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Apple Patent Watch: 'Spaces' for Tablets, Multiple Cameras for 3D iPhone Photos

iDisk said:
COOL APRIL FOOLS ARTICLE!!

I HOPE YOU FORUMS MEMBERS AREN'T TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY, LOL "spaces" on iPad?:rolleyes:
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Macrumors don't really ever post April fools stories, besides you can follow the links and see that the patent is indeed legit. But a patent does not mean Apple are doing it but it's still interesting for people interested in the matter and for discussion.
 
tigress666 said:
I don't think it sounds like an april fools joke cause it doesn't sound doable...

Just that Apple would be putting that in their iphone (particularly the 5. I'd be very shocked if Apple did anything 3d in the 5. Maybe later if 3d takes off and gets a reputation of being more than a gimmick).

It just seems 3d is a gimmicky thing that I could see marketing for a gaming machine but not something you are marketing more for a personal device for everything from gaming to productivity to social networking (It seems they'd want it to be taken more seriously and putting 3d on it would be hard to market the iphone to a more serious crowd as it comes off gimicky).
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There are already two Android phones that shoot stills and video in 3D and display on the screen, glasses free. This one comes to Sprint this summer.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/22/htc-evo-3d-first-hands-on/

So it's not so far fetched.
 
fishmoose said:
Macrumors don't really ever post April fools stories, besides you can follow the links and see that the patent is indeed legit. But a patent does not mean Apple are doing it but it's still interesting for people interested in the matter and for discussion.
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Meh... Its just a good april fools article, no need to get defensive;)
 
We've already seen a developer preview version of iOS 4.3 that included app switching via multi finger swiping, and a home screen swipe command. I think that is more realistic than spaces. There are time however that I would love to segment my screen on my iPad as well as on my iMac and rather than a spaces environment, I would like to work in that environment.

Imagine if you could put you desktop/notebook or even iPad screen into half, quarters, or a one half/two quarters split screen where you could monitor various items and complete tasks.

For example. I am importing my digital camera into iPhoto. I want to work in iPhoto when I am done, but don't want to watch it. That could take 1/4 of the screen. Likewise, I could have iTunes operating in a 1/4. Then I could use 1/2 the screen for a webpage or mail.

Same thing for doing financials, a webpage for 1/4 or half and Quicken in the rest. Instead of resizing windows to the current task, and then sizing back, you just initiate the workspace command, designate your layout, and drag and drop app windows to those spaces and they auto resize to the space allotted. Then when you are done, they go back to full screen.

Same thing would work great on iOS. Let me track some sports scores on a portion of the screen while I use the rest of it to browse the web, or play a game.
 
I really wish and hope Apple uses Mission Control as the multitasking implementation for the iPad instead of the multitasking tray.
 
ipoddin said:
There are already two Android phones that shoot stills and video in 3D and display on the screen, glasses free. This one comes to Sprint this summer.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/22/htc-evo-3d-first-hands-on/

So it's not so far fetched.
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Yeah, but because Android phones have so many other android phones to compete against it makes sense some would grab onto the "gimmick" to give themselves an edge at least to a certain market over other android phones.

Since only Apple makes the iphone and they are trying to make it appeal to a much more general audience (They don't need to compete with other iOS devices and have it stand out in a way but they need it to have a general appeal to a wide market to compete with all the different Android phones), I just don't see Apple embracing it at least not right now when it's still relatively new to the public and it hasn't shown whether it has mass appeal to the general public.

Not saying it wouldn't happen, I just don't think it would (at least not this soon. It would have to show that it is a good seller and universally liked. Apple doesn't jump on things soon as they come out).
 
IF this is true about 3D, Apple can Officially Claim Toy Status. :eek:

This report is all over the web, so I doubt it's an April fools joke.

I want a plastic 3D iPhone to make fun of :D
 
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I don't believe the 3D cams is an April Fool's joke. I read that story the other day on another site through Google News.
 
Multi touch trackpads allowed for "gestures" but I have been thinking for a long time that what we really need is a 3D stereo camera to allow hand gestures to me made in the air without physical contact with the screen. This s about the only way a 27 inch "touch screen" can work, that is by not actually touching it

The problem is processor power. 3D tracking on real time of all five fingers using a web cam is not possible but maybe of much of the processing is done by tricks like this, t might work.

Note that the human vision system uses tricks too. Some of the "number crunching" is done in neurons that are just in back of the retina and before the optic nerve. The best computer vision designs I'm sure will mimic nature.

In time we will all have to learn some complex sign language that will allows us to work faster than we could ever work with a mouse.
 
Patent for this?!

iDisk said:
COOL APRIL FOOLS ARTICLE!!

I HOPE YOU FORUMS MEMBERS AREN'T TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY, LOL "spaces" on iPad?:rolleyes:
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Of course this is real, simply another gesture to switch apps. Doubt the apps will be still running in the spaces though, maybe a snapshot of its last activity.

The real joke is that why oh why do they have to file a patent for "spaces", c'mon that's pushing it too far.
 
Pretty obvious april fool's joke.

Whoever includes screenshots in patents? Can't you imagine the can of worms that would bring along?

EDIT: In hindsight, I may have jumped the gun, it doesn't seem that far fetched at all.
 
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X2468 said:
IF this is true about 3D, Apple can Officially Claim Toy Status. :eek:

This report is all over the web, so I doubt it's an April fools joke.

I want a plastic 3D iPhone to make fun of :D
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AFAIK many of Apple's products have been called toys by haters dating back to, at least, the clamshell iBook.
And glasses-free 3D doesn't yet have the reputation of being a toy, as only one mass shipped product on the market includes the technology- a $250 handheld gaming device. It's pretty cutting edge ATM. However, being a gaming device many would call it a toy, regardless.
 
KnightWRX said:
Please, virtual desktops were available in 80s, on computers with exponentially less processing power than even 10 year old cellphones.

If Apple can't make this work on A4 or A5 chips, there's a bloat problem somewhere.
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And the reason it isn't here now is because they JUST thought of the idea? ...
 
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powerslave12r said:
Whoever includes screenshots in patents? Can't you imagine the can of worms that would bring along?
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You must be new to all this :)
http://images.google.ca/m/search?q=apple+patent&mshr=6&popt=1&pbx=1&site=images&aq=&oq=apple+patent&aqi=&fkt=1871&fsdt=9528&htf=&his=&csll=&action=&ltoken=969cfc5d#p=0
 
nagromme said:
I love the iOS developer app-switching gestures, and I hope Apple does something with them. But I can see how they might interfere with apps. I thought this commentary (via Daring Fireball) had an even better idea:

http://kickingbear.com/blog/archives/92

The idea there I really liked is holding the home button while doing those gestures (at least as the default option). That way apps (like Garageband and 2-player-1-screen games) still have full access to 4+ fingers, until you hold Home. You can have your gestures and eat them too... or... something.
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That's horrible. What's the point in holding the home button down and then doing the gestures? The entire point of the gestures is to make things much more faster and intuitive.
 
Lesser Evets said:
And the reason it isn't here now is because they JUST thought of the idea? ...
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What good is virtual desktops for a device that doesn't multi-task ? That's why it's not there now. You simply switch apps to bring them to foreground using the task manager or springboard, no need for "spaces". In a sense, every app already runs in a space and the space switcher is the task manager.
 
This is not an April Fools. The fact that 3D is bringing up negative conceptions is unfortunate. A new term for what is coming will sooner or later show up. When we take a photo now it is simply a flat surface. With this when you take a photo you will be able to see in and around everything in the photo. Take a picture of someone and you will actually be able to see behind them too. This will be very cool. May still be a couple of years away but it is very close. It can already be done but the overall technology is still costly at this time.
 
KnightWRX said:
What good is virtual desktops for a device that doesn't multi-task ? That's why it's not there now. You simply switch apps to bring them to foreground using the task manager or springboard, no need for "spaces". In a sense, every app already runs in a space and the space switcher is the task manager.
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Exactly. Spaces is already there, as it's just bringing up the recent apps switcher and selecting a new app/space. It could make for a better app switcher, though.
 
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Full of Win said:
Never really liked spaces. However exposé, at least a better implementation than safari does, would be welcomed.
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I don't really understand what Spaces has got to do with a full-screen-app OS anyway. Unless this was an old patent before they had decided on iOS for tablets?
 
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