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Former Apple engineer: FingerWorks may be a part of the tablet

by Mike Schramm Jan 11th 2010 at 4:00PM

The New York Times is the latest big source of tablet rumors today, and they went way back for the latest stab in the dark. All the way back to 2005, when Apple purchased a little company called FingerWorks, known for their work with gesture recognition on a multitouch interface like the Touchstream keyboard above. The Gray Lady says they spoke with "former Apple engineers" who have worked on the tablet itself, and those guys claim that it makes use of gesture recognition to operate: "for example, three fingers down and rotate could mean 'open an application.'" Another former employee told them that Apple's been putting together a multitouch version of iWork for years, and that the tablet is actually a full-featured Mac, not just an e-reader or larger iPod touch.

Of course, we don't know how long ago these Apple engineers worked for the company -- given that the App Store has vastly changed things over there in just the last year and a half, the tablet itself could have changed its focus in that same period of time. At this point, given all of the things you can do with a multitouch screen, finger gestures are probably the least impressive. But then again, Apple's been obsessed with multitouch for a while, so it's not a stretch to think they might be included some of this FingerWorks technology in a larger multitouch screen. Wait and see, wait and see.

Update: MacRumors now notes that some content on FingerWorks' website has been pulled despite being online since Apple made the purchase in 2005. Very interesting.

[via MacRumors]

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The New York Times is the latest big source of tablet rumors today, and they went way back for the latest stab in the dark. All the way...
 

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Michael

Tablet + bluetooth keyboard + magic mouse = full mac.

January 11 2010 at 5:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Michael's comment
leftnotracks

Without Mac OS and ROMs Full Mac.

January 11 2010 at 6:54 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dan Woods

By your reasoning a MacBook isn't a full mac because it uses a Trackpad instead of a Magic Mouse.
I do see where your coming from though, although I couldn't see a Cocoa-Touch Tablet being easily controllable by a Mouse. Anyone who has used the iPhone Simulator in XCode will know how hard it is to control Multi-Touch with just one Mouse Cursor. The Multi touch emulation of the iPhone Simulator isn't suitable for Consumers.

January 11 2010 at 7:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
macuser

Question not related to the post!

What is the difference between downloading an OS X update via Software Update and the Combo Update? Why is the Combo Update better?

January 11 2010 at 5:35 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to macuser's comment
Michael Rose

Questions not related to the post are best left as comments on the most recent Ask TUAW post for answering:

http://tuaw.com/tag/asktuaw
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/01/06/ask-tuaw-recovering-deleted-files-encrypted-backups-cheap-sca/

[Answer: The combo update includes all the components, libraries and fixes that were part of previous updates since the .0 release of the OS in question. It's a 'just in case' step that insures any missing or corrupt elements are properly installed when you update.]

January 11 2010 at 6:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
macuser

Thank you! I just didn't think that it was a big enough topic for Ask TUAW.

January 11 2010 at 6:33 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dale

This is starting to remind me more and more of the Onion spoof: http://www.theonion.com/content/video/apple_introduces_revolutionary

January 11 2010 at 5:10 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
leftnotracks

If Apple releases a tablet, it will NOT be a Mac. That’s safer than money in the bank. (OK, poor analogy, but it’s still safe.)

A mouse-based interface, which all Macintosh programs and OS components rely on, must distinguish between pointing at something, clicking on it, and clicking-and-holding on it. This means a mouse button is required. Two, really, since right-click is now accepted as a standard interface component.

Since many programs also rely on modifier keys (Shift-click, Command-Option-click, etc.) that means we need six buttons. If we want the device to operate in landscape and portrait orientation and work for both left and right handed users, then the buttons will have to be easily accessible for all four configurations, which probably means at least two sets.

Now our Apple Tablet, with a primarily pen-based input, has at least 12 keys on it. Or, it’s not a Macintosh and carries none of that baggage, like the iPhone.

If you don’t want your Apple Tablet rumours taken seriously, just say the tablet will be a full Macintosh. It won’t.

January 11 2010 at 4:51 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to leftnotracks's comment
PabloZ

Indeed. Touch/tablet/slate/whatever-you-want-to-call-it-this-month Windows fails, not because Windows is bad per se, but rather because most desktop apps don't translate well to the touch screen interface without radical reworking. Putting Mac OS on a touch screen device would not be much better. All new versions of apps are required. A super-set of the iPhone OS seems much more likely.

January 11 2010 at 5:57 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
jarrett

Well there seem to be new rumors about this Tablet multiple times per day. Still my favorite rumor is that the Tablet will be waterproof. Just check it out before you dismiss this one.

http://web.me.com/u1019/applebythehour/AAAppleCast/Entries/2010/1/10_AAAppleCast_14.html

January 11 2010 at 4:45 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Matt

I blogged about this in July 2008:

http://blog.devost.net/2008/07/23/apple-tablet-on-the-horizon/

January 11 2010 at 4:37 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
heathsnow

Wouldn't it be sweet if this thing was glasses-free 3D? On that note, wouldn't it be sweet if this thing had 2 cameras on the front for video conferencing with another tablet in 3D?

Doubtful this is the case but it'd be sweet.

January 11 2010 at 4:10 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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