Multitouch

[Richard Gaskin]

Scott Rossi wrote:

> Recently, Richard Gaskin wrote:
> 
>> I just submitted a request in the RQCC for this:
>> <http://quality.runrev.com/qacenter/show_bug.cgi?id=8446>
> 
> Hi Richard:
> 
> I went ahead and voted for this but I'm curious how you expect to implement
> such a thing?  It's true that OS's are gaining support for the tech, but
> folks are going to need specialized hardware to accept input.  Do you expect
> many people will ditch their current laptop or flatscreen just to get
> gesture input capability?
> 
> For myself, I am quite interested in the applications (am waiting for a
> small touch screen to do some experiments as I write this) but it seems like
> an expensive jump for many "average" users.  Am curious as to what your
> expectations are.

I expect Rev to make my toast and coffee in the morning and look good 
doing it!  Is that too much to ask? :)

I recently bought a dirt-cheap netbook from Asus, well under $300, and 
it's  an older model yet it supports multitouch in its Linux-based OS. 
OS X does too, and it's a big part of the Win 7 API.  I'd be surprised 
if the laptop you have now doesn't support it.

Sure, it's hardware-dependent, but so is Rev's multi-monitor support: if 
you only have one monitor you don't get to use it. ;)

Multitouch is becoming so prevalent these days that it seems safe to at 
least take the early steps to explore the similarities of the various 
APIs that are provided by the platforms Rev runs on, and send messages 
from devices that can use those APIs.

Like contextual menus, it may be good during these transitional years to 
have whatever functionality you provide available more than one way. 
It's good practice to have anything in a context menu also appear in the 
menu bar, and if you provide support for, say, multitouch pinch you'll 
probably want to also provide a zoom button for those who don't yet have 
a multitouch-capable system.

But the number of such systems is dwindling, daily (though oddly enough 
the new Droid phone doesn't support multitouch in the US, but the 
Android 2.0 OS supports it and European versions of the device support it).

--
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World
  Rev training and consulting: http://www.fourthworld.com
  Webzine for Rev developers: http://www.revjournal.com
  revJournal blog: http://revjournal.com/blog.irv