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Original MacBook Air Capable of 4 Finger Gestures Through Software Update

I've seen some demos of the early 08 MBP/MBA track pads tracking 12 independent points (look around on youtube). Once you have the hardware for that, the rest is just the driver. I'd be surprised if the sensor for the glass trackpads are any different then those.
The scrolling (two finger) trackpads don't appear to be able to "track" more then one point. All they seem to do is recognize that two fingers are on the pad and then track the average position.
 
arn said:
I'm guessing they didn't want to have to redesign the case just to add that glass trackpad.



it's linked off the article. click on it.

arn
Click to expand...

Look at the date, it's old news. The person who did it have not responded to anyone's questions.
 
they had better

add this functionality if it is possible. rubbish to let the old users out in the cold just for a software lack.
 
I'm curious to see whether the regular trackpad MacBook Pro's can do this.

The trackpad knows the difference between one, two and three fingers.
 
It's like missing the two finger right click, on the iBook G4. It's capable of two finger scroll, so it can't be any thing else then a software matter to make it do right clicking via two fingers.
 
I'm not holding my breath on this one but it would be pretty cool.

It would be a change for Apple since they use not to enable new features on (old) hardware specially if there is a new version out.

I never really understood that but I guess it's (also) a good way to sell the new stuff.
 
WHOA. Guys, slow down.

I mean my current MacBook Pro can do three-fingered gestures, but you're all suggesting it might be able to do FOUR!?!?? :eek:

gruesome_scanners_431x300.jpg



Impossible. There's no way. Clearly the hardware is the problem here. :rolleyes:
 
I guess this has no hope of working with my core duo MBP... no multi-touch, just two-finger scrolling:(
 
"Waaaaaaaah! Hacks are unethical!!! Blah Blah Blah, you hackintosh owners should perish in flames!!"

Now genuine Mac owners have to hack to gain full access to OS X's features. I'm laughing on the inside.

-Clive
 
What gets me is my mid-2007 MBP can do multi-touch using a slightly different implementation to what Apple uses in their current versions, they can do pinch, four finger swipes etc just fine. Takes 10 minutes in Max/MSP inputting the trackpad as a HID to prove it.

Why Apple is restricting such gestures annoys me. Even iBooks and PowerBooks can do these gestures.
 
But on the subject of one-fingered gestures.... the pinch effect is ok, but my wacom has a circular pad at the top and I can use one finger to scroll up/down and zoom in/out. Nice little feature. I wish there was a way to add multi-touch to my early white 2008 macbook, the way I got my desk setup, I have the keyboard below me and the mac off to the left (I am left handed) for using the trackpad, while I am hooked to my 19-inch monitor. Works nice, but more gestures would be great.

Other than that I am much quicker than on my windows PC using a mouse.
 
It'll probably be added in 10.5.6. The new machines have a slightly updated version of OSX which enables four-finger gestures.

It'll definitely be available in Snow Leopard. The devices are capable of four-fingers (they use the same controller as the iPhone), and the multi-touch framework would expose that.
 
Maybe we'll get lucky and Apple will get this on the non-glass multitouch trackpads. But I just seem to doubt it.

"Hacking is not a crime!"

morespce54 said:
I never really understood that but I guess it's (also) a good way to sell the new stuff.
Click to expand...

Are people really going to buy a new laptop because they could use four fingers now instead of three?
 
I'm not sure if this is new, but in fact the iPhone has 4 finger sensitivity. I knew this when I'm playing with an app called minipiano.
 
TheSlush said:
Has Apple ever been known to backwards-enable new functionality in old products? Not that I can think of, but I'm curious.
Click to expand...

Not usually. I bought an aluminum keyboard for my white iMac and when first plugging it in, the USB 2.0 ports worked, but after updating my system so all the buttons would function properly the USB ports don't work period, not even for something as simple as a flash drive. It's all rather frustrating.
 
Saladinos said:
It'll probably be added in 10.5.6. The new machines have a slightly updated version of OSX which enables four-finger gestures.

It'll definitely be available in Snow Leopard. The devices are capable of four-fingers (they use the same controller as the iPhone), and the multi-touch framework would expose that.
Click to expand...

Quicker machines due to the graphics cards:D
multi-gesture due to new trackpad:)
smaller foot printer and quicker os due to snow lep:)

Oh yeah - I can see myself with a new macbook or pro in about a year. :D

Hopefully by then they come out with a true dock, if not will just have to do the same setup I got now. Hopefully touchscreen/tablet comes out by then too. I mean the OS already has inkwell and a wacom works great with it - :apple:could do this easily
 
I think it will come out as a silent update in 10.5.6. It would be a little embarrassing for them to continue to say it is impossible (which they never should have done after it became common knowledge that the trackpads had iphone guts).

As much as I use spaces, I am going to hack my OS to make it work if they do not come out with an enabler for it in 10.5.6.
 
TheSlush said:
Has Apple ever been known to backwards-enable new functionality in old products? Not that I can think of, but I'm curious.
Click to expand...
Apple has enabled such things in the past. It just takes a really loooong time. When all of the PowerBooks were updated with two finger right clicking the 12" wasn't (even the last revisions that had two finger scrolling). It wasn't until 10.5 that it showed up unannounced. That was AT LEAST a year later.

justflie said:
I wonder how much they would charge for this software update? $10? I would very highly doubt it would be for free given their reasoning behind charging for previous-gen iPod touch updates...
Click to expand...
MasterNile said:
Wireless N enabler for Intel Wireless G iMacs, but yes you probably will have to pay for it like the enabler or the ipod touch updates.
Click to expand...
If Apple is kind and adds the driver to the other MBs then I highly doubt they'd charge for it. That has to do with how Apple financially tracks the iPhone (subscription) and iPod touch (one time sell). This tactic sounds fishy to me (and doesn't make a whole lot of sense) but other financial experts agree that businesses have to do this legally. Anyway, all that to say, they don't track the MBs the same way.

As far as I know, Apple has never charged for a trackpad driver update.
 
longofest said:
Better description would be the following, actually:

  1. Regular trackpad (non Multi-Touch) does NOT offer two finger scrolling.
  2. Scrolling trackpad with two finger scrolling
  3. Multi-Touch Trackpad - came with MBA and Early 2008 MBPs
  4. "Glass" Multi-Touch Trackpad - came with Oct 2008 MBs and MBPs

2 finger scrolling was built-in to Macs and OSX from 2005 onward. Some pre-2005 laptops were able to have their trackpads 2-finger scroll enabled using a 3rd party driver, but G3 iBooks and TiBooks and before all are definitely "regular trackpads"
Click to expand...

Dunno what support they did have, but I do know that iScroll2 sucked. It was ok, but quite clear why Apple didn't support 2 finger scrolling on the things. Behaviour was jumpy and occasionally erratic.
 
Software update? Yeah, it's as a likely as they will recall computers for failing video cards.
 
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