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Apple Working on Multi-Touch Mac?
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How neat would it be to have a bluetooth multi-touch pad?
You could use it when the occasion warranted it. Otherwise, it's out of the way.
It's only a little data that needs to move to the computer from the pad, so BT would offer plenty of bandwidth.
I'd buy it.
You could use it when the occasion warranted it. Otherwise, it's out of the way.
It's only a little data that needs to move to the computer from the pad, so BT would offer plenty of bandwidth.
I'd buy it.
The next iPod is going to be HUGE....
The above quote was from Steve's 2006 keynote. Perhaps he knew then that Apple would be selling a 10 inch version of an iPod Touch by 2008. Ok let's hope it's lighter than 8 pounds but the development hardware in the lab in 2006 likely was 8 pounds. Maybe he was not joking
Or maybe the joke was that he was telling the truth and no one would believe it at the time.
The above quote was from Steve's 2006 keynote. Perhaps he knew then that Apple would be selling a 10 inch version of an iPod Touch by 2008. Ok let's hope it's lighter than 8 pounds but the development hardware in the lab in 2006 likely was 8 pounds. Maybe he was not joking
Or maybe the joke was that he was telling the truth and no one would believe it at the time.
Wasn't it at All Things D durring the Bill and Steve Should when asked about multi-touch and the Mac?
Steve said something along the lines of...
They had to put the idea into a separate and new device first, to get people use to the idea. People are resistant to change you need to train them to think the idea is there own, before you could roll it back in to the main lines.
So...
iPhone Break through device
iTouch roll back to iPod line
Coverflow training mac users to want to reach out and touch.
Agreed. Coverflow is great on the iPod because you can touch it and flick and then tap and go to your albums and 'BOOM' you did what you were thinking.
But it was pointless in OS X proper until Quick Look, NOW its really useful because you can scroll sideways (at least on Mighty Mouse) then space bar (tap) to open most files without another app.
So take that idea onto a 10"-12" ipod touch/iphone, which already runs OS X and is one software update away from being able to do all that...keeping in mind is ALREADY does CoverFlow.
We've covered this already in lots-o-detail in our blog...Just another indication Apple are perusing this fairly aggressively.
Z
i hope this happens soon.....like macworld. but i doubt it will. looking forward to when it happens though
Well, I know it's all hearsay and rumours... but this is a rumour site, so suck it up 
but it might be worth noting Admin's response to my comment re: "Something strange about the trackpad" etc. over on 9to5mac today. They were right about the Nano and the iPod Touch, after all...
but it might be worth noting Admin's response to my comment re: "Something strange about the trackpad" etc. over on 9to5mac today. They were right about the Nano and the iPod Touch, after all... Why the **** is this a story...again? Ugh...we get it. They are looking into touch screens and OS's...so is MS. WHooop dee dooo. Ultra-portable notebook? Thats new info! NOT.
Then I command you to go forth into the world and gather information! And do not return until you have found tales of wonder and excitement! Now fly! Flyyyyyyyy!!!
Upon successful return you shall be rewarded with magics beyond your most fantastic dreams, nay, more fantastic than anyone could possibly dream of.
However if you return with nothing, I shall promise you that I will look the other way should Baal find you and torture you like he did the shova Teal'c.
kiosk
Aside from tablets, I could see this being useful in a non-consumer fashion such as kiosks and information desks and the like. Kiosks often incorporate really odd keyboards.
On a consumer front, I would cringe at everyone touching the screen! I HATE when people feel the need to do that. Especially on laptops. It's just wrong!
However, it would make for one kick ass game of collapse.... <g>
Aside from tablets, I could see this being useful in a non-consumer fashion such as kiosks and information desks and the like. Kiosks often incorporate really odd keyboards.
On a consumer front, I would cringe at everyone touching the screen! I HATE when people feel the need to do that. Especially on laptops. It's just wrong!
However, it would make for one kick ass game of collapse.... <g>
Indeed. The same way I feel. There is NO WAY you can use a touch screen faster than a mouse and keyboard. Lets move our ENTIRE ARM to the screen, slide things around, etc. OR lets type 120 WPM and move the pointer across the screen with a mouse in less than a quarter inch.....
Of course you'd buy it. Ugh.
I believe Apple canned the Newton at the time because the technology was not available to make the device very useful. Subsequently, SJ said on a number of occasions that the time was not right for a tablet. Now, Apple has the hardware and software technology to produce a tablet that functions much more intuitively than anything currently available. You might even say that the iPhone and iPod Touch were largely a testing ground for the technology that, as it matures, will find its way into Newton II. IIRC, at a keynote in the past year, SJ said that Apple was working on its most exciting products ever (I know, typical Apple marketing...)
I believe that the Mac tablet will be a reality. It may not come at MWSF 2008, but I suspect we will see it by MWSF 2009 at the latest.
I believe that the Mac tablet will be a reality. It may not come at MWSF 2008, but I suspect we will see it by MWSF 2009 at the latest.
maybe the touchscreen will not be intended to replace but to supplement a keyboard and mouse (at least at first).
think of an imac that works great how you know it and love it, but you can also just touch it whenever.
*just thinking out loud. i'm sure apple would not do anything so lame. just saying that i think it will take a transition.
think of an imac that works great how you know it and love it, but you can also just touch it whenever.
*just thinking out loud. i'm sure apple would not do anything so lame. just saying that i think it will take a transition.
Quality assurance testing... Stop me if I'm reading too much into this, but wouldn't this imply that the bulk of the development has already been done and they're working on tweaking?
*licks chops*
-Clive
You mean like those 'U-Scan' self checkout things at the supermarkets these days?
I swear a lot of people on this forum are like "Wow! Touchscreen technology!That's something totally new and has never been used anywhere, just imagine how this could change our lives!!!"
Touch screens have been around for years, and are becoming very common on just about anything other than desktop computers. Industrial automation, cash registers, refrigerators, GPS systems, bus stops, ATM's, literally they are everywhere.
Ultimately the reason they aren't on everyones desks these days isn't because the technology hasn't been available, because it has been for years. It's because when you're sitting at your desk, you don't want to have to lift up your arms and touch the screen when you can move your mouse a half of an inch in a quarter of a second, and accomplish the same task. Prime example is the touchscreen HP computer. Fun to play with for about 5 minutes before you arms get tired. Most touch screen devices you will run into have the display at just above waist height so it is at a natural level to use when you're standing up.
Touch screens are great in places where a mouse just isn't practical. But otherwise they're only fun for casual use.
For Businesses...
I have to say that this may be the opportunity for apple to expand from the individual consumer to businesses... on a small scale imagine your ATM using an Apple Interface with a touch screen instead of the wonderful NCR interface that is touch / keypad (at least in the case of Chase). Cash registers and the like are a large market that seems to be untapped by "new" technology. As respectful as one can be to NCR... they're still behind in the times. Just a thought?
I have to say that this may be the opportunity for apple to expand from the individual consumer to businesses... on a small scale imagine your ATM using an Apple Interface with a touch screen instead of the wonderful NCR interface that is touch / keypad (at least in the case of Chase). Cash registers and the like are a large market that seems to be untapped by "new" technology. As respectful as one can be to NCR... they're still behind in the times. Just a thought?
Does this mean no touchy stuff in the new ultraportable at Macworld? Surely they would have hired somebody sooner if that was going to have touch integration..
Gorilla Arm. Look it up.
Multitouch is a gimmick for 99.5% of applications. Support it as an option if it's cheap enough to do so - why not? - but by and large I expect to still be typing on a physical keyboard and using a pointing device abstracted from the 1:1 scale of the display in 10 years, because typing on a screen with no physical feedback sucks and moving your whole arm and hand around a screen for an 8 or 12 hour workday to manipulate a cursor is exhausting.
Multitouch is a gimmick for 99.5% of applications. Support it as an option if it's cheap enough to do so - why not? - but by and large I expect to still be typing on a physical keyboard and using a pointing device abstracted from the 1:1 scale of the display in 10 years, because typing on a screen with no physical feedback sucks and moving your whole arm and hand around a screen for an 8 or 12 hour workday to manipulate a cursor is exhausting.
I agree with all the people on here saying it is NOT practical. For conventional computer use, a mouse and keyboard is MUCH faster. As I recall Steve Jobs said at the All Things D conference with Bill gates that they weren't quite sure how the technology should be implemented into computers, or if he even thought it should be at all. If Apple does do it, it will be a Newton like tablet, and if they do it on computers it will be on the trackpad, or a multi-touch mouse with a normal keyboard as well, NOT the screen. That is the only way it would make sense and work. DONE!
I'd like to see a wireless peripheral on the finger to act as a mouse, so you just wave your finger(s) around to do what you want. Still have the keyboard to type and the spare hand to move things. I'd be more interested in that than touch-screen. Plus I have to clean it.
I wouldn't rule that possibility out just yet. The team that designed the iPhone / iPod Touch got it right... what's to say they didn't work on a touchscreen device afterwards...
This could just be a cry out from Apple because they know how successful their touchscreen products are, and want to expand the technology faster.
I'd like to see a wireless peripheral on the finger to act as a mouse, so you just wave your finger(s) around to do what you want. Still have the keyboard to type and the spare hand to move things. I'd be more interested in that than touch-screen. Plus I have to clean it.
AMEN, especially as a video person I HATE when people touch my screen and leave finger prints, HATE it!