Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface - Gizmodo Comments

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

q2dm7 — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 22:47:40 EDT

A rear-projection system would make a lot more sense to me; the shadow of the user's arm would simply go away (assuming no bright overhead light sources).

It'd be interesting to me to use computer vision for this instead of a DiamondTouch. This sort of interaction using computer vision has been prototyped in the literature; see "PlayAnywhere" (front-projection mind you) for instance. You could get rid of the DiamondTouch to save some $$$.

q2dm7

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

noahx — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 07:35:59 EDT

MPX, it is cheap and also works two independent active windows at the same time! This is cooking for the future Peter! Keep going mate it is important!

noahx

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

LinuxGalore — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 23:05:44 EDT

Love how the Microserf fans think automatically anything Microsoft shows is a first time product. Sorry but multi touch surfaces/interfaces have been around for years, Ive been working with the stuff since the 90's, what MPX brings to the table that neither Microsoft or Apple have so far is the ability to have "two" active windows working independently of each other with separate pointers. All the stuff I have seen from Apple and Microsoft (yes that includes the "big assed table") only support one active window at a time.

LinuxGalore

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

xsportseeker — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 21:32:41 EDT

Interesting.
Multi-touch going opensource is a great thing.
Though it's still in beta stages, development may come fast.

But it seems the title of the article is kinda deceiving... from what I read, it's not the multitouch table that's going opensource... it's the software behind it, isn't it? Being able to generate unique IDs using multiple tables?

I've already seen somewhere how to make a multitouch table yourself, using projectors and cameras... or something like that.

xsportseeker

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

leMel — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 16:52:53 EDT

I can't help but feel that the commenters are examining grains of sand while missing the beach...

Mr. Hutterer gives good answers to those questions. I particularly like his observation on being able to review what technologies we have and why they succeeded or failed.

iPhone will do much to put touch on people's radar, even though it isn't 'true' multi-touch in the sense that multiple users aren't manipulatng multiple objects that are aware of each other.

To the average Joe, it's magic, but once a popular product has it, it becomes expected magic.

The Wii falls firmly in this category. It's not that Nintendo invented that kind of interaction - or have even done the best job of implementing it. It's that they've bumped it across the threshold into the popular pool of technology expectations, and there's no going back.

Once upon a time this happened with the mouse.

And I'm sure the first demos of overlapping windows must have met with a *least* one person thinking "what's the use of that? It just slows everything down!"

leMel

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

Jumpking04 — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 15:00:59 EDT

I didnt read it but it looks like its cool.
Linux is doing big things. Microsoft and Mac may have competition.
I mean compared to mircosoft and mac prices they're prices are relatively lower and you dont need that much of a monster system to run linux.
To me its the best of the both worlds at a cheaper price.

Jumpking04

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

Exitao — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 14:55:39 EDT

Jedibugs:

That would rock for chessmaster

Exitao

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

jedibugs — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 13:06:03 EDT

This looks really promising. One thing I think would really help to enable it as a convenient multi-user tool, though, would be the ability to flip around an application, so two people could sit on either side of the table, each with a keyboard, and pass a Word document back and forth as easily as a piece of paper, reorienting it so that the person currently working in it sees it right-side-up.

Maybe this is already implemented but not showcased in the video. If not, they should definitely develop it.

jedibugs

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

aussie — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 11:59:38 EDT

I can't say much more than it seems really crap!

aussie

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 11:49:42 EDT

TC2COOL, if anything, I am protective of Peter's work, which I think it's serious and important enough to be defended against inane comments that minimize his efforts.

In fact, I couldn't care less about the article except for one reason: because it may allow other people to discover his work. I'm saying this because I didn't know about it until I came across the video in YouTube. I thought that some people will be in the same position as I was. I also thought that some of the smart readers of Gizmodo would be to appreciate the significance of his research.

As he said, his project is not unique, but he's working to make this kind of technology available to other developers worldwide, which in turn may bring products to the market sooner and cheaper than the alternatives.

That's why, as the gadget whore that I am, I consider it's important to support people like Peter. I just like to support people who I believe are working to help us all.

Jesus Diaz

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

TC2COOL — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 11:28:29 EDT

Dang Jesus... A little protective of your article? Criticism, even idiotic, makes us better writers. Deep breath. Relax.

TC2COOL

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

Mio — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 11:25:37 EDT

I just want Microsoft to release some WPF samples of their surface stuff, so we can see how they handle it....

Mio

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

Exitao — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 11:25:15 EDT

The idea of FREE goes beyond just the cost PHANTAM. Of course hardware costs money. But hardwaer isn't the thing we really buck up for. The iPhone is the perfect example, $600 for $200 of hardware - what you'er paying for is development and branding.

So, with this project, everything but the hardware is free - to leeches like me. It's also free of proprietary controls and a lot of EULA BS and other oppressive tactics. It's also free of MS or Apple fanboy-ism.

This is exactly they kind of news that attracts me to Gizmodo and could even get me to invest time and energy into changing of to Linux (and I am a bit of an MS fanboy, evil overlords for teh win!).

You seem bitter, you doing OK?

Exitao

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 11:06:04 EDT

Godz, if you don't have a clue about what is this (because you obviously have not RTFA), please don't comment.

Phantam, please apply the same advice. Did you actually read what this is about? Do you actually have a clue about what are you talking about?

Heime45, as Peter says, this is beta software, but impressive nonetheless.

Jesus Diaz

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

heime45 — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 11:00:45 EDT

Man, that hardware seems slow. That map barely responded when the guy was using it.

Guys, when demoing new gizmos, do it on something other than an Intel 386. It makes your product look clunkey and unresponsive.

heime45

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

Godz — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 10:37:50 EDT

These projector multi-touch things are in malls. They project things like soccer balls and little kids kick them around.

Godz

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

HFC — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 10:25:32 EDT

Projected touchscreens aren't new, but that's not the point. This is very cool. It's a great demonstration.

HFC

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

phantam — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 10:23:26 EDT

yay a linux derived device of a windows one... wow who would have thought that was coming... but as you point out its the nice little things that microsoft does that end up making it sell vs the free counterpart... Not to mention microsoft will deploy it as a platform to dell/compaq/gateway etc to get it to mass market eventually in a few years and then walla surface computing on a grand scale.

I love Open Source projects their great, but saying things like "FREE" diy microsoft surface is idiotic and insulting and it makes me not want to read gizmodo...

you accentuate that the first surface from ms will be in the 10k$ range over and over again, and then a linux version you say is gonna be free... its not gonna be fre the hardware wont be free so it wont be free stop advertising it as such

phantam

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 10:08:22 EDT

The important thing is not the hardware itself, but that his windowing server is designed for multiple input devices from the ground up. This means that he can have as many input points and users as he wants.

The system was designed with this kind of surfaces in mind. The DiamondTouch is one. Microsoft TouchLight is another (uses a different method). Han's FITR is another and Apple's implementation is yet another one.

Also, another important factor is that this research project won't be limited and will proabbly see its way on many products in the future.

Jesus Diaz

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

Slappy McSlapp — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 09:48:33 EDT

Isn't it projecting on his hand from afar? Can't we kind of already do this?

Slappy McSlapp

Linux MPX Multi-touch Table May Become Alternative Microsoft Surface

Windhawk — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 09:45:17 EDT

Nice work Jesus.

Peter seems like a real sharp guy. It is nice to see what creative people can do, even without the backing of a multi-billion dollar corporation behind them.

Windhawk