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Domain: billbuxton.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to billbuxton.com.
Stories · 3
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Why Did Touch Take 4 Decades to Catch On?
theodp writes "You probably saw media coverage of Bill Gates showing off touch-screen technology to his CEO play group last week. With the introduction of the iPhone and iPod Touch, touch (and multi-touch) technology — which folks like Ray Ozzie enjoyed as undergrads way back in the early '70s — has finally gone mainstream. The only question is: Why did it take four decades for its overnight success? Some suggest the expiration of significant patents filed during '70s and '80s may have had something to do with it — anything else?" -
Microsoft Hires GUI 'Design Guru'
overpayd writes "ZDnet is reporting that Microsoft has hired 'user interface guru' Bill Buxton to work as a senior researcher. Will this move help focus the design teams for Vista, Office, etc? From the article: 'My sense is that Microsoft is in transition from an engineering-led company to as much a design-led company ... There are more designers at Microsoft on any single team as there were, not too long ago, in the entire company. It's a wonderful change.'" -
Building a Pressure-Sensitive, Multi-Point TouchScreen?
sonamchauhan asks: "I'd like advice on building (yes, building) my own low-res touchscreen. The reasons for 'build' instead of 'buy' are: 1) to have it sense pressure (pressure sensing is quite expensive) and 2) to have it sense multiple points of contact simultaneously (which is a useful thing). Back in 1985, researchers at U.Toronto built (PDF file) a touch-tablet (not a touch-screen) that fulfilled both requirements (pressure-sensitive and multi-touch) and used only basic electronics: lots of diodes, A/D convertors, etc. Some 17 years later, it should be possible to build a touch-screen using the same techniques (possibly using layers of transparent conductive and insulating paint for the sensor paths.) Any comments? Some other links: a Microsoft paper (PDF file) describing a touch sensor painted onto a mouse, a basic FAQ on current touchscreen technology, and a slashdot thread that discussed building touchscreens (these links don't address pressure or multi-touch though)."