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Google Hints at Touch in Chrome OS

Paul Lilly — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 07:35:34 -0600

We're not sure why Google would want to keep this a secret, but if the search giant plans on incorporating touch capabilities into its upcoming Chrome OS, the company doesn't want to you to know about it, at least not yet. At least that's the impression TechRadar gives, who flat out asked Google whether or not Chrome will include touch options.

"I can't... I mean... right now we are targeting netbooks, that's what we're focused on, but I expect it to work well... we expect it to target everything up to desktop computers. Chrome OS will be built for a specific hardware setup," said Anders Sandholm, Senior Product Manager of Search at Google's London HQ.

According to TechRadar, Sandholm was none too comfortable talking about touch, which is a bit different than a couple of months ago when Sandholm, without stuttering, told the tech site "I'm sure that something is being discussed [about touch input], but I'm not exactly sure what the outcome is going to be."

It's probably a safe bet that first-run Chrome OS-based netbooks won't come with any kind of touch capabilities, but after that, it's fair game.

Image Credit: TechRadar.com

Microsoft Research Demos Five Next-Gen Input Prototypes

Paul Lilly — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:40:04 -0500

Microsoft's Applied Sciences Group plans to present a paper on five different touch-sensitive mice prototypes during this week's User Interface Software and Technology Conferences in British Columbia, Canada.

With Windows 7 touting mutlitouch capabilities, this could be Microsoft's way appealing to the majority of users who don't own a touchscreen display. But don't expect to see all five designs come to fruition - it's much more likely that the five prototypes would end up being whittled down to one or two products.

FTIR (Frustrated Total Internal Reflection) Mouse

This prototype uses the principle of frustrated total internal reflection and has a built-in-camera to sense user's touches on top of an arc-shaped piece of acrylic.

Orb Mouse

Utilizes a hemispherical surface with an IR-sensitive camera for multitouch capabilities. Microsoft says the design allows for an easy to grip form-factor that remains comfortable, particularly for the fingers.

Cap (Capacitive) Mouse

Tracks the position of multiple fingers on its surface though the use of a flexible matrix of capacitive-sensing electrodes under the top of the surface. This is the most compact prototype of the five listed. It's also low on power consumption.

Side Mouse

Designed to rest under the user's palm and allow the fingers to touch the table surface in front of the device. The mouse then senses the proximity of the user's fingers as they touch the table instead of the mouse. Has the potential for two-handed input.

Arty (Articulated) Mouse

Probably the most other-worldly design of the bunch, the Arty Mouse builds on the Side Mouse design with a base for the palm of the hand to rest and two arms that can be freely and independently moved on the table by the thumb and index finger. Microsoft says this allows for a high-resolution optical mouse sensor to be placed under two of the user's fingers for high sensitivity computing.

Image Credits: Microsoft

Creative Zii Egg Plaszma Runs on Android, Uses Flexible StemCell Architecture

Andy Salisbury — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:07:20 -0500

Thanks to a recent announcement, we now know that Creative’s new Zii Egg Plaszma (read: open source iPod Touch) will be the first to boast a flexible StemCell system architecture, which will make use of 24 floating-point processors.

The Egg, which is shipping out to developers now in a $399 SDK is being marketed as an Android-friendly “handheld computer,” that has many features similar to Apple’s offering, but beefed up in a few areas. Most notably, it features a full-sized SD card slot, a rear facing HD video camera, a front facing VGA camera, Flash Lite support, GPS, WiFi, and it has enough power under the hood to output 1080p video.

The Egg will likely retail for $199, but there’s no official as to when we can expect it on store shelves.

Image Credit: Creative

SMART Boards get SMARTer with Touch Recognition

Paul Lilly — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 12:35:52 -0600

If John Madden ever gets his hands on a new touch recognition SMART Board, we're throwing in the towel and never watching another football game again. It's bad enough watching Madden draw swirlies on the screen as he explains that the team who scores more points by the end of the game will be the winner, but can you imagine the added dimension of moving players and objects around? *shudder*

Despite the potential risks involved, fans of SMART Boards will be stoked to learn that touch recognition has found its way onto the interactive whiteboard. According to Smarttech, the touch recognition feature makes it possible for compatible Boards to discern between writing with a pen and attempting to move objects with your fingers and will switch modes automatically.

"For teachers new to the SMART Board, this feature helps them become proficient more quickly," Smarttech writes on its product page. "That’s because the intuitive flow of writing and erasing on the board is similar to how traditional chalkboards and whiteboards are used. And the sooner teachers become comfortable with the technology, the sooner they can start engaging students with interactive lessons."

You can view a clip of the new SMART Board in action on YouTube here, which demonstrates some nifty functionality such as moving newly written words around.

Touch recognition-capable SMART Boards are expected to available in early February, so any day now.

Image Credit: Smarttech