http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/ Engadget Comments for Revenge of Apple patent attack: giant laptop touchpad http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 9th 2007 5:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 9th 2007 5:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 9th 2007 6:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 9th 2007 6:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 9th 2007 9:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 9th 2007 5:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 9th 2007 8:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 9th 2007 6:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 9th 2007 6:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/
Apple is correct to begin expanding the implementation of this interface technology throughout their product lines...

Just like they were avant garde w/ their early use of the mouse (which the didn't invent, but knew a good thing when they saw it), they know this is the way of the future.]]>Aug 9th 2007 6:09PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 9th 2007 6:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 9th 2007 6:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/
I'll give Apple props for getting Multi-touch in such a small area, but now everyone else is going to be doing it too.
And in Microsoft's case, they have the surface (lol) and some random LCD that supports multi-touch.

Either way multi-touch trackpad seems useless. I can understand it being on a monitor but a trackpad?
No.]]>Aug 10th 2007 2:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 9th 2007 6:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/]]>Aug 9th 2007 6:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/
http://www.gadgetreview.com/2006/03/apple-notebook-wide-touchpads.html]]>Aug 9th 2007 6:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/I'm willing to bet that this technology does see the light of day actually. Extending your arm to use a multi-touch screen would be much more tiring than this.]]>Aug 9th 2007 6:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/
Patenting is good to protect your own idea and stuff, but they haven't even made such an invention yet. And nobody else but Apple will be able to do so either, without selling it.

There's 2 kinds of patenting: one is to protect, the other is to prevent any other company to make a possibly better product.

Of course, #2 is the more evil kind, and I've seen that as the route Apple's taking. Which is really bad. Apple might as well patent the ability to make time machines, and whatnot. Might as well kill every company in the world to do so.]]>Aug 9th 2007 6:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 9th 2007 6:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/
That is win]]>Aug 9th 2007 6:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 9th 2007 6:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/
I have used my TouchStream keyboard for years. It is god-like in its abilities and ergonomics. You quickly realize just how little you really need tactile feedback. Heck, your finger touching the surface is tactile feedback in itself.]]>Aug 9th 2007 7:07PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/
I've used chiclets and keyless keyboards and I have to hunt and peck while looking at the keys to type.

Maybe it'd be nice to type on one of those if you look at your keyboard, but to get real work done, you need to learn to type without looking.

I doubt you could get much higher than 30 WPM on a keyless keyboard, while on a keyboard with keys and tactile feedback you'd be able to get 100+ WPM easily.]]>Aug 10th 2007 2:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/
To me the main difference is not the feel of the keys response or having to be pushed down. The main difference is being able to slide your fingers across the keyboard and feel where each key begins and ends. The edges of keys really do make a tactile difference that .. at least for me .. when I pay attention I notice my fingers are constantly feeling the nearby keys. This is at times frustrating with the TouchStream keyboard. Luckily its home-row nubs help position and you learn to use your other fingers for that response and positioning. I believe this could probably be achieved to the same affect with some type of responsive surface that provided slight key depressions or raised areas depending on the currently used layout. Unfortunately, that technology is still a ways out.

Nevertheless, I typically type well over 120 wpm in 1 to 2 minute bursts on a standard keyboard. After more than a few minutes, my wrists start to hurt due to carpal tunnel and having to actively muscle the keys down (yes, it takes effort to press keys down). I slow down to about 80 wpm if sustained over 10 minutes, but can maintain that for hours. However, on my TouchStream keyboard my maximum speed is only 108 words per minute. I have yet to break that speed. I know of a few other TouchStream users that flit around that speed. It appears that the software goes semi-wonky at that speed because you can't move your fingers out of the way fast enough. Most people I know, who had 100+ wpm speeds on a normal keyboard, hit between 60 and 80 wpm on a TouchStream keyboard. I suspect this might be a bit higher than 30 wpm ;) but correct me if my math is incorrect.

Nevertheless, there is one major exception to the TouchStream keyboard over a normal keyboard. I can sustain that speed of 108 wpm for hours, without my hands getting tired or my wrists getting stressed. Why? Because I am not having to actively push the keys down. The main muscles being used in my hands are to lift my fingers back up, relaxing them lets them drop. I think of it analogous to walking or running. A lot of people run incorrectly, pushing their foot down, they wear out faster. If you relax, it just happens. On a normal keyboard, if my fingers relax, the keys don't get depressed, and no typing occurs.. unless it is a relatively low impact keyboard.

Please note, I am talking specifically about the TouchStream keyboard made by FingerWorks which was bought by Apple. I have used other low-tactile keyboards and not been satisfied with them.

Oh, and I rarely look at my hands. The little nubs on the home-row of the keyboard are sufficient to tell me where my fingers are and to re-position if I fall off (which happened a lot during the first three months, but happens less and less with each passing year). You are correct though, I never look at my hands on a normal keyboard.

Take that for what you believe. :) [yes, that is an odd phrase]]]>Aug 10th 2007 12:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/I recall something about an elevator at Apple Japan that stops at every floor because it has NO BUTTONS...

MS Surface is multi touch and has been in development for quite sometime...
I f'n hate apple... I have an iPod and love it... I hate mac's they quite happily forward virus' onto PC in our corp net...
I love the idea of the iPhone... just waiting for ver 2 to fix the low points... 3rd party apps without a stupid browser...

sigh... too damn complicated.
(now that was a pretty detacted thought process I just went thru)]]>Aug 9th 2007 7:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/
Stuff like the iPhone and that monitor Microsoft is working on don't have that kind of room to spare.]]>Aug 10th 2007 2:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 10th 2007 7:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/
http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/projector-keyboard/index.html]]>Aug 9th 2007 7:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/ie. your in safari the default dynamic buttons could be back, forward, refresh, etc. then you have your cursor on a link the buttons could change to "new tab", "save link" , "copy shortcut" etc.]]>Aug 9th 2007 8:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/
You mean the one that's going to cost $10,000?]]>Aug 9th 2007 9:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 9th 2007 10:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/
I agree with a lot of the comments in reference to the multi-touch display replacing the track pad. I can see this being an excellent improvement to the "portable computer" It could open up a whole new generation of mouse response. Or as someone mockingly mentioned it becoming a MacBookDSlite, hell, who wouldn't think it would be amazing to have two screens and the bottom screen alternating as a keyboard or whatever the person needs. This also could be an elaborate, desperate move by Apple to keep competitors from using their multi-touch on a computer, I'd also be curious if this isn't an early strike so someone doesn't develop a tablet pc with multi-touch. ]]>Aug 9th 2007 11:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 10th 2007 3:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 10th 2007 6:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/
Why don't they stop the BS and patent a tablet where there are two touch screens and no keyboard? It would cost a fortune, but would be sooo sexy. Tablet DS :D]]>Aug 10th 2007 7:37AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 10th 2007 10:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Aug 11th 2007 1:22AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/revenge-of-apple-patent-attack-giant-laptop-touchpad/Perhaps, Apple's just using misdirection so they can release a touchscreen on the quiet.]]>Aug 11th 2007 12:14PM