New Apple "Rotary" Mouse!
Well, I don't know about any of you guys, but I think this is certainly a great idea. Leave it to Apple to come up with a clever way of solving a problem... I think a dial/rotary disk would be pretty cool.
Check it out:
Apple Dial-Mouse.
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Ed
Check it out:
Apple Dial-Mouse.
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Ed
Comments
Originally posted by Not Unlike Myself
Although clevar, I think this is just another of those Apple "lets buy a patent" stories. They just like collecting these things until they have a chance to use them.
Incorrect. It's only an application for a patent and it was filed by *Apple*. Not other patent was purchased.
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Ed
Originally posted by Ed M.
Incorrect. It's only an application for a patent and it was filed by *Apple*. Not other patent was purchased.
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Ed
You know what I mean. Lets not bicker of semantics. (twit)
I fully understand they didn't buy this from somebody else. But getting a patent isn't free (double duh) and so I was saying 'buying' it in that sense.
Originally posted by Not Unlike Myself
You know what I mean. Lets not bicker of semantics. (twit)
I fully understand they didn't buy this from somebody else. But getting a patent isn't free (double duh) and so I was saying 'buying' it in that sense.
Well, if that were true, even in the slightest, then it would imply that *all* patents were *bought* (big duh!) I'm not sure where you are going with this, nor do I understand you apparent negative tone. I was simply hoping for opinions and discussion. The fact is that no matter who, what, when, how or otherwise, the patent application came to be, it's pretty much academic at this point.
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Ed
As for the mouse... I can't exactly see how it would be more useful... scroll wheel is the most ergo way to go. lol, I saw one of the magazine ads for the 1984 Macintosh... lol, for the mouse they said that they take simplicity one step further by only having one button so that you dont have too many to get confused by or accidently click. LOL!!!!
Where I am going with this is to say that this is just another patent in Apple's vast collection of weird and interesting patents. And AS such it doesn't NEED more 'opinions and discussion'. However since you seem to think so, I guess it's meant to be.
Apple files patents pretty frequently and more often then not they are for thing we have not/will not ever see. However they can later be used as bartering chips (or outright sale) to someone else who would like to produce a rotary mouse. I think there is very little dicussion to be made here.
My negative tone is from being correct for such a small matter as putting 'Apple buys" intead of "Apple files". The end result as you can see is that now I have had to post followups twice. (something I don't usually bother to do). I don't see anybody else posting that I was mistaken or confused so perhaps you can lay off. (Much thanks)
-NUM
Originally posted by Bioflavonoid
As for the mouse... I can't exactly see how it would be more useful... scroll wheel is the most ergo way to go.
The dial allows you to scroll continuously, whereas the scroll wheel forces you to frequently lift your finger and put it back on the wheel. That's a significant ergonomic advantage to me.
-Heady
Originally posted by Heady
The dial allows you to scroll continuously, whereas the scroll wheel forces you to frequently lift your finger and put it back on the wheel. That's a significant ergonomic advantage to me.
-Heady
Hmmm does this mean it's analog? More pressure would scroll faster...less would scroll slower. Sweeeeet!!!!
Apple could also code QuickTime, DVD Player and iTunes so that they can fast-forward or rewind through QuickTime movies or DVDs or MP3s at different rates.
I can see some games take advantage of this too.
Originally posted by kim kap sol
Hmmm does this mean it's analog? More pressure would scroll faster...less would scroll slower. Sweeeeet!!!!
Apple could also code QuickTime, DVD Player and iTunes so that they can fast-forward or rewind through QuickTime movies or DVDs or MP3s at different rates.
I haven't read through the entire patent application, but the way I understand it, you just rotate the dial to scroll, you don't actually press it. Pressing it produces a different action, which ought to be the equivalent of right-clicking. So I don't think the dial is pressure-sensitive.
-Heady
A scroll button where when pressed the movement of the mouse/trackball would be far better. Two axes, a far higher resolution, and far more control.
Originally posted by Heady
I haven't read through the entire patent application, but the way I understand it, you just rotate the dial to scroll, you don't actually press it. Pressing it produces a different action, which ought to be the equivalent of right-clicking. So I don't think the dial is pressure-sensitive.
-Heady
It says that you manipulate the disk from side to side for horizontal scrolling and forward to backward for vertical scrolling - therefore it seems that the disk does not rotate as you have described.
It sounds like a moused-up version of IBM's track-point. Damn good idea if you ask me because you can scroll in both directions, something you can't do with the scroll wheel. Oh, and one more thing... you get a second mouse button.
Originally posted by McCrab
It says that you manipulate the disk from side to side for horizontal scrolling and forward to backward for vertical scrolling - therefore it seems that the disk does not rotate as you have described.
It sounds like a moused-up version of IBM's track-point. Damn good idea if you ask me because you can scroll in both directions, something you can't do with the scroll wheel. Oh, and one more thing... you get a second mouse button.
That's the way I understood it too. It would act like an analog trackpoint but be used for scrolling instead of cursor movement and allow pressure sensitivity to control the scrolling speed.
If the thing is actually a iPod-like dial, I'd be very disappointed. How would you scroll both horizontally and vertically at the same time? How would the dial know when to scroll horizontally or vertically. How would this whole thing be any different than a scroll wheel?
edit: wow...it's actually an iPod-style dial. This mouse sucks. Thank god Apple hasn't released such a mouse...I think it would fail miserably.
Anyway, yeah, that's my take. I haven't quite figured out exactly how the scroll disk thing would work, but whatever. The likelyhood is that it will be a long time (if ever) before we see this, and if we do, I trust Apple to get it right.
But then again, as this picture is just a quick sketch from Apple to visualize their idea this may mean nothing.
Originally posted by NETROMac
If you look at the picture, the scroll disk / button is positioned slightly to the right:
But then again, as this picture is just a quick sketch from Apple to visualize their idea this may mean nothing.
actually, you're wrong. you need a refresher in 3D visualization. that mouse isn't flat. it exists in 3D space. looking at the mouse from a 3D perspective, the center line would curve along the top, placing the dial in the center.
i'd redo the sketch to show you, but, well... i've got better things to do.
but, yeah, you are right. the sketch doesn't mean a whole lot.
Just tried using one of my fingers to go in a small circle, it hurts this is a dumb idea.
Originally posted by pesi
actually, you're wrong. you need a refresher in 3D visualization. that mouse isn't flat. it exists in 3D space.
Oh, really? Are you sure it isn't flat?
Originally posted by Pojo
Simply lick on the wheel then you can use the mouse to move in any direction at any speed.
All that does is duplicate the actions of the scrollbar. The whole idea of scroll wheels is to give a single finger shortcut to an action that usually requires moving your entire hand. The feature you've just mentioned defeats the entire purpose of a scrollwheel.
A rotary mouse wheel would provide infinite scrolling with a single digit gesture. No other design could accomplish that.