multitouch

First Look: Apple conjures up Magic Mouse with a dose of multitouch

Along with a redesign of the iMac, MacBook, and Mac Mini, Apple today also unveiled its new Magic Mouse, a departure from the underwhelming Mighty Mouse Wireless that flew beneath the consumer radar back in 2006. The new Magic Mouse is also the next device (after the iPod, iPod touch, and MacBook Pro) in line to receive a dose of multitouch capability.

We've only had a day to play around with the multitouch features, but so far we're still on the fence about switching from our Logitech Performance Mouse MX. There's certainly no denying the aesthetic appeal: the bottom half is sleek aluminum and the top shell is made of a milky white shade of polycarbonate with a subtle gloss. The entire surface is a single button (no Mighty nipple, of course), but you can also change the settings to recognize a right-click or a lefty orientation, as well.

The multitouch user area is spread across the entire surface of the mouse, so you can swipe your finger anywhere and expect uniform results. Aside from the two main buttons, you can also scroll 360 degrees around a Web page, photo viewer, or document using a single finger, or quickly navigate forward and backward in a Web browser by simply swiping two fingers horizontally across the top of the mouse. The last feature is basic, but useful: holding down the Control key on the keyboard while scrolling up and down with a finger lets you zoom in and out of virtually anything onscreen.

Like the Mighty Mouse, the magical sibling connects to your computer through a simple Bluetooth pairing, and it works with any Mac running OS X version 10.5.8 or later, as long as it has the latest Wireless Mouse Software update 1.0. Windows users will bemoan its inability to work with non-Mac PCs.

Check out more pics after the jump and look for a full review coming soon.… Read more

Acer adds a couple of new Windows 7 laptops

PC maker Acer is adding another pair of laptops to its Windows 7 laptop lineup. The two entries are a 15.6-inch touchscreen system, called the Aspire 5738PG; and a 11.6-inch addition to the Timeline series, called the Aspire Timeline AS1810TZ.

The touchscreen Aspire 5738PG has a multi-touch display that can understand two-finger gestures, but in a standard laptop design instead of a convertible tablet. We've seen something similar recently with the Lenovo ThinkPad T400s.

The Aspire Timeline AS1810TZ has an 11-inch Netbook chassis, but instead of the Intel Atom CPU, it has the dual-core Intel SU7300 -- … Read more

Adobe tries keeping Flash in Web vanguard

There's a major movement afoot to rebuild the Web as a foundation for interactive applications. But Adobe Systems, whose Flash technology already plays that role as a nearly ubiquitous browser plug-in, believes its technology will stay a step ahead of the game.

The Web application folks are focused on HTML5, the next version of the Hypertext Markup Language standard used to create Web pages, along with associated standards such as JavaScript for programming. On this agenda is work to let Web applications work while offline, display video without any plug-ins, show accelerated 3D graphics, and churn away at background … Read more

Newly revealed Apple patent application looks suspiciously tablet-like

The sharp-eyed bloggers at AppleInsider have noted a newly revealed patent application related to multitouch surfaces--leading to further speculation about Apple's purported tablet PC project.

As per usual, the application came through law firm Morrison and Foerster, and was originally filed in June of this year. According to the paperwork on file at USPTO.gov, this is:

A method of performing operations on a computing system having a touch-sensitive surface, the method comprising; tracking the paths of multiple distinguishable contacts, the contacts corresponding to touch devices as they move on or near the surface at the same time, wherein … Read more

Microsoft gets cleverer with multitouch screen keyboard

Oh, those smart rascals at Microsoft are on a roll. I love their Courier tablet concept, and now they may have found the way to make on-screen multitouch keyboards actually work great--even for touch typists like me.

The problem with screen keyboards is that you actually have to look at the screen to hit the keys correctly. With real keyboards, touch typists have a physical reference to position their hands. That's why they type blind. With a flat screen keyboard, however, you lose the physical reference frame.

The patent for this screen keyboard, however, uses multitouch technology to automatically … Read more

First Windows 7 laptop review: Lenovo T400s

We've played around with various pre-release versions of Windows 7 for a long time now, but the prize for being the first PC maker to actually ship us a street-ready system with Windows 7 pre-installed goes to Lenovo.

Even better, this new version of the ThinkPad T400salso includes a multi-touch display, with custom touch software to take advantage of Win 7's built-in touch support.

It can be argued that Lenovo's build quality and attention to detail are second to none, and the T400s feels like a solid, heavy-duty machine that will stand up to a lot of … Read more

Coder shows Firefox with multitouch Web apps

Multitouch interfaces are all the rage, for good reason, and a Mozilla programmer has been working to enable the technology for Web applications in the Firefox browser.

Firefox today can be controlled with multitouch gestures--a three-finger sweep up and down to go to the top or bottom of a Web page, for example, or two-finger pinch gestures to zoom out. But Felipe Gomes, a Brazilian computer science student who just finished a stint as a Mozilla intern, has demonstrated how Web-based applications, not just Firefox, can use multitouch.

His demonstration shows multitouch controls to shrink and enlarge icons, paint, select … Read more

Apple updates Safari, AirPort, and Multi-Touch

It was a busy Tuesday for Apple's software team. The company released updates for its Safari Web browser, its wireless AirPort client, and the Multi-Touch trackpad for users who have Windows installed on their Mac.

Safari 4.0.3 comes just six days after Apple released an upgrade for Safari 4.0.2 as part of its Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.8 update, indicating fixes were not implemented in the previous version or problems were caused by its release.

Among the changes in Safari 4.0.3 are several stability improvements, including enhancements for Web pages that … Read more

Official multitouch to appear in Android 2.0?

Google Android fans have long been waiting for official multitouch support on Android devices, but Google has yet to offer any confirmation. Even at this year's Google I/O developers conference where multitouch was a hot topic, I only heard that "we don't know when it is coming." But after doing some digging and speaking to several sources with knowledge of the situation, it looks like Android users may finally get their wish this holiday season.

When is it coming? Allow me to start with the rumor of the day. From what I understand, Android 2.0 will ship this year and will include multitouch support similar to what's found on the iPhone and the Palm Pre.This might sound far-fetched to some readers, but there is mounting evidence to back it up.

Several blogs have reported that Android will receive two more updates this year. I believe the first will be a minor update based on the Donut branch of Android. The second update, however, is likely to be a major refresh based off the Eclair branch.

The release schedule was recently echoed in a Reuters interview with Andy Rubin, director of mobile platforms at Google. Reuters reported that Donut will become Android 1.6 and Eclair will ship as Android 2.0.

So if Android 2.0 is coming this year, when exactly will it be released?… Read more

Touch screens soon to track 10 fingers

Touch screens that track two fingers will soon seem basic. At least if you compare them with the multitouch-sensor ClearPad 3000 Series, recently announced by Santa Clara, Calif.-based Synaptics.

The transparent sensor tracks up to 10 simultaneous finger touches--we assume that should cover most uses--making possible complex multifinger gestures such as closing an application by "crumpling" it with several fingers, or playing polyphonic sounds on a virtual piano keyboard.

Apple made multitouch popular with its iPhone, which debuted about four months after Synaptics introduced its currently shipping two-finger sensor, ClearPad 2000, in August 2006. Though widely speculated that Apple is using Synaptics' technology, that has not been confirmed.

One phone that does use the sensor is the T-mobile G1 by HTC, and manufacturers such as Samsung and LG are also confirmed customers.

The new sensor features an accuracy of plus/minus 1 mm, is 0.3 mm thick, and is available in sizes up to 8 inches diagonally.

That supported screen size, and the speculated relationship between Synaptics and Apple, makes us wonder if this sensor is what Apple's been waiting for to launch its much-rumored tablet. … Read more