Lux is an experimental framework that brings full screen multi-touch to OS X. As you can see in the video above it allows a quasi-iPhone like experience in OS X. The project is scheduled to go live in June. Over at Gizmodo they have an interview with the developer, Christian Moore, who talks about the project and how it was built.
Posts with tag multitouch
Lux: multi-touch for OS X
Lux is an experimental framework that brings full screen multi-touch to OS X. As you can see in the video above it allows a quasi-iPhone like experience in OS X. The project is scheduled to go live in June. Over at Gizmodo they have an interview with the developer, Christian Moore, who talks about the project and how it was built.
MacBook Air trackpad settings video included in System Preferences
Among the delightful tidbits taking up precious space on the MacBook Air's slender hard drive or SSD, you'll find this very handy video guide to stretching, zooming, scrolling and rotating using the power of human touch. It's tucked away in System Preferences under the
It seems a little silly to animate a guide like this, but I'll admit that I found myself more likely to try the finger moves after watching the demo. No doubt the upcoming multitouch-equipped MacBook Pro machines will feature a similar guide for the perplexed.
Videogames and the iPhone SDK
Now this is what I like to see-- Wil Shipley's mind is already working overtime dreaming up fun stuff to do with the iPhone's SDK when it drops in February ("times nicely," he says, "with my being done with Delicious Library 2 and looking for something to do before I start on v3"). As good as a game like Battlefleet is (and it is good-- I finally got my iPhone last weekend, and I've been playing Battlefleet quite a bit), browser games aren't going to cut it. We need games that take advantage of that multitouch screen to track dynamic input, games that take advantage of the fact that we're carrying little computers capable of great graphics around in our pockets, and games that take advantage of the fact that these phones can network like no other.A platform like the iPhone was made for casual, persistent gaming. I want a little virtual pet in my iPhone, ready for me to take care of and level him up at a moment's notice, polished with quality and creativity. I want awesome little pick-up-and-play games that save my progress and track my stats. Shipley's idea of a virtual collectible card game, or the networking game in which "pets" on iPhones close to each other start fighting is perfect.
I like what the iPhone devs have done so far-- the NES emulator was one of the first iPhone apps that really "caught on," and as soon as it can be done "legally," it probably will be. But this is a system that, if given the right software, could compete with the most popular handheld systems. Even the DS doesn't have multitouch. If the right folks have the right ideas and implement them the right way on the iPhone (and why wouldn't they?), this little gadget is going to become one of the best handheld software platforms (for gaming or anything else) ever made.
Metaliveblogging the "Beat Goes On" event
The reporters are there. The Apple Store is down. The rumors have been spread. And now it's time for the Apple Event you've all been waiting for.
We're not actually there (I'm in my cozy apartment in Chicago's beautiful Wicker Park), but we are watching everyone who is there, and we'll be metaliveblogging everything we see. Here's who we're watching: MacWorld, Engadget, MacDailyNews, the Mac Observer, Ars Technica, Slashgear, The Utility Belt, The Apple Gazette, and Stuff. So why press F5 on all those windows when we'll do it for you for free, and provide entertaining commentary all the while?
The liveblog starts right after the jump, and stay tuned for updates. Today is all about iPods (and maybe even the Beatles), so let's do it.
Update: It's over, and wow the iPod got a lot of love today. Don't forget that we'll be discussing everything that happened on tonight's talkcast. See you on Talkshoe tonight at the special 9 pm ET start time, and bring all that iPhone pricing rage along with you.
We're not actually there (I'm in my cozy apartment in Chicago's beautiful Wicker Park), but we are watching everyone who is there, and we'll be metaliveblogging everything we see. Here's who we're watching: MacWorld, Engadget, MacDailyNews, the Mac Observer, Ars Technica, Slashgear, The Utility Belt, The Apple Gazette, and Stuff. So why press F5 on all those windows when we'll do it for you for free, and provide entertaining commentary all the while?
The liveblog starts right after the jump, and stay tuned for updates. Today is all about iPods (and maybe even the Beatles), so let's do it.
Update: It's over, and wow the iPod got a lot of love today. Don't forget that we'll be discussing everything that happened on tonight's talkcast. See you on Talkshoe tonight at the special 9 pm ET start time, and bring all that iPhone pricing rage along with you.
Found Footage: $2 multitouch screen, made with iSight
Multitouch is all the rage lately, but one of the drawbacks is that it's still pretty expensive. Enter this ingenious device-- it's a bag with dye colored water in it. That bag is then laid flat on a glass table, an iSight camera is placed underneath, the computer is coded (it appears, anyway) to look for fingertips pressing through the dye, and just like that, you've got a multitouch interface.
Really incredible. Of course, it's hard to figure out how this could be used for something like the iPhone-- instead of a camera, you'd have to have some kind of light sensors behind the dye, and you'd have to figure out a way to have the dye-colored water stay spread even throughout the bag. In fact, come to think of it, I'm not really sure how most multitouch interfaces work-- maybe this is closer to the real thing than I imagine. Even if not, very cool idea, and I'm almost surprised to see it really works so well.
[via Waxy]
Update: Looks like the video is a little old-- this was posted back in early June, even before the iPhone was released. But it is still really cool, and it's the first I've seen it.
Something we won't see tomorrow: iMac Multitouch
The rumors are flying about what Apple might do to the Mac lineup tomorrow-- for my part, I just hope Jobs stays away from the Mac Mini long enough for me to get one with Leopard on it. But I can guarantee you that you won't see this baby, as cool as it is. This is a 3D demo from a guy working on a demo reel for ad agencies. But it is pretty amazing.
Now, people have said before that a multitouch computer like this wouldn't work-- to find out why, touch your screen for five minutes and notice how tired your arm feels. However, an interface like this is too good not to use somewhere. Sure, we may not see an iMac with a big touchable screen like this, but "...a guy can dream, can't he?"
Thanks, Andrew!
