random "touch" ideas/thoughts | The Coffeehouse

jamie

preface: THANKYOU again. ok..now:

3 main things:

1. Touch = Draw
2. Remote (rethunk)
3. Windows "Touch version"

1. Touch=draw

As amazing as this computer is (kudos to hp and ms) I know that if I went out and bought a "touchPC" ...for 3 thousand dollars (let me repeat - 3K) that i would expect it to draw.

If there is going to be a divide between what is touch - and what is draw - you need a logo program: ASAP - or you may face lawsuits like the vista capable ones.

2. Remote (rethought)

It is definately a bonus to be able to control the pc with a converter - but it seems the converter ...is just that. same as the TV.
A PC remote might want to have features like motion sensor - or mainly - Voice (Mic) - heck - even an xbox controller style "section"
("MS XBOX Mini" area = not as good as controller - but better than TV style remote. )

I have never bothered with voice on a PC - mainly because Im right in front of it - with a mouse and keyboard. But when you are laying on the couch using the remote - it sure would be nice to use it for MAIN OPTIONS - but then maybe use voice - into the remote.

3. Windows (Touch Version)

Many here will remember me going on about having media center be able to open apps and IE and basically be a separate UI for Windows. While I think I was basically right in premice, even media center is not well suited to touch.

And while ive also been an advocate for a windows version of the Ocean Cube UI of jaunty japolope or whatever, this might be too different (as touch is already different)

I think it might be cool to have a "Windows 7 Touch" UI - that is specific to touch - mainly everything bigger - not optimized for mouse.

Perhaps there could be a new win moble/zune hybrid UI that could fit this bill - but again - seems like that would be too different.

AN XP - fisher price UI is whats needed for Touch. wonder where you might find that ummmm.. Smiley or at least a Win7 Touch UI - even if it is just a theme

Last thought:

Forget yahoo for X billion. Buy WACOM and own the touch experience of 10 years work.

Great machine - but it could be even greater.

figuerres
???

well IMHO the thing on "touch" and "drawing" is that touch is generally based on "fingertip"

but any really serious graphics work will want more detail than fingertips tend to give.

yes there are work arounds and edge cases but i tend to see the large screen touch as more for casual use then for high quality drawing.

Now if they had say a 3 pound (or less) "SLate" that was say 10x12 and 200PPI to use with a pen just for drawing... if the price was right and i could dock it to a desktop to move the work back and forth...

so that you could sit in a nice chair or take it to the park etc.... think about that, make it very water proof.... so a little spash would not hurt it.

i would like to see pens on all laptops and touch on all desktops; and get that xbox controller working with desktops and media center!

hows that sound ?

stevo_
Human after all

Jamie you certainly can't expect touch technology to be a 'wacom for the screen'.. yet anyway.

After all, I'd like a lot of things to be better, I want windows to boot in .1 of a second, process any task in less than a second, and i want a computer that uses zero energy, infact it generates energy and I get money for supporting the national grid.. all these things and more are just obsurd to require.

jamie

In reply to stevo_

#Jun 4th @ 3:34 PM

why not? didnt ms just show a NO controler ? if they can do that - they can speed up tablet/touch by making it one - buying wacom (charging apple to use it) etc

I have yet to meet any person - with a tablet. in canada - touch means draw - wrong or right

(maybe ms has the tech already - but its not in this)

jamie

In reply to figuerres

#Jun 4th @ 3:27 PM

re: but any really serious graphics work will want more detail than fingertips tend to give.

agreed. Announcing the Microsoft Pen ... bla bla... Id buy it tomorow

(which is still a solution) the problem is 3k / no drawing

edit: it is not a stretch to equate a pc with touch to / appeals to artists

edit 2 - you dont need to be "serious" to be an artist Tongue Out

edit 3 - we arnt talking about a passable draw tech here - it is useless / un-useable. and thats coming from someone who got it FREE

(thanks again...it still rocks...but can you see the issue here??
*just trying to make it the best it can be

edit 4: New! MS Force Feedback TV/PC Remote ... id buy it Wink

Dodo
I'm your creativity creator™ :)

You know, for drawing, I still want a pen... a pen and no touch interaction with my resting hands, though, support for multiple pens would be sweet. Smiley

jamie

In reply to Dodo

#Jun 4th @ 4:27 PM

multiple pens? ...so...you could draw in tandem like dimitri martin? Wink

maybe the issue is branding - Tablet vs Touch - you can see this issue right away - one is a form factor and one is a software control

how bout - ALL tablets, pcs, phones, etc.... support touch - and touch supports DRAW Smiley

**or it is labeled as such: NEW HP TOUCHPC! (*No drawing!)

****************** THREAD INTERCEPT *************************

..just have to say again - FORGET touch - and this is the most amazing pc IN THE WORLD! Wink

..but ...if you want to talk about touch (and remotes...) ....

*********************************************************************

AndyC

In reply to jamie

#Jun 4th @ 4:00 PM

Then get a Dell Lattitude XT or XT2 TabletPC, both have pen functionality and multitouch, which is surely what you are asking for.

Now, you could integrate the same sort of technology into a standard display, but I really can't see it working. Trying to use a pen on a vertical monitor would be extremely uncomfortable, you probably be a lot better off with a seperate tablet. OF course there is the possibility of integrating a display into stand alone tablets so that you could get better feedback on what you are doing, but that doesn't really require anything from Microsoft so I'd assume the reason they don't exist is that there isn't a real market for them.

Another possiblity would be a specialist form factor that was like a very large TabletPC integrated into a desk, which would probably be great for artists. Again though, it's probably quite a niche market, which is probably the reason nobody has gone into that sort of form factor yet.

kettch

In reply to AndyC

#Jun 4th @ 11:37 PM

I was looking at a Cintiq 21UX, but now I'd like to see them add multitouch support in addition to the pen features. A device that combined the precision of a pen and the flexibility of a multitouch panel would be awesome.

spivonious

[reading into the thread]

So you're not happy with the touch experience on the Touchsmart PC you got?

OrigamiCar

In reply to AndyC

#Jun 4th @ 11:37 PM

Personally I'd love for Dell or someone else to come up with a 17inch Tablet PC with Multitouch touchscreen and pen. Like a hybrid of the XT2 and their 17inch Studio laptops. I know the very nature of having a 17inch tablet kind of goes against the mobility and portability factors, but they'd be fantastic for photoshop and writing on. I find the 12 inch screen just too small.

I love Tablet PC's - have owned 4 of them over the years and currently have a HP TX2 which is a nice laptop with multitouch and pen.The problem with it (and all Tablets) is that they're not exactly powerhouses - you pay a lot for what is essentially a fairly lowish spec laptop and most come with just a 12inch screen and low spec video now.

I would ultimately like to see tablet pc/multitouch as being an optional extra on most if not all laptops. That way you could select exactly the laptop you want and then choose to have it as a tablet. I know it's never going to happen, but I think that's a better way of selling tablet pc and touch functionality, rather than having them as a different class of laptop (which are expensive and generally lower spec).

The other thing I'd love to see on tablet pc's is some kind of texture on the screen for when you use the pen, so it's more like drawing with a pen or pencil on paper, rather than on glass. Not sure if that could ever happen without ruining the display, but it would be nice.