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Eee Is 1st Windows Laptop To Support Multi-Touch

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the still-playing-catch-up dept.

An anonymous reader writes "CNET UK has just put up its review of the Asus Eee PC 900 Win running Windows XP and discovered that it's the first Windows machine to support multi-touch, 'Better still, the mouse trackpad supports multi-touch gesture inputs — even in Windows XP. A pinching motion lets you zoom in on images, stretching lets you zoom out, and a two-finger vertical stroking motion allows you to scroll up and down through documents. MacBook Air and iPod touch users have enjoyed this feature for some time, but it's the first we've ever seen it implemented on a Windows laptop.'"

2 of 237 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Where's the patent??? by nguy · · Score: 4, Informative

    I have to say I'm surprised this wasn't covered by some sort of patent already, or will tomorrow's Slashdot include the accompanying lawsuit?

    Despite the usual Apple PR distortions, Apple didn't invent multitouch and multitouch is old technology. At best, Apple may have some patents covering specific implementations, and even those may not be valid. Apple's real contribution with multitouch was to use just a little bit of it and integrate it well, but that's not patentable.

    ASUS either figured they're in the clear, or they're willing to fight it. Good for them.

  2. Re:Where's the patent??? by dfghjk · · Score: 4, Informative

    "Apple's real contribution with multitouch was to use just a little bit of it and integrate it well, but that's not patentable."

    What is patentable will surprise you.