Very cool

[az]

The GUI of the future? Very impressive, very intuitive. Very I Want One

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp-y3ZNaCqs

[Paddy]

very very cool!

[Fat Tone]

I have a Parhelia. I want THREE!

Minority report here we come! Seriously a lot of those demos only need a small mod from todays single-input systems.

[az]

Yeah, but a lot of the UI would need to run on the shaders of the graphics card, or your system would have a pretty UI and not much power for anything else But we're getting there anyway.

[VJ]

And guess who has recently filed a patent for a device with this?

Apple

other sources...

They actually are extending a patent from 2004; multiple location sensitivity is one of their goals/requirements.

And here is the patent text.

There are several rumours:
1. Apple is working on a video ipod (with touchscreen); patent also seems to indicate this
2. Apple is working on a tablet pc (many apple-fans would love this to happen)

Either way, looks like Apple is going to be a technological frontrunner (again).


Jörg

[DukeP]

Pretty darn impressive.

Couple that with bigscreen oleds and la voila.

Always hated the clumsines of the keyboard and the mouse.

~~DukeP~~

[Wombat]

Pretty darn impressive.

Couple that with bigscreen oleds and la voila.

Always hated the clumsines of the keyboard and the mouse.

~~DukeP~~

The clumsiness of the keyboard? What's clumsy about it? I can type much faster than I can write, and an office full of people with dictation software would be a nightmare.

[DukeP]

So is an office full of people writing on my type of keyboard.

No, i mean: If you look at the movie, the way you integrate and interact is much better than the combination of keyboard and mouse.

~~DUkeP~~

[Wombat]

Well, yeah, of course. It's a demo - they chose tasks ideally suited to their technology. Personally, I'd hate to type on a screen.

[az]

I'd still want to keep a keyboard handy for writing. But a command line is not the optimal tool for doing most other tasks. Nobody would try and use the mouse exclusively for writing a letter.

[gt40]

I can see the biceps that the secretaries will need in order to do that all day

[DukeP]

It ought to be a very healthy way of interacting with your computer. You will be standing, and you will be moving around, instead of being bound to a specifik position.

Allright, most secretaries can raise and lower their desk - put they are still limited to the keyboard, when it comes to entering text.

Imagine being able to shape your own keyboard, or to split it up and move the segments as you like.

Sure, for massive text input, its properbly not possible to beat the good old klicky keyboard (Im using an IBM from 1985). But most tasks required less typing and more pressing.

~~DukeP~~

[az]

Duke, it actually is possible easily. Different keyboard layouts (Dvorak is just one of them, and not the fanciest), ergonomically formed keyboards, etc.

I'm still waiting for tactile screens that can produce buttons that can be pressed. Rotary Knobs, dials and throttles would probably be even harder to produce, but a real tactile interface for a computer would be great.

[ZokesPro]

I'm still waiting for tactile screens that can produce buttons that can be pressed.

In other words, your waiting for a pr0n keyboard for the blind?

[Wombat]

Duke, it actually is possible easily. Different keyboard layouts (Dvorak is just one of them, and not the fanciest), ergonomically formed keyboards, etc.

I'm still waiting for tactile screens that can produce buttons that can be pressed. Rotary Knobs, dials and throttles would probably be even harder to produce, but a real tactile interface for a computer would be great.

That probably wouldn't be too hard. Look at Braille computer displays for inspiration.