Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Patent: Apple Details Multi-Touch Mac User Interface

Apple is such a darn tease with multi-touch and gesture patents!
Fingerworks IP got passed to them, and some from Fingerworks are working at Aple now (we've seen several patents with named ex-Fingerworks employees).

I think that the multi-touch is a much bigger story than the tablet. Woo hoo, it's a tablet - you can create a tablet from a decently folding cscreen over a laptop's keyboard - see the IDF MID video showing one of these off - the MIDs on that video show Apple isn't even in that ball park playing currently.

Wacom have shown it's possible, Lux et al have shown it's feasible to move to the Macs.

Presumably multitouch is baked into Snow Leopard - anyone have any ideas as to how they'd fit it in transparently? Presumably as part of the SDK - the OS can recognise if there's multitouch enabled hardware, and turn on those features - just trying to think if there is a few precedents or examples of this previously for Apple products.
 
jnc said:
No.
Click to expand...

Why would you say that. There are a bunch of images on Google that put this exact thing? would not be the first time it is leaked. I remember some of the first leaks about a tablet markup and quess what - it was the axiotron that came out. Also a number of macs and ipod/iphone supposed markups turned out to be that exact thing. And like someone said, these markups have it shown at too many different angles - Yes I know about rotating and inverting images, but come on they appear on different websites at different times. Beside we are talking about two different patents that photoshops were done for, and yet one of photo shops combinds both rumors perfectly?

I dunno seems too coincidental......

jnc said:
Already here dude :D - http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/input/8193/
Click to expand...


Yep, see that. Not sure how much a market (other than a toy). But then again Livescribe just gave us the paper based tablet.

Laser keyboard. Hmm - need room to project the image. How accurate is it. Wow, they say it works with OSX, but there are some driver compatibility issues. People complain about my loud typing now.... Tapping on a table is much louder... It shows what technology can do, but I do not see that lasting.
 
Hahahahaha... Look at those hands hahaha.... Anyways, if this ever happens, cool. But I doubt a patent means it will actually happen.
 
apple touch screen is better bcos its temperature sensitive

not like others ms palm u need really press on it.
 
good news

i think it's about time apple responds to the HP all-in-one touch system. From what i've seen it doesn't look that bad. not a horrible price mark up. and i guess it's got multi-touch (though it's definitely not apples)

wouldn't it be nice on the imac?

I just hope they don't mark up the price to something ridiculous...which is likely... i can only hope if they do then they would drop the price and improve the ipod touch.

also i wouldn't mind a multi-touch laptop, but i don't want to pay for a macbook that is priced like the air. which is expected if you ask me.

I hope apple is sincere about dropping there nasty 34% gross profit on there Average product. I mean wasn't one of apple's primary goals to put a personal computer in every persons house... i hope they do still believe what they dreamed about when they were just a baby computer company.
 
Will Apple try again?

/dev/toaster said:
If Apple releases a tablet they are really going to kick the crap out of MS. Many companies have tried a tablet and failed, however I think Apple can pull it off.

I know I will buy one, I do see a big use for it. Especially, if it somehow can connect or work with the AppleTV. Not talking iTunes, I mean applications. Could you imagine if Apple got into the game market with a tablet and AppleTV ? Not sure how well it would do, but OMG you would be able to create some cleaver applications.
Click to expand...

Apple has already made a handheld computer of this size. Steve Jobs killed it when he came back a few years ago. Remember, it was called the Newton.
 
shervieux said:
With some of the markups floating around the web. I wonder if this patent hints at the size of what they may be releasing? Here are some close markups I have seen. I only chose a few as God knows there are 100's of guess. Personally I like the last 2 options. If the touch tablet had enough power or the dock would give it a boost in power (not sure how), then I could see forgoing my macbook and getting a tablet/imac combo. With my Wacom, I now only type if I have to write long letters/messages or do programming. Everything else is just click, sketch, or handwriting recognition.

One word of advice - don't ever have inkwell/handwriting recognition turned on and then turn on omnidazzle without stopping the inkwell - talk about your conflict and perpetual beachball and fans kicking on extra high. I had to shut if off and turn the macbook back on.

atom-iphone.jpg


apple_tablet.jpg


MacBook-Touch.jpg


0512_imac_tablet_inset_450.jpg


908500a8cgt.jpg
Click to expand...


The first photo looks like a fat iPodTouch/iPhone. The last one has a dvd drive in it. Apple took the dvd drive out of the IntelMacBookAir, so why would they put one in such a small unit?
 
The patent attorney was told have the "author write us," which was obviously misunderstood to be "arthritis."
 
iMacmatician said:
It's 1" thick. I highly doubt Apple will release a similar product that thick. Apple's all about thin, thin, thin. Less thickness = Less performance = Less suitability of Mac OS X.

A thin device about 2x~4x the display area (7"~10") would have a similar internal area and would be at the lower limit of Mac OS X.
Click to expand...

That would be great for us, as far as it can be used for true full blown wired and wireless presenations from NATIVE Keynote and PowerPoint files (in other words, as far as it runs the native iWork and Office for Mac). With Ethernet and Firewire ports as well. And no more than 500 g or so.
 
Macworld 08

I bet that at MacWorld 08 they are going to release a Macintosh Tablet as there major product and a new Cinema Display as a minor product release.:apple:
 
lgoodlove said:
i think it's about time apple responds to the HP all-in-one touch system. From what i've seen it doesn't look that bad. not a horrible price mark up. and i guess it's got multi-touch (though it's definitely not apples)
Click to expand...

Wasn't a nice interface all told - see Walt Mossberg's review on allthingsd.com - he panned it. As for gross margins - they're likely to stay in some form. It's not suddenly going to drop down lower than 27% or so i'd imagine.

heisetax said:
The first photo looks like a fat iPodTouch/iPhone. The last one has a dvd drive in it. Apple took the dvd drive out of the IntelMacBookAir, so why would they put one in such a small unit?
Click to expand...

How about actually putting DVD burning in the base mini model 1st eh? hehe... A Tablet is a great contender to not have a DVD drive in, ala MacBook Air, and to also basically use the MacBook Air drive add on, as an optional buy if you wanted one. DVD burning and someone moving around with it at the same time seems a little counter-productive.

Intel pegged more information coming out in the Taipei Taiwan IDF I believe (Oct 2008)- i.e. Before MWSF, before WWDC. WWDC would seem a good time to bring out ACDs in a way - as the OS might have resolution independence, they could bring in DisplayPort ACDs, have HDMI, possibly but maybe not HDCP etc. Atom or the MacBook Air chip would be a good contender to run the Tablet. I'd imagine user's would be expecting a fair bit of power from it anyhow. A Tablet could soft-launch multitouch features and be the test bed for sorting it out on OS X.

Edit: Why can't a hypothetical Apple Tablet not have pressure sensitivity, and add that into the SDK?
 
Cool and not

This really pretty cool, BUT the one reason it WON'T ever kick Tablet PC's butt is there is no pressure sensitivity.

Apple would be shutting out half of the tablet's niche market if you can't use it to draw on. Check out a Cintiq to see what I mean.
 
Pigumon said:
This really pretty cool, BUT the one reason it WON'T ever kick Tablet PC's butt is there is no pressure sensitivity.

Apple would be shutting out half of the tablet's niche market if you can't use it to draw on. Check out a Cintiq to see what I mean.
Click to expand...

NTrig now produce a panel that combines Stylus/Pressure Sensitivity with MultiTouch. So you never know. It only supports 256 levels at the moment though.
 
don't get excited

Yeah guys I gotta echo the previous comments on the fingers. So let's not get too excited, as clearly the product line is aimed at Spielberg aliens.
 
that mock of up combining the imac and a tablet would be a cool idea (No idea how practical though) they could even have a tad bit bigger screen if you bought a 24 inch model over the 20 inch.

be neat to have all your files up loaded before class the throw over a movie or song you were working on then go to class take notes on it and it transfers automatically when you plug it into the home station.

or you could just carry around a laptop....
 
Delicious-Apple said:
NTrig now produce a panel that combines Stylus/Pressure Sensitivity with MultiTouch. So you never know. It only supports 256 levels at the moment though.
Click to expand...

:eek: Wow, that is VERY promising! Apple is good at acquiring the best technologies to add to their own. Even 256 is way better than 1. Yeah I was thinking, I wish you could have the option of using a stylus for certain apps.

Now I'm back to drooling.
 
Atom is not a good contender for this at all. Atom chips are horribly slow and inefficient. An underclocked Athlon 64 chip clocked at the same speed as an atom chip not only outperforms it for the same clock speed, but also draws less power to boot. They should stick with the MBA chip for any tablet they may or may not make.
 
Baffles said:
Atom is not a good contender for this at all. Atom chips are horribly slow and inefficient. An underclocked Athlon 64 chip clocked at the same speed as an atom chip not only outperforms it for the same clock speed, but also draws less power to boot.
Click to expand...
Source please. TIA.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back