I have successfully built my SurfaceTable, TOUCHLIB related software on the run has been OK, but there is a problem, can not completely shake off the mouse and keyboard is out, if we can swap out of the shackles of the mouse and keyboard, Surface Table To be called a real perfect.
Do you have any suggestions on how to make that happen? =)
It’ll be a long time till the mouse and keyboard “it out.” Personally, I don’t know that it’ll ever be replaced by multitouch computing (not until tactile feedback is at least added).
I have a suggestion, can prepare a program, computer boot Windows_Mousedriver run automatically, when I run multitouch programs, Windows_Mousedriver automatically stop, and when I closed multitouch programs, Windows_Mousedriver will run automatically, I will not programming, if the relevant software can be installed directly on OK. But I did not find. If this is the case, mouse and keyboard can be thrown into the side.
This is an idea I lkie to ditch the keyboard and mouse. well mostly the mouse as I find it often physically painful to use from rsi or something. Keyboard really does need a feedback of some sort. some thing like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk-ExWeA03Y
with a solinide to move the screen?
The serial port is dead.
Long live the serial port.
It’s like that.
OK. Look at all the interface boards out there right now to convert good old RS232 to USB.
Motherboards with no RS232 suck, so outboard devices to bridge the gap have come forth out of need. OOPS!!! A little too quick to remove those, alond with a floppy drive.
RS232 still gets used and it’s quite useful to communicate with older fully functioning devices that will ALSO be around for a while.
The keyboard and pointing device are going to be around for some time to come. Why? Because like a pencil and paper, it’s simple, supported, and practical.
I do like to have fun with the mousedriver on my MT table, but I have much more finite control over my cursor with my mousey mouse, and I just input this text while kickkin back in a comfy chair with my hands at rest on my nice woodden desktop, not on a virtual keyboard with zero tactile feedback.
BUT… if you can figure out some way to emulate everything I like about my mouse and keyboard and put it on a MT surface… go forth and code!!
It is an interesting idea to try and dump the mouse and keyboard, but I have to agree, it is not entirly possible....... yet. I have a touchstream keyboard from fingerworks, and I LOVE it to death (infact it is what got me into multitouch in the first place). I have gotten used to the lack of tactile feedback, no problem. The problem i DO run into with using it is gaming, and although any productive working on the computer can be done with my touchstream, Nothing beats the ol’ WASD spacebar left hand and mousing right hand combo for....... well EVERY game.
I guess my point is that while I truly want a complete multi touch interface, free of any other device, this dream is still quite far off for the time.
We could implement some of the stuff that some of the HTC phones were using. They were using a little buzzer that would shake when you touched the screen, his gave the illusion of tactile feedback. It’s a “mind trick” we could do something like that which would buzz every time that you touched the screen. Albeit, we would need a bigger buzzer than that used in the phone.
Samsung’s U600 and Armani branded phone have that to.My GF owns them both , it really gives of the impression that your phisically touching something.Might work nice for a MT table , but the motor would have to be big.
How about a micro solenoid that taps the underside of the screen?
It could be mounted off to the side and connected to the computer via USB and a microcontroller. Talk to it with a serial connection.
It could be written into the code when and what triggers it. You could put a rubber tip on it for a softer tap.
I do think we can get rid of the mouse and keyboard if we put some serious thought into it. The problem is we’ve all grown up with the UI we’re currently using to develop the next sets of UI’s (see my blog, which way up post I think). We’re stuck in a rectangular world, it’s about time we started thinking not outside of the box, but away from it all together.
Keyboards have a place for coding, for the moment, until we develop a visual coding system which is multi-touch happy. Then we can sit there and play.
I can easily see the integration of MT and a conventional desktop.
Picture this in the not so distant future:
Your workstation now has MT built in. You sit at a table or desk and there sits the monitor where it always was. It’s still the main viewing device for most tasks.
Built into the table it sets on is MT technology. The whole surface is touchable. You can define a keyboard and trackpad area anywhere you like.
They are both virtual and they can be scaled, draged rotated etc.
To run MT apps you would define an area for the app to run and simply use the surface at that point to interact with the app. Move it’s window anywhere and just let it run if you need to.
The table would also be smart using the physical shape and footprint of devices to recognize it and connect via bluetooth. For instance you set your printer on the table surface anywhere you like, no cables, and be connected automaticly. Same thing goes for your cell phone, mp3 player, PDA, anything with bluetooth built in.
With that kind of design we still have a nice ergonomic flat surface in front of us that is within easy reach from a sitting position. Comfort is important.
Still using rectangles though, and still thinking about printers as they are now. If we are thinking about a world with no keyboards, I think we can also forget printers being as they are. In fact, why do we need printers? And why should we have to place a physical thing onto a table, it’s wireless, it knows it’s there anyway. Having to place it on the table is no better than having to plug in the cable. That’s a fancy, pretty, but bog standard computer I think.
My purpose is to start-up the computer, to the windows operation, to multitouch soft, this series of operations,cast off mouse and keyboard. the simple games, photos and video browser can be completed via touch, SurfaceComputer This will increase the overall charm, Touchlib now in the windows of the operation and multitouch still to pass between the mouse and keyboard, he also reduced the attractiveness. Now you can achieve this way, who can tell me, thank you?
I have a lot of experience with the TouchStream LP (i would kill to get one of these again). There needs to be a new kind of driver built for the system (if it’s not done by the time i get to the point, then i’m going to work on it). Putting 2 fingers on the surface and dragging would move your mouse. While holding the two fingers you could tap your thumb to left click, your right finger to right click. It would completely replace your mouse for standard GUI purposes. You could place 3 fingers on the bottom of your screen and drag upwards about an inch, and an on screen keyboard could scroll onto the screen.
This is exactly the kind of user interface system that I’m interested in and one of the primary reasons i’m putting together my FTIR MT.
