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Knock Some Commands Into Your Laptop

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the wake-up dept.

An anonymous reader writes "For the first time, you can smack your computer and get a meaningful response! An article at IBM Devworks show you how to rap on the laptop case with your knuckles and have commands run on those knocks. Enterprising hackers have developed modules for the Linux kernel to take advantage of laptop integrated accelerometer sensors; with them the possibilities are endless."

8 of 196 comments (clear)

  1. random sensors..... by eggoeater · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Maybe we should just start putting in different types of random sensors in laptops that can pull data from the emediate environment and see what the hackers can do with them. Some suggestions:

    Gyroscopes for Orientation (pitch,roll,yaw)
    More accelerometers
    Altimeter
    GPS
    External temperature,humidity, pressure
    Pressure sensors (which determine how hard the user is banging on the keyboard in aggrevation).
    Thermal imaging

    --
    $7.95/mo, 200 GB disk, 2TBxfer, MySQL, PHP, RoR.
  2. New Dialog box by fluffywuffy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    One knock for yes, two knocks for no, and three knocks for cancel

  3. Re:I don't know about you, but. . . by justsomebody · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Now even for a fancy feature like this one?
    http://www.gnome.org/~fherrera/blog/gtollina

    C'mon... Admit it:)

    btw. hitting your wife is so 70's. Now its all about hitting computers.

    --
    Signature Pro version 1.13.2-3 release 83.5 beta3try7 after-breakfast edition
  4. SmackEdit by HTTP+Error+403+403.9 · · Score: 4, Interesting
    There is another Mac OS X app called SmackEdit. It simulates a manual typewriter and when smacked on the side, it performs a carriage return including the bell ring.


    Lots of fun at the coffee shop.

    --
    I'm not a Troll, it's reverse psychology.
  5. Or, you could just wave your hand over your Mac... by thedbp · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is even cooler - using Virtual Desktops, Shadowbook, and Parallels Desktop, you can switch between OS X and Windows just by waving your hand over the ambient light sensor in the MacBook Pro ...

    Peep a video here:
    http://blog.medallia.com/2006/06/shadowbook.html

    Cheers!

  6. Morse Code by ronanbear · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It would be a great way to input Morse Code into a laptop. It could be integrated into a program which teaches Morse Code and would be fun to learn.

    --
    the more they over-think the plumbing the easier it is to stop up the pipe
  7. Underwood by peacefinder · · Score: 2, Interesting

    A completely obvious application:

    Whack the monitor with your right hand to produce a carriage return and a ding.

    Would that not be totally retro-cool?

    --
    With reasonable men I will reason; with humane men I will plead; but to tyrants I will give no quarter. -- William Lloyd
  8. But is it useful? by apharmdq · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm really trying to think of how this would be useful in any way. Sure it's a pretty cool gimmick to be slapping your laptop around, especially for all the folks out there with sadistic tendencies, but can it really accomplish anything that couldn't be accomplished with an ordinary laptop? Which would be easier, switching desktops by hitting Ctrl+F2 or reaching up and tapping the side of your laptop screen? It takes longer and is a waste of energy. (I mean, isn't that the reason people are so crazy about Vim and Emacs? The fact that you don't have to lift your hands from the keyboard?)

    I will admit that being able to lock and unlock your computer through a series of taps is pretty nifty, but the same feature could be accomplished through timed keystrokes and so forth. And people have already mentioned possible affects on the hardware.

    It seems to me that this will be more of a niche product, sort of like the thumbprint scanners seem to be nowadays.