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- Sequence, on 10/12/2007, -9/+55I guess the Zen Touch uses a much more creative way ;)
- otaking, on 10/12/2007, -9/+38"The iPod Click Wheel is not heat sensitive like many think."
What the *****!? People actually think that? "Oh, my ipod is so expensive because it has heat sensitive technology!"
LOL I'm not flaming Apple for the price don't worry. I own a 4G click wheel ipod! :P I just want to point out the stupidity of people :) - RobotCitizen, on 10/12/2007, -2/+30Sooo... in other words, it works the same way all touchpads work.
- CrashKC, on 08/25/2008, -2/+21Pot, meet Kettle.
-digg. - ggko, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16Probably becuase there are iPod cases that cover the wheel, yet the wheel still responds. Without the direct touch, people rule out touch-sensitivity, which just leaves in their minds (body) heat-sensitivity.
That or the Force. - cody50, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14Is that how my Zen touch works as well?
- TGMD, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12It's also how a laptop touch pad works too! (this technology has been around for years!)
- ronaldpoi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10I also got surprised for that affirmation... 'll ask a girl friend to see what she thinks...
- FBMGriever, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Most likely.
Very interesting article! I learned quite a bit from it.
Dugg. - joeshlub, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11You can basically summarize this by just saying "capacitance"
- devindotcom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Yeah, the grid-type system has been in place a long time. It's amazing how sensitive it can be... although on my ipod it's a little weird sometimes. To be honest, I think I prefer the kind where there was a physical movement of the disc. That's just my thing, though.
- whitty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7If you've ever fired up diagnostic mode (which maybe 4 people who will ever read this digg have) you might have noticed under the scroll wheel test that it displays the address of your finger. Not in degrees, but in x-y.
- lintmonkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Also, when you're working at a computer, say doing homework, you often are holding a pen to jot things down, then you try to move the cursor by using the pen (to save time, not putting the pen down), and surprise -- it doesn't work. Most people don't think of their bodies as being conductive, but they do know that they are warmer than a pen.
Thus, the easiest explanation is that the trackpad must be heat-sensitive. - Agret, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I really think you need to get out more, surely you've seen someone with an iPod before....
- sapo916, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Its not like you have to tell them the truth.
- Agret, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6wow they replaced it even though you were using it for things outside of the original specifications of the product? Now *thats* service!
- jefffm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5magic elves ...?
- addiggt, on 07/06/2009, -0/+5Maybe he flashed it/restored it before he brought it in...
- golddigga, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5my old ipod's click wheel broke because i was playing doom and hitting it too hard, it went mad and wouldn't do the right commands. oh well, they gave me a brand new one when i took it 2 the apple store
- kodek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Then why would you be able to disable it from the menu?
- mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6seriously .. it's the same technology your laptop trackpad uses.. this should be obvious to geeks.
- Agret, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4For anyone that wants to check it out:
http://www.methodshop.com/mp3/ipodsupport/diagnosticmode/ - macguy815, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The scroll wheel senses your body's electromagnetic field. The ipod cover I suppose was designed to let the ipod still sense it. Or with any other cloth, the fabric must be thin enough. However, I can't scroll through my iPod socks... to thick I suppose.
- sahaskatta, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5good find, i always wondered why my stylus wouldn't work on my iPod
- magik, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3It's just a bigger separation between your conductivity and the electrons.
- Soave, on 10/12/2007, -8/+11People think that the wheel is heat sensitive? Since when?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4This is also how the Mighty Mouse detects which button you're pressing.
- TacitusBen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3That's another reason why hitting the hold switch will save some juice and extend your play time.
- phoenix3200, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"iPod hacks are programs written to give iPods new (non-Apple-intended) functionality. You know how we talked about things you can't do with an iPod, like sync via FireWire? Well, you can hack an iPod to sync via FireWire"
Give me a link that proves that statement. - mark1372, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I know. Any idiot can clearly see it's a series of tubes.
- Tobey, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Sure, I've seen people with iPods. But I don't go up to them and ask how they're controlling the thing.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Actually no. The Zen Touch uses a differnt means of detection; it uses moisture in top layers of skin on your finger to refract and reflect weak radio waves back onto the sensor. I'm guessing why the Zen Touch's scrolling lags/is innacurate. As I cannot find any links now, unfortunatly you will have to take my word for it, but IIRC PopSci wrote an article about the different kinds of touchpads.
- foolfromhell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@macguy815
The iPod clickwheel and iPod scroll wheel are entirely two different things. The Scroll wheel was on earlier generation iPods.
And you cann yourself an Apple fan! - zip22, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3you can put it back in its stock configuration with a restore.
- whitty, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3it will, but more because the ipod then doesn't have to respond to mistaken stimuli with processing power, hard drive spinups, or lcd backlight.
- aquax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Two finger scrolling" can be done with one finger if you turn it sideways and try to use at least two knuckles worth.
So yes, as someone else said, it's all about surface area. - mikeyaj86, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Very cool and a nice find.
- ptrcd003, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Wow, I'm actually surprised to see a lot of people didn't know this. Used to be that before you get into technology, you'd learn all about capacitance and its uses. But, good article, everyone needs a brushup on simple electronics
- uday0210, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2so it's not the Force?! all this while I thought it was because of the Force.
- kodek, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Are you seriously that new at this?
- DarkJC, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Are you seriously that new at this?"
He's right. The newest generation iPods do NOT support sync via FireWire, only charging. Also, it's impossible to hack this, because the new iPods lack the FireWire controller chip in order to faciilitate syncing. No software can enable it. - whitty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2you pretty much all have it wrong in some way except for the click vs scroll bit, which i didnt stick to. The wheel will work through most anything as long as A. there's not too much of it between, and B. there's not too much air between (which will insulate between fibers of, say, a sock). If you were to squish a bit on the sock to flatten it out and gain more contact from fiber to fiber, it should pick up some sensitivity. As for the electromagnetic field bit, no. if you read the article, you will learn that the presence of a ground, eg your body (which conducts electricity quite well) causes a small charge buildup throughout the layers of the wheel directly below it. Materials like fabric are just extensions of that capacitance.
- macattacks10, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Since it is most popular, chances are good they have used XP. I'm a Mac user and still have used XP quite a bit.
- JamesWilson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Sadly doesn't what HowStuffWorks did violate some law about reverse engineering?
- lpse2000, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hmmm... What if someone has really fat fingers?
- kaytrio, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I agree, thanks steveng!
- DelMonte, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Hmmm... What if someone has really fat fingers?"
The iBook would answer back: "The fingers you have used to dial are too fat. To obtain a special dialing wand, please mash the keypad with your palm now." - spankaccount, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1So the iPod click wheel works on the same principals as an E-Meter?
Has anyone else looked into this seemingly innocuous connection between Apple and the Church of Scientology? Is the iPod some sort of physical Trojan horse intended to facilitate the return of Zenu?!? - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1My parents have a 23-year-old Sony TV that has channel switch buttons that work the same way, albeit in a simpler form.
- ZapWizard, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1www.qprox.com
They make inexpensive chips that do touch-sensativity in just about any form, including iPod style wheels.
Great for DIY projects. -
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