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142 Comments
- lnfiniteLoop, on 02/22/2008, -4/+35Apple thinks so too. They filed it four separate times on the same day with 4 separate title variations.
- mparker7410, on 02/22/2008, -4/+30Yes. Minority Report type interfaces soon to be!
- EelfinnTy, on 02/22/2008, -1/+18They are two different technologies. Apple bought Fingerworks... http://www.fingerworks.com/ and this is the technology they are using. It senses the electricity conducted by your fingers.
The MS surface uses a near-infrared, 850-nanometer-wavelength LED light source aimed at the surface. When an object touches the tabletop, the light is reflected to multiple infrared cameras with a net resolution of 1280 x 960, allowing it to sense, and react to items touching the tabletop.
This is why surface is so large and why apple's version work on the iPhone. - Cynicalsomethin, on 02/22/2008, -7/+25Wasn't Microsoft making a table similar to this? What ever happened to that?
Found it: http://www.microsoft.com/surface/ - Spudster, on 02/22/2008, -10/+26This could be big.
- commiecat, on 02/22/2008, -7/+20So how is this different than the technology behind Microsoft Surface?
- directive0, on 02/22/2008, -1/+9If you're arguing that any company that attempts to market a multi touch screen interface is copying Microsoft, thats something like arguing the LG Prada is a copy of the iPhone. Argue all you want, but neither Microsoft nor Apple invented multitouch. In actuality, both companies have been developing the key interface concepts years prior to either the Surface or the iPhone. The idea of a multitouch interface with finger gestures has been around in some form or another since the 80's, so nobody really owns the idea, nor do either hold any substantial "claim" to its application. What Apple is attempting to do here is layout some proprietary and recognizable interface procedures, something for which there are millions of different ways to do it.
I suspect this is a sign of not a single coming product, but of a complete interface for most of their products. Apple has been keen on removing the keyboard and mouse from the equation for a number of years. - bsonline, on 02/22/2008, -1/+8The use is similiar, but the product is vastly different. This is meant as an input component, probably to replace all of your other input devices. Microsoft Surface is a full computer using multi-touch input. While they both have you using your computer in the same way, the form is different.
- kahrn, on 02/22/2008, -3/+10A few people said that about the internet. In the end it turned out to be a bunch of small nodes and miscellaneous other things such as lolcats and all your base.
- johnpaul191, on 02/22/2008, -0/+7The actual touch interaction technology was licensed by both Apple and MS from some smaller company. Apple and MS have patents about how to implement it. Unfortunately these days they really have to patent every possible use, or you know Amazon or SCO will.
The MS Surface project *really* seems to be about the pretty large table type setup, but Apple is using the technology for things like iPhones and whatever this is for. - MacEnvy, on 02/22/2008, -0/+6Fair enough, but Apple would be the company who could get it onto my desktop in an easy-to-use package. I hope they do.
- directive0, on 02/22/2008, -0/+6Spotted one!
- Sedako, on 02/22/2008, -3/+9Please don't ever phase out tactile keyboards.
- pilesAREbetter, on 02/22/2008, -0/+6That's because you have a weak brain.
- bsonline, on 02/22/2008, -3/+8In an unrelated note, I am sick of being logged out of digg every time I walk away from the computer for 5 minutes. I know some of you may not have the problem of not being on digg for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, it's really irritating to login everytime I want to comment or digg.
- johnpaul191, on 02/22/2008, -0/+5RTFA: Want to enter text? Just start typing and the text is there. You even get the touch feedback as if really pressing the keys.
no idea what that means, but it sounds like something different than the iphone. that being said, entering text on the iPhone is a lot more pleasant than my tiny tiny Treo keyboard. - johnpaul191, on 02/22/2008, -2/+7Both the iPhone and MS Surface use licensed technology. The thing about the MS Surface is that a year after they showed it off, it's still a demo. They expect to release it in some form this year, and have a demo models floating around trade shows and hotels. The estimated price tags means that none of us will be using it like the demo for a good number of years (even in a restaurant).
I will say it looks awesome, and gives us ideas about the future. Kind of like the MacBook Air..... it might not be something you would use, but the technology will trickle down into everyday products. Interactive maps in subways or museums and who knows what else. Think of all the products between the MS Surface and the iPhone that could use that kind of input. you KNOW somebody is making a mini tablet (maybe 8" screen) with something like an iPhone interface (hiding virtual keyboard). if it had a 10" - 12" screen it could even have a full sized keyboard, and allow you to see a bit of your text while easily typing. I'm sure Apple and a few other people have things like this in their labs. - DarkDx, on 02/22/2008, -0/+4The microsoft surface uses some kind of "camera" tracking what's in the surface of the table.
This apple thecnology works detecting the electricity conducted trough your fingers (or at least the iphone's does). - SPThom, on 02/22/2008, -1/+5What don't you like about their OS?
- vault, on 02/22/2008, -8/+12Apple would be the ones who could pull it off, though.
- MacParrot, on 02/22/2008, -0/+3Scorpy, what was Apple's market-share 10 years ago? 5 years ago? Apple has roughly tripled their market-share over the last few years and if you think Microsoft isn't paying attention you're sadly mistaken.
- MacParrot, on 02/22/2008, -1/+4You can't be serious and if you are, how did you figure out how to use the internets?
- inactive, on 02/22/2008, -1/+4They are pantenting FLOW CHARTS and finger gestures not the ability to read them.
What innovation are they doing? Nothing but protecting their cashflow !! - Dakk, on 02/22/2008, -0/+3The thing I hate about Windows Mobile is it doesn't have a right click... I mean multi-touch capability.
- KraftDinner101, on 02/22/2008, -4/+7Such technology has been around for years now.
- CrankyMcGuy, on 02/22/2008, -0/+3As usual, there's a lot of heat on both sides of the platform wars in this forum. We can settle this simply. All those using a Microsoft Surface in their daily lives raise your hand. All those using an Apple iPhone in their daily lives raise your hand. (You Ron Paul supporters sit down. This straw poll isn't for you).
I see that there are an awful lot of iPhones out there.
With MacBook Air's new touch pad, and the already renown iPhone interface, Apple's leading in bringing multi-touch interfaces to the masses. Most people expect Apple to bring multi-touch to the MacBook Pro next. I'm not surprised they are working on a desktop interface as shown in this patent filing. Anybody who's seen the Fingerworks video (http://www.fingerworks.com/) has been anticipating this for a few years. - miken32, on 02/22/2008, -1/+4This is the worst article title ever. Took me about 20 seconds before I figured out what it was trying to say. "Mega" is just unnecessary, and since it's capitalized it looks like "Mega Apple" goes together as a brand name or something. Then you've got a noun that sounds like a verb (filing) followed by a verb that sounds like a noun (details) and a couple of hyphenated words to finish it all off!
- Rauby, on 02/22/2008, -14/+17Crazy. Good damn I admire those Apple engineering and design team. They are all genius.
Apple FTW! - scooterb, on 02/22/2008, -3/+6Horses>Cars
Proper tactile feedback.... - EelfinnTy, on 02/22/2008, -1/+4Westerman has had an actual product that worked similar to this for years. Yes it has the same result as MS's surface the the technology is completely different. If I remember right surface uses reflected light to sense your fingers. Westerman's devices use the fact that your fingers conduct electricity to sense the position. This allows the surface to be very thin like the iPhone screen, whereas surface is a whole table.
- lharrod, on 02/22/2008, -0/+3Here's a photo of a tester using a prototype... http://www.techgadgetforums.com/files/voyager_2222 ...
- johnpaul191, on 02/22/2008, -3/+6The MS Surface concept was designed by Microsoft (an interactive table), but they had to outsource the work for the technology. They hit up the same people Apple worked with for the iPhone touch interface technology.
If you want to get technical, Microsoft showed a demo concept of Surface months after the iPhone came out, and you still can't buy one. Everyone knew the iPhone's touch screens would make it into other devices down the road. Cost is a major factor, and that's why MS Surface doesn't really exist (you can't actually buy one). When it does it will be insanely expensive. Those demos show off something like a 52" screen with a touch interface, built into a table, and all the madness to run it. Ponder that price tag for a second. Your local coffee shop or café is not going to have 20 of them. That's years and years away, and kind of dependent on the price of flat panel displays as much as anything else. - webcrumb, on 02/22/2008, -1/+3It's known as the "edit" function. It is possible to post a comment, read some more, then, you know, edit it afterwards. A plain 'deleted' isn't very useful, especially if someone has already replied to your comment, hence the edit.
On a side note, every single one of your comments on this page is a negative jibe. Grow up, man. Not everyone appreciates the style and it adds nothing to the discussion. - pilesAREbetter, on 02/22/2008, -1/+3I'd kill to go back in time before I read your comment.
- Sixcolors, on 02/22/2008, -0/+2I get the feeling that they've made this their life.
- iamnot, on 02/22/2008, -0/+2You're close. Think tablet with descent power and moderate storage. Minimal ports. But access to all computers on the network LAN or WAN via remote desktop technology. So you can run out the door with it and have off line computing power and files, or when you have a WIFI connection switch to your dual quadcore video editing system and do some HD editing. Swap seamlessly to your entertainment system and watch a movie and then back to your local tablet to check mail then hit the corporate linux server to do some Dev work. All seamlessly and without any real load on the WIFI since you're just pushing the user input out and the display feed in, not the whole data stream.
- SPThom, on 02/22/2008, -0/+2You've got the wrong idea. This wouldn't replace the Wacom any more than Wacom has replaced the old mouse. This is about general user input.
- pilesAREbetter, on 02/22/2008, -1/+3Just you
- iamnot, on 02/22/2008, -0/+2You're right about that. It is. Monopolists are like that.
- inactive, on 02/22/2008, -0/+2One doesn't exclude the other..
- MacParrot, on 02/22/2008, -0/+2Can you list a source?
- bsonline, on 02/22/2008, -0/+2Not me. IE, Firefox it's all the same. Even on different computers. I always select "remember me". I mostly get logged out when I'm using multiple tabs, even when I start from a logged in tab.
- deadnoob, on 02/22/2008, -2/+4what dont people understand. when companies, like apple, come up with concepts, like multitouch, they patent EVERYTHING related to it.
- MacParrot, on 02/22/2008, -1/+3Neither Microsoft or Apple developed this tech by themselves. There are more difference between Microsoft's Surface and Apple's Touch than there are similarities
- bsonline, on 02/22/2008, -0/+2I think Apple is a actually making a tablet like that. Probably in addition to the design in this patent. I understand making things thin and shiney, but I'd really rather the technology went in a different direction. How about using "air" technology to build a dual laptop? One monitor, two machines. Could probably even squeeze in an optical drive. Some people like those. Then it could dual boot Windows/Linux or... well, that's pretty much it. Apple isn't much into anything else. Maybe dual boot Mac/Windows or Mac/Linux. Push a button and BAM whole new system. Give 'em some shared space for files. Maybe Lenovo is listening, they can have the idea.
But, reducing functionality just to make something an inch thinner isn't my bag o' tea.
The surface will be for very specific applications. This will be a new way to use the applications we are already familiar with. I can't wait to see a competitor product for PC's, this could be more innovative for gaming than the Wii. - MacParrot, on 02/22/2008, -0/+2Which is how many times better than the 2 split accounted for price of about $3 (around $12 if you don't account for splits) back in 1998? The Stock Market is a crap shoot and still has nothing to do with how many times Apple was said to be about to die or fail since the 90s. Yet here we are with Apple still releasing great products, making money hand over fist, market-share rising each year, and most of their competitors playing catch up. Is everything they release a winner? Not in my opinion and I won't buy an AppleTV, iPhone, or MacBook Air in their current configurations, but that doesn't mean that they are crap, just not for me.
- DaffyDuck, on 02/22/2008, -1/+3That's what your mom said when you popped out.
- wetard57, on 02/22/2008, -0/+2I read that as Mega Apple Filling, sounds good to me
- directive0, on 02/22/2008, -1/+3Not entirely true. While both this patent application and the Surface share one key concept (multi touch gestures) to assume that one is correlated to the other is ignorant. Surface is a single product, this is defining an entire method of interface, something that will probably influence all of Apple's products not just a single line. Not the same, even if to the casual observer they appear to be.
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