What looks like some huge news gets casually mentioned in descriptions for the upcoming SIGGRAPH graphics conference and on the website of JazzMutant, the developers of multi-touch hardware controllers Lemur and Dexter:
Jazzmutant is proud to have been selected by the Siggraph Emerging Technologies Committee in San Diego to demo a new prototype device for digital imaging involving multi-touch control. This solution will go beyond mere finger-drawing and clearly illustrate a new way to interact and improve productivity with drawing and video editing software. Furthermore, the solution presented will be the very first multi-touch enabled Tablet PC shown to the public.
One of my complaints when I looked at the first Lemur touchscreen was that it felt like it had in a way separated display, computer, and interface. A computer with multi-touch? Now we’re talking. Lots of questions here, though: how would a typical PC support the multi-touch interface? How much would it cost? What’s this new prototype device — is it, as the Dexter was, basically just another Lemur with the addition of new control templates?
Time will tell. We’ll be watching. But this is some of the best multi-touch news in a long time.
Thanks to Andreas Wetterberg for the tip!
Finally! I've been waiting for this. My arms have taken enough beating from that horrible mouse. I can definitely see it useful is OSX, think Leopard crossed with iPhone.
Umm, you can already get the Lenovo Thinkpad X61 with a multitouch screen…
More on Siggraph Emerging Technologies 2007
http://usoproject.blogspot.com/2007/08/jazzmutant…
The Sound of Touch @ Siggraph Emerging Technologies 2007
Will it be overpriced?
Yes.
But it might be cool tho. Guess we'll just wait and see.
@Zuofo: Unless you're talking about something else, what Lenovo calls the "MultiTouch" screen is actually just a trade name for technology allowing you to use either pen or finger input, not multiple inputs at the same time. There's still a chicken and egg problem with the inability of operating systems to support multi-touch, though I hope that Microsoft's interest in Surface and Apple's in iPhone means these will show up at some point in those two operating systems.
anyone find out info?? my boss went and didn't see it there