Interfaces, metaphors & multi-touch - bit-tech.net Forums

WilHarris · 28th Aug 2006, 13:20

http://www.bit-tech.net/bits/2006/08...roblems/1.html

DreamTheEndless · 28th Aug 2006, 13:39

1st, a nice companion to this article is "In The Beginning Was The Command Line" by Neal Stephenson.

Second - If voice recognition is in its infancy, and I agree with you that you can't say it has progressed beyond that, that's an infant with some serious developmental disabilities.... I mean seriously - what is it - a ten or fifteen year old infant? That's just depressing.

Ramble · 28th Aug 2006, 14:04

Interesting article.
I'll still stick with my keyboard and mouse. They may be useless for 3D manipulation, but for 2D they rock.

3D desktops are hard for the novice to understand anyway.

Spacecowboy92 · 28th Aug 2006, 15:42

I used a iBar interface once, atleast I think it was. It was at a chocolate museum in Germany on the Rhine if I rember. The only thing with having a projector projecting from behing you is that you have to stand to the side of the display to read whats on the screen.

DarkReaper · 28th Aug 2006, 15:51

A trackball thing would be the perfect extra control for source forts - the problem would be moving your hand from keyboard to ball and back. Great article with some very interesting insights

Votey · 28th Aug 2006, 16:47

I had a PC game controller years ago called the Space Orb, I think. It had a ball on it that allowed for 6 degree movement. It could be pushed, pulled, lifted, depressed, turned, twisted, tilted, etc. I don't have it anymore, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't $500.
http://www.mindflux.com.au/products/...c/sorb360.html

Also, WoW != Warcraft 3.

Sea Shadow · 28th Aug 2006, 17:26

Some of Jeffs other work is very interesting too. Such as this multi touch LED array.

*random tidbit of the day* in Minority Report they used a gestural-recognition interface developed by John Underkoffler while at MIT.
link

g3n3tiX · 28th Aug 2006, 17:41

Or we could investigate getting an extra hand, so we could use that trackball...

Cheap Mod Wannabe · 28th Aug 2006, 18:27

Voice Recognition is great in Wnidows Vista... so what. You need to have silent environment, or else all the efforts become useless.

You'd need voice recognition that would listen to the specific user. And that is so far out into the future.

DarkReaper · 28th Aug 2006, 18:36

it's possible to use a combination of two microphones on a beam arrangement and some software to effectively get a directional mike. Not perfect but still a useful external noise filter

Flibblebot · 28th Aug 2006, 18:50

I'm not convinced the iBar (crap name, btw) is a touchscreen. If you watch the video, you can see patches of light where people's arms cross the bar without touching it. Kind of looks more like a series of sensors above the bar rather than a touch screen (having worked in bars, and knowing how messy and sticky they get by the end of the night, I'm not sure a touchscreen would work that long anyway!)

The Jeff Han stuff was way cool, the cynic in me says that I don't think it'll ever become mainstream though...

Kipman725 · 28th Aug 2006, 18:56

command line is still the fastest if you can be bothered to learn how to use it.

quack · 28th Aug 2006, 19:15

Bob isn't dead, he's alive and well in Windows XP as the default animated character (now called Rover) in Search... which thankfully you can turn off.

EK-MDi · 28th Aug 2006, 19:21

I quite like the interface shown in Jeff's demonstration. It seems almost perfect for any usage, as it's like controlling paper. Much more intuitive and flexibly manageable than a mouse & keyboard; for 2D, and 3D!

yahooadam · 28th Aug 2006, 19:29

very interesting article, maybe we will have a UI like in minority report some day soon

also, there is a big typo in this article

Quote:

as this WoW demonstration shows

It is a Warcraft 3 Demo, not a World Of Warcraft demo

(this was pointed out above also it seems)

Nexxo · 28th Aug 2006, 19:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Votey

I had a PC game controller years ago called the Space Orb, I think. It had a ball on it that allowed for 6 degree movement. It could be pushed, pulled, lifted, depressed, turned, twisted, tilted, etc. I don't have it anymore, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't $500.
http://www.mindflux.com.au/products/...c/sorb360.html

Also, WoW != Warcraft 3.

More like about $30,--. At one point PC World in the UK was giving them away as a freebie with the game "Forsaken" (remember that one? It was a "Descent" clone) with which it worked rather well. I got one then.

Drivers were never developed for Windows XP because it was discontinued before then, but it soon gathered a cult following and some enterprising geeks programmed their own. They work quite well and I use the SpaceOrb for Quake and UT2003 .

CollinstheClown · 28th Aug 2006, 19:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by the article, page 3

Sure, you can stick a few files on the desktop, or put them in folders - but all Desktop style OS’ tag extras into the metaphor. Think about it this way. To access your files in Windows you have to go through My Computer which sits on your desktop.

Few mistakes I saw.

This is a very good article, I learned from it. Not only could these multitouchscreens be used for computers and such, think about a new wave in musical instruments!

-CollinstheClown

DreamTheEndless · 28th Aug 2006, 20:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kipman725

command line is still the fastest if you can be bothered to learn how to use it.

Yeah, for some stuff -
but at the same time shortcut keys are pretty damn fast if you can be bothered to learn how to use them.

For instance - Let's you and I both start in our starting point - you at c:\ and me on a windows desktop - and we both delete a file in the default location for files on a windows XP computer: "My Documents" (C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\)

We will both delete a file called "trash.bmp" I hit tab once to get to "My Documents" - then hit enter. I then click on "trash.bmp" and hit shift+delete. Who's faster?

Don't get me wrong, the command line is mucho powerful for lots of stuff, but it's certainly not the "fastest" in many cases.

(At the same time, if I want to run word, excel, charmap, mspaint, cmd, etc... I do it by hitting windows key+r and just typing in the name of the app I want instead of clicking on the start menu etc... This is a hybrid between gui and cli - and this hybrid is much faster than either of the other two)

yahooadam · 28th Aug 2006, 20:22

the command line can be faster for some things, but in general the GUI is more useful, however the command line is still used for many things

Wrigley1 · 28th Aug 2006, 21:38

Quote:

Think about it this. To access you files in Windows

Great article.

28th Aug 2006, 13:20	#1
WilHarris Just another nobody Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Oxford Posts: 2,671	Interfaces, metaphors & multi-touch http://www.bit-tech.net/bits/2006/08...roblems/1.html

28th Aug 2006, 13:39	#2
DreamTheEndless Gravity hates Bacon Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Portland Oregon USA Posts: 1,554	1st, a nice companion to this article is "In The Beginning Was The Command Line" by Neal Stephenson. Second - If voice recognition is in its infancy, and I agree with you that you can't say it has progressed beyond that, that's an infant with some serious developmental disabilities.... I mean seriously - what is it - a ten or fifteen year old infant? That's just depressing. __________________ Srenob is deader than dead, so check out my new blog instead: http://i-have-a-blog-now.blogspot.com/ (Note - there's not much there yet, but maybe there will be someday.)

28th Aug 2006, 14:04	#3
Ramble Ginger Nut Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Exeter, Devon/Wantage, Oxfordshire Posts: 5,234	Interesting article. I'll still stick with my keyboard and mouse. They may be useless for 3D manipulation, but for 2D they rock. 3D desktops are hard for the novice to understand anyway. __________________ Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Ensign Ricky are beaming down to the planet. Guess who's not coming back.

28th Aug 2006, 15:42	#4
Spacecowboy92 Gettin' Lazy Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Winchester, UK Posts: 757	I used a iBar interface once, atleast I think it was. It was at a chocolate museum in Germany on the Rhine if I rember. The only thing with having a projector projecting from behing you is that you have to stand to the side of the display to read whats on the screen. __________________

28th Aug 2006, 16:47	#6
Votey Minimodder Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 39	I had a PC game controller years ago called the Space Orb, I think. It had a ball on it that allowed for 6 degree movement. It could be pushed, pulled, lifted, depressed, turned, twisted, tilted, etc. I don't have it anymore, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't $500. http://www.mindflux.com.au/products/...c/sorb360.html Also, WoW != Warcraft 3. __________________ "This is worse than the time I accidentally grabbed the expanding foam can instead of the compressed air can."

28th Aug 2006, 15:51	#5
DarkReaper Alignment: Sarcastic Good Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Belfast, NI Posts: 1,750	A trackball thing would be the perfect extra control for source forts - the problem would be moving your hand from keyboard to ball and back. Great article with some very interesting insights

28th Aug 2006, 17:26	#7
Sea Shadow Supermodder Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: USA Posts: 459	Some of Jeffs other work is very interesting too. Such as this multi touch LED array. random tidbit of the day in Minority Report they used a gestural-recognition interface developed by John Underkoffler while at MIT. link __________________ Eagles may soar, but weasles don't get sucked into jet engines. I have re-organized my files on the FTP that I use, so if any pictures of my works are little red X's please PM me.

28th Aug 2006, 17:41	#8
g3n3tiX Resident frenchie Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: localhost Posts: 588	Or we could investigate getting an extra hand, so we could use that trackball... __________________ I also have a MTBF.

28th Aug 2006, 18:27	#9
Cheap Mod Wannabe Ultramodder Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Glen Cove, NY Posts: 1,215	Voice Recognition is great in Wnidows Vista... so what. You need to have silent environment, or else all the efforts become useless. You'd need voice recognition that would listen to the specific user. And that is so far out into the future.

28th Aug 2006, 18:36	#10
DarkReaper Alignment: Sarcastic Good Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Belfast, NI Posts: 1,750	it's possible to use a combination of two microphones on a beam arrangement and some software to effectively get a directional mike. Not perfect but still a useful external noise filter

28th Aug 2006, 18:50	#11
Flibblebot Free from artificial flavourings Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Right here, right now Posts: 2,227	I'm not convinced the iBar (crap name, btw) is a touchscreen. If you watch the video, you can see patches of light where people's arms cross the bar without touching it. Kind of looks more like a series of sensors above the bar rather than a touch screen (having worked in bars, and knowing how messy and sticky they get by the end of the night, I'm not sure a touchscreen would work that long anyway!) The Jeff Han stuff was way cool, the cynic in me says that I don't think it'll ever become mainstream though... __________________ My uber-system: 66Mhz 486DX2, 8Mb RAM, 20Mb hard drive, 256 colour VGA adaptor (goes all the way up to 800x600!), keyboard AND serial mouse

28th Aug 2006, 18:56	#12
Kipman725 When did I get a custom title!?! Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: UK Posts: 1,753	command line is still the fastest if you can be bothered to learn how to use it. __________________ Sn45g game server mod My Electronics Site Hardware: 3400+ Sempr0n, 1GB RAM, 1.28TB local storage, x1950pro,Razer Viper,M$ comfort curve 2000,L70S + 17", Fujitsu 17" CRT Audio: HD-650's, PE congress amp, Sound Blaster AWE64, Soundblaster 24bit

28th Aug 2006, 19:15	#13
quack \o/ Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: England Posts: 5,220	Bob isn't dead, he's alive and well in Windows XP as the default animated character (now called Rover) in Search... which thankfully you can turn off. __________________ Denying Rights to Music lovers. Denying Rights to Movie lovers.

28th Aug 2006, 19:21	#14
EK-MDi Multimodder Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 210	I quite like the interface shown in Jeff's demonstration. It seems almost perfect for any usage, as it's like controlling paper. Much more intuitive and flexibly manageable than a mouse & keyboard; for 2D, and 3D!

28th Aug 2006, 20:22	#19
yahooadam Ultra csavarkulcs Banned Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: UK Posts: 1,323	the command line can be faster for some things, but in general the GUI is more useful, however the command line is still used for many things