Modder builds his own coffee table PC, your coffee table still sucks
By Paul Miller 
posted Mar 10th 2008 9:22AM
posted Mar 10th 2008 9:22AM
[Via Geeky Gadgets]
posted Mar 10th 2008 9:22AM
The estimated percentage of cellphones that were recycled in 2007.
The EPA estimated that of the 126.3 million cellphones disposed of in 2007, only 14 million -- about 10 percent -- were recycled. The rest? Landfill heaven. (source: EPA, July 2008)
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Dugg!
http://digg.com/mods/Modder_builds_his_own_coffee_table_PC
why must you spam every engadget article with your stupid links?
I've made it a point to bury every submission that you put on digg.
his/her digg profile: http://digg.com/users/UCBearcats
I too am burying articles by UCBearcats.
whats a bearcat? I mean I know what a man-bear-pig is, but I've never heard of a bearcat. Couldn't find it in the dictionary either.
At least it's better than the idiots saying "First post!"
What a waste of time.
A Bear Cat is a panda. It's an old name.
Bearcat:
http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2007/10/30/bearcat1_wideweb__470x320,0.jpg
Cue the fanbois claiming that this sucks too, since it's not on Mac OS.
Looks pretty neat. Is it truly functional and stable though?
You go out of your way to demean Mac OS users in an article that has absolutely nothing to do with Mac OS and call *them* fanboys? Slightly hypocritical, don't you think?
You could look at it that way, but any article hyping a windows product gets slammed by the fanbois. I'm hoping that Windows Surface or whatever it'll be called will finally solve Microsoft's big software issues.
It looks nicely executed, but ergonomically it's a nightmare; table-top stuff is idiotic at best, regardless what OS it's running. Taking the desktop metaphore to a literal level is so .com bubble era.
What kernel is it running? 2.6.24?
MacOS sucks way too much in too many ways for those fanboys to be talking, but I'm here to represent the penguins. ^_^
GK Chesterton said something about never seeing a memorial or statue dedicated to a committee.
I love it when one guy pulls off something a bunch of pros take forever to complete.
Because being able to build a multitouch table is 'pulling off something a bunch of pros take forever to complete."?
You realise that being able to build a piece of technology is not the same as being able to mass produce and market it, right?
How is this pulling off something the pro's can't do? If I remember correctly MS Surface doesn't require a cam mounted to the ceiling to work correctly? This is a great piece of technology, but rather is just to show off the coding behind the hardware.
Still damn cool though.
Using cameras to create multi-input interface is nothing new. Look at Reactrix (advertising using cameras pointing down)...of course, they weren't the first either.
I've seen this project executed many times.
The difference with Surface is that it has touch detection vs. an overhead cam.
Is this one covered in the Coffee Table Book About Coffee Tables?
I want!
I reckon this may blow MS Surface out of the water when it err, surfaces...
... I'll get my coat
Surface vs this Mod:
Round 1 - Technology
The Surface allows touch-screen, rather than image-tracking for touch recognition. This means you can't block the tracking camera with other objects or your body. Surface can also recognize orientation and can remember objects (in a limited sense) by their perimeters.
Winner: Surface
Round 2 - Form-factor
The Surface is a huge and immensely heavy case unit with a large screen facing up on the top. The coffee-table mod potentially allows you to have some manner of space under it for your feet/legs/books.
Winner: Home-brew
Round 3 - Development
Surface has a whole SDK for development for displaying to the screen and capturing input groups (individual finger presses or multiple items on the surface at once). Home-brew solution requires doing everything from scratch.
Winner: Surface
I'd just like to point out Surface also uses cameras to track touch and recognize objects. All of the cameras are inside the Surface box, vs. overhead with this home mod. The Surface table top is neither capacitive nor resitive.
"The table allows for multiple users at once, and the interface part of the software rotates automatically towards whoever is grubbing up the display at that point"
In other words, it only allows for one user at once. Because if multiple users were using it at the same time, the interface would keep rotating chaotically. Maybe it registers touches from multiple people simultaneously, but that's not the same as 'multi user'.
And how does it work on porno sites?
me want.
me also want video.
10 comments and nobody asked...
...does it play Quake 3 at breakfast?
Mmmm bacon-grease-fingered bunny-hopping.
Quack sucks, will it play DOOM?
I'd rather have an aquarium coffee table.
Seriously, I would.
But, you still need to put up a divider so the other person can't see where you've placed your battleship!! And if it plays Pac-man, I see a huge market for it in Pizza-Hut's around the country!!
ftw,I will just assume it can play Doom.
if i put a bowl of frosted flakes on it will it track the calorie intake, or link me to a page with coupons? i wish my fiance would let me put one in the living room
yeah here's your "revolutionary" multi touch device huh, any geek can knock one up
seems Microsoft's surface has been sunk
This uses a camera overhead, the table is multitouch.
But don't let something as small and insignificant as common sense get in your way
("the table" being Surface)
"This uses a camera overhead, the table is multitouch."
Actually, Microsoft's Surface also uses a camera (inside the table) for tracking fingers. It's surface isn't actually touch sensitive, although they did say that's planned for future versions.
I was all pumped when I read DIY. Then I read that it was done by a soon to be software engineer and I got sad because I know I could never pull anything off like this myself.
Kudos, that's one of the coolest things I've seen in a while.
This is pretty sweet. As though I have seen other related topics using a projector and webcams to make your own multi touch screen. I'm going to try this, but once I find a cheap project (doubt I'll find one, but I am still searching.)
Nice find Engadget :D
This will really look nice with a blue screen.
Running Windows it would be the big blue screen of death with error messages...
Actually, a 24" monitor with a wireless mouse or trackball would work fine for me... be a cool remote for the media center PC...
Yo, put some wood grain (and D's) on that shit.
Microsoft = 8 years if development.
Xylomn = less then 2 years.
Microsoft: owned
Xylomn: 1
u're on hell of an intelligent dude...dude
A guy did the same thing and took it to Dragon's Den.. It got slated!