Wow. This would definitely finally pry the XP from my cold, dead, uh, wait - live - hands.

Maybe even my four-button programmable optical trackball, too, although I'm not totally sure about that...

Seek ye...A GRAIL???

typing on it may be painful (non-responsive keys), but that audio mixer setup would be insane. the possibilities for this would be a really big leap ahead.

@discounteggroll:

Wasn't apple also working on a textile responsive touch technology as well? If not I agree, non responsive typing will never replace the good old fashion keyboard.

Unless you're a hunt and peck typer tactile feedback is a must IMHO. Touch typing on a slab of glass just doesn't feel right.

Yeah, touch typing wouldn't work here - but I'd say the benefits outweigh that.

to be honest I haven't typed on a flat non-responsive surface, so I can only assume that this would be a difficult transition. I did however buy one of those rollable/foldable/bendable USB keyboards because I thought it would make me more of a bad-ass jack bauer...bad idea

the thing is impossible to type on. Almost as bad as the rubber keyboard the toughbooks have

I would hate it, and it has nothing to do with my anti-mac-ness. One of my biggest pet peeves is a bad keyboard feel, most laptops don't feel that great to begin with, but no keys at all? No thanks.

If the keyboard is transparent then the display side would carry the full weight of the battery, cpu and memory. It would topple backwards in "laptop" mode.

Terrible idea - in reality the screen's going to look like ass in "tablet" mode. Even if they do make the casing out of lead so that they can make the "keyboard" part thin without it toppling over because of the weight of the screen/battery etc, it's still going to feel like a giant mobile phone screen or old-school tube tv behind a thick sheet of plastic. And that's before you go and stick your grubby fingers all over both sides of it!.

Image #1 (with the mixing board) makes me salivate!!!

Image #1 (with the mixing board) makes me salivate!!

@nocar: Nah. The processor is so fast, the downforce it creates keeps it firmly planted. (note: It's an Apple/concept post. Reality holds little value.)

@nocar: transparent != no weight ><

I hate to be the practical one here but where is all of the hardware going to be stored?

External add ons?

- a USB add on Box [contains - processor - RAM and other motherboard parts]
- a USB add on for the External [internal] HD

and unless that's Transparent Aluminum - that would realistically fall under their low end consumer lines - except that it might be too expensive_

Why even bother patenting stuff, Apple? Someone is just going to sue you anyways.

PS - You still owe me for my invention of the ~ key.

While it seems like a really cool idea to have the whole control surface be a touchscreen, any serious typing would have to be done on a separate USB or bluetooth keyboard.

Maybe have just the trackpad be a touchscreen with multiple control surfaces, and then use the OLED technology of the Optimus Prime keyboard for the keys.

I think I would keep my keyboard plugged into it for typing. As a musician though I drooled at the thought of the slider interface being able to adjust on the fly.

Visual artists could use the closed book for 'direct sketch mode' like a wacom tablet and display all in one. Then when they're ready to refine it further they can open it up for a whole suite of controls to be displayed on the control surface while their work is still on the main screen.

@uberfu: Exactly what I thought. Unless they move all the hardware behind the screen, they couldn't make the keyboard transparent. An example of this type of design is the TC1X00 series of Tablet PCs, a slate style tablet with a detachable rotating keyboard. It compensated for the top-heaviness by moving the hinge more toward the center of the keyboard, but this wouldn't work for a transparent 'board.

After typing and using my iPhone, they could surely make a loptop size interface easy to type on, no doubt about it.

@NicleT: I agree. I would love a multitouch virtual mixer/ DAW controller and think it's just a matter of time. (It even appeared on an Apple patent drawing).

Although when I saw this one I wondered why you wouldn't toss the big trackpad and typewriter keyboard since they just get in the way of the other stuff? When something like this is actually implemented, I bet you would be able to call up a virtual typewriter keyboard when you need it, and something like a trackpad would be reduced to make room for more dedicated functions like faders, transport controls, and even better: controllable visual representations of sound parameters like plugin GUIs that you can directly control through multitouch. Something like an evolved Dexter by Jazzmutant but that isn't limited to a handful of static templates, and is part of a larger OS.

Still, Kudos to David McMillan!

Were this concept to become an actual product - I don't think that the Keyboard would be transparent, & I don't think that the internals would move from their current configuration. the Display would be two sided. The lower half would be a one sided touch screen.
While typing on a sheet of glass would be less than optimal, you probably would not type on the sheet of glass that frequently. I think that you would mostly use it in tablet mode while on the go & add an external KB when you got back to your desk, using the lower half as additional task specific controls (those Audio sliders for example)

DO WANT!

I think it's possible to make a screen that's flexible enough to provide tactile feedback. It'd be hella expensive, but I think it could be done.

That said, it would be impossible to type without some texturing of some kind on the screen surface. You need home-row-nubbins and key-gaps before you can type, even if the keys don't depress.

This one's easy - if you need to do some heavy-duty typing or require a physical keyboard, buy one to plug into the USB port. The MB Air has proven that people don't mind buying plug-in accessories for things that were once considered essential. Plus, most people buying a tablet wouldn't be typing on it much anyway - tablets have always been marketed towards artists/designers. I know if I had one, I would hardly ever unfold it in the first place.

Problem I would have is that I use the keyboard and the tablet functions simultaneously. For instance, I simply tap Firefox to open it, but I use the keyboard to log on to my school's wireless. I would hate having to switch back and forth, and such. Also, I could not deal with no tactile response.

My only question is about light...doesn't the transparent display need some sort of backlight (kind of like the monitor?) I would hate to have a bunch of dark blobs, or monochromatic keys... Obviously it would work fine in tablet mode because of the backlight from the monitor.

No tactile response = fail. You said it yourself, Giz.

[gizmodo.com]

After you throw out the keyboard functionality, there's not much benefit to this over just a normal touch screen.

Maybe putting the "bumps" on the F and J keys would help...

but then again, maybe not -.-

GIMMIE!

Finally! A digital touch screen keyboard. I have been waiting for this day since the iPone came out. Looks like Mac exceeded my wildest expectations.

Dear Apple,

Put down the crack, and bring me a better Cinema Display. Also, I'd like for you to put a mini Firewire port on the Air just cuz. Oh, and don't forget to mail me my manilla envelope that mysteriously levitates over desks.

Sincerely,

Kaiser Machead

Tell ya what, add haptic feedback and I am SOLD.

@mhlaxp: yes but that wasn't Apple they were talking about.

Why couldn't they put a real keyboard and still do the cool double-sided screen thing?

To provide tactile key boundaries on a physically smooth surface... is it possible to conduct a mild electric field to only those areas of the screen representing keys? Something that might be felt as a mild sensation in the fingertips (as opposed to a fatal shock :) when you were over a "key", but wouldn't be felt in the gaps? Admittedly, pounding away all day over an electric field doesn't sound too attractive... but then, I think how my grandmother used to worry about the menace of us sitting too close to the TV... but here I am spending most of my worklife sitting in front of a screen.
Anyway, an electronics guy I'm not -- the feasibility of this may be on the order of "transparent aluminum" for all I know. :)

Wasn't there an article about a a device from MS that did something similar? You could see "through" the display, and use the "touch" on either side?

Call it the MacBook DS.

The interior screen where the keyboard appears could have a thin transparent silicone layer to provide a subtle "bump" for touch typing - whatever coats that surface has to be easy to clean otherwise when it's closed up the screen view through the smudgey glass will look like - uh - like my current screen ... nevermind.

@discounteggroll:
yeah check this out [www.jazzmutant.com]

you probably already knew about that, but its pretty nifty. The above would look much cooler though

I currently use a PS/2 to USB adapter to make my IBM keyboard work with my tablet.

But if there was a macbook air in a tablet form factor even w/o flipping open, I'd be all over it.

Think "big screen, powerful iPhone."

@uberfu:

All the hardware is behind the screen, of course. Not the transparent touchscreen - the actual screen.

Imagine ripping the keyboard off of a MacBook Touch, putting the LED-backlit display directly on top of the motherboard, and putting a hinged two-sided touchscreen over the whole thing.

@nocar:

It wouldn't tip over backwards for two reasons: first, the heaviest components are toward the bottom, and a set of appropriately heavy speakers are on the outer rim of the touchscreen (that's what the thick silver bars are). That should provide a decent counterweight.

I know that typing on a flat surface would take some getting used to, but apparently touch typing is still possible as long as you have enough space. And remember, it's the "smart multitouch" - it can tell the difference between just resting your fingers on the screen and deliberately tapping.

-David MacMillan

ME WANT NOW!!!!! lol looks interesting to watch imagine watching a movie on it wowww i could just lay in bed watching without bieng afraid of the damn thing burning me ,my bed and/or starting a fire on my bed :]

Anyone remember this patent from 06'? [www.appleinsider.com] It looks like Apple finally is putting all this to good use with this device

Only for gaming or music? Think bigger! There are gobs of aps where touch typing is not paramount. People that survey or scientists that collect the same kind of data over and over again could have custom keyboards to streamline data entry. Field scientists of all kinds. Sales forces. Analytical instrumentation in the medical field. What about web design or other graphic artists? Color palettes and stuff like that. The military for navigation. Other mapping aps. Web article editing. Architects, interior design. Working closely with software designers, the possibilities seem endless. Zonks, Scoob, this could be huge.

@DaKidJordan:

Uh - it's not a device yet - it's just an idea I had based off of those (and other) patents.

This would be incredible for artist's who use the mac for work. A customizeable user interface for audio or video editing would be insane! I would still use an external keyboard for typing but I prefer typing on a full-sized external compared to my MB keyboard anyday.