I think it's a generation thing, we've seen alot of standards change just in our lifetime, we saw vinyl go, tapes come and go, cd's come and starting to go, mp3s come. just in the way we listen to music we've seen alot change. we are a generation that has alot evolve around us, i can remember a time before the internet!
 
sartinsauce said:
I completely agree with your comments about a deeper level on communication.

But to answer your question, give yourself another decade or two. My parents thought they were hip and open to new things too. And so did their parents. At some point in your life it is likely that some 'thing' will come along that is so "new" that it'll be some kind of fundamental adjustment for you to accept that 'thing.'
Click to expand...

I still think in another decade or two Generation X and The Millennial Generation will still be pushing forward and embracing new technology. It seems that The Baby Boomers and The Builder generation for the most part aren't as willilng to accept that change. Technology has become a staple in our lives (Gen X & Mill.) much more so than that of the the prior generations. It's my belief that the Millennial Generation and Generation X will continue to ride the wave of technology till the end embracing all that comes with it.

Perhaps it's just me; a 31 year old who loves technology and change, but I think my generation is very much on board with moving forward concerning technology.
 
i dont see how apple could make gains on a touch screen display since a lot of apple users are some sort of designers, the work they do needs precision touch which is hard to do with a fingertip.
 
rbroady said:
i dont see how apple could make gains on a touch screen display since a lot of apple users are some sort of designers, the work they do needs precision touch which is hard to do with a fingertip.
Click to expand...

i think it would be better actually, if you have a stylous

what we all have to remember is right now operating systems and software are setup for a mouse and keyboard interaction, if you have multitouch the layout will change
 
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