Linux for Designers

Chinese writes:

I like the video, but mostly I like your webpage. Keep blogging

Anonymous writes:

Cool idea. Too many buzzwords.

Anonymous writes:

That is awesome. We need someone to make that for Linux. Hopefully me in a few years.

Anonymous writes:

Waaw!
This makes me feels like I'm in Jurassic Age.
I wonder on which OS this desktop will be! I hope out sweetheart Linux gets a version.

shakaran writes:

Amazing! I love this interface. This is a nice idea!

I dunno, the lineair layout isn't always better. Both Windows and Linux (KDE/GNOME) do support grouping of taskbar items. The taksbar needs one or two clicks to change applications whereas you need to scroll through every application window in the linear wm if you want need an application that's on the other side of the list.

They also forget one little thing ... a keyboard

Anonymous writes:

what happens if an application wants us to use more than two or three fingers?

Anonymous Bear writes:


Some "Futuristic" concepts here: I especially liked the handling of lining-up the multiple windows.

Yet, please consider HINTS from the 'OLD' Type-Writer Days gone by: - skill levels vary widely among users, there's an under-appreciated, under-considered segment of society enduring life-long handicaps i.e. paralysis, injuries. It's Good & Right to seek out input from this community for planning and implementing such BOLD steps seen with this video of such a Futuristic application.

The company that does this will prosper and have a Good Name!

Gez writes:

That's interesting. But what happens when you do drums with your fingers? (I use to do that on the keyboard's palm rest when I wait for a long operation). I wouldn't like to see my system destroyed just becaus I'm impatient. :-)

Anonymous writes:

This could be a problem for handicaps :/

So are normal mice and keyboards

GMail::edgar.b.dsouza writes:

I like! And I appreciate that there's no way to cram all the design ideas into a demo video. But there's so many follow-on queries:

Why a separate keyboard? That's awkward - I have enough trouble with tiny touchpads on laptops when typing (yes, I set ignore t-p input when kbd keypress detected, and your driver could do the same).. but why not use a virtual keyboard on that multi-touch surface (MTS)?

Do I still get my multiple workspaces that I'm used to with current (Linux) desktops? A swipe in the 'global' area could change workspaces (I don't mind reordering my thinking towards a vertical stack of workspaces, so I scroll up or down to the other workspaces. Naturally, the three-finger window-drag (it was three fingers, wasn't it) combined with the global swipe should take my window along onto the next workspace...

What if I'm only actively working with a small subset of the open windows - why should I waste time to zoom hugely out to locate the one I want? (That is, I still like the idea of "minimize" windows I'm not actively using, but want to check every now and then.)

Window labels rotated 90 degrees so I have to crane my neck to read it? (Well, I don't really need to, but it does slow me down!)

How do I "minimize all" to peek at those fancy widgets on the desktop? One reason I don't use Conky is that it's annoying to have to hide windows to view desktop; I prefer gkrellm, docked to right, even though it takes a bit of my screen area all the time.

Do I lose all my Compiz eyecandy and specialfx? ;-P

A separate window for each webpage? I sometimes have 20 tabs open in a Firefox window. 20 windows for those? Gotta say yuck!

Will the MTS recognize a stylus for fine-control drawing? Can I temp-remap the client area of an app to an MTS area near the lower edge, so I can rest my wrist and draw comfortably/use handwriting recog/make other finely-controllable motions? If not, will the big imprint of the heel of my hand not confuse the other, finer inputs I'm making?

Will two or three big blot-touches appearing on the MTS recognize a frustrated user pounding his fist on the MTS, and offer help/usage reminders/consolation/jokes? :-P

As I said: I like the basic idea, it just throws up so many questions. If this (software) is going to be FOSS-licensed (I hope it is!), then I guess everyone is free to implement their own variations/improvements on how the UI should work. I'd sure like one of those MTSs though :o)

Cheers
Ed.

GMail::edgar.b.dsouza writes:

...why not use a virtual keyboard on that multi-touch surface (MTS)?...
(adding a bit more)
A virtual keyboard would also allow innovation in keyboard layouts (I suppose that is rather obvious, but still.) If the projection module from the red laser virtual keyboards (e.g. www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/demo.asp or optics.org/cws/article/research/9067 ) could be incorporated with the MTS - either projection from above or underneath the MTS (assuming the MTS is transparent/translucent) then the keys of the projected keyboard could have different user- or application-specific customizable layouts. It will require much coordination between the projected custom layout and the MTS driver, to correctly interpret pressure on the MTS, but the possibilities are quite interesting, IMO.

For example:
- I don't know about everyone, but many people have grown accustomed to using just the right thumb to hit the spacebar. The Backspace key is way up there in the upper right of the kbd, requiring me to lift my hand/crook my wrist so I can hit a BkSp. If it was possible to re-map the unused left portion of the spacebar, perhaps even with a diagonal division, to a secondary BkSp; I think I could retrain my (admittedly not stellar) touch-typing to use that left thumb for BkSp, and avoid the frequent lift/crook to reach the BkSp key.

- For people doing heavy number entry and formula entry into a spreadsheet: I think a numeric keypad is quite appreciated - but think about a (customizable) array of commonly used spreadsheet formulas, accessible with a single "key"press (MTS pressure) because they have been projected as custom buttons on the virtual keyboard. Will that lessen typing formula names, or clicks in the traditional spreadsheet toolbar or formula bar? I think it would! Of course, the workflow in the app would probably need to be adjusted to match the new functionality - e.g. define a named range for use in a formula, instead of dragging to select an arbitrary range while entering the formula... or switch the MTS to "pointers" mode again to enable user to select the range of cells, then switch back to custom kbd layout when formula entry is over. Needs thought, design, and actual testing, I guess :-)

- Mathematicians/scientists/people entering complex formulae: a custom layout with symbols that don't appear on most PC keyboards...

- Lazy sysads ;-) : create custom frequently-used command-lines, or macros, and map them to new keys on a custom keyboard layout.. (what? you can't be suggesting the command-line is going away... :-P )

- Gamers :-)) : define their own comfortable user-specific-game-specific layouts.. No need to remember complex key combos, when that special action has its own large-sized "key" right above the main control "keys"... array of programmable team-chat or taunt messages, with the first few letters of each msg showing on the "key" on the virtual keyboard.. etc etc

- Some *ahem* proprietary software companies: replace the spacebar with a nice big "Generate FUD" macro key/button ;-) ;-P

Cheers
Ed.

Matthew Bauer writes:

Sounds like Humanized and Etoile. These things never seem to get done, even how cool they sound.

This gave me a lot of ideas... I want to make my own presentation

Anonymous writes:

the Mutitouch is nice that is the best way to do desktop so far I have seen. my only ? is what do you do with more then one screen on a computer?

but I think the UI need work...

what I think needs to close all apps that are not being looked at into a bar with muti apps that are the same into the same bar along one line let me see if I can askii that


a|b1|open app across here|c
a|b2|open app across here|c
a|b3|open app across here|c

if you select b1 and drag it open it will open up doc one and leave a bar still with b2/b3

a|b2|open app across here b1|open app across here|c
a|b2|open app across here b1|open app across here|c
a|b3|open app across here b1|open app across here|c

this does limit open apps to what ever will fit onto your screen..