As a digital artist, I can say that while this is intriguing at first glance, it's not all that practical for artistic purposes. The reason people by Wacom's and pay so much for quality digitizing touch screens isn't just the motion tracking, it's pressure sensitivity. Without any way to track variances in pen pressure or angle, you're really limited in what you can do with it. It would remain a novelty at best.
Of course most people understand TVs. They have a single purpose. But that understanding is limited to the USE of a TV, not the repair or creation of it. The same with an automobile, which is another complex contraption. Most people understand how to use one, partly because of education on it, partly because of a clarity of purpose, and partly because of an evolved, and unified user interface.
Computers try to be the "do everything machine" which dilutes this clarity of purpose when compared with, say, a TV or a VCR (which people still have trouble understanding.) And it doesn't help that there are a million ways to accomplish the same task, reducing the usefullness of training.
If you learn to drive stick, you're pretty much set for the basics no matter what car you use. But more importantly, is that no matter what car you use, there are always certain fundamentals (gas, speed, ect...) that you need to watch (and they're mercifully small compared with the things you need to track on a computer) and you always know what your goal is in a car: you want to get from point a to point b.
Almost all normal phones are pretty much the same. The interface is usually the same (and uncomplicated) and again, you know what you're trying to do and have a limited set of variables involved. Migrate this to a cell phone and you have a variety of interfaces (how many ways are there to pick up a call and hang up afterwards? or to place a call?) and most cell phones do more than just call, providing complex menus and such that further confuse the average user.
So yes, part of it is a lack of education. Obviously these things possess the capability to be understood by those who dedicate the time. But part of it is a lack of solid, unified user interfaces and a clarity of purpose (which in some part can't be avoided.)
And to that poster up top who was worried about someone taking his job. If you teach someone to drive, will you put the mechanics out of business? No. We need to "teach people to drive." All of us "mechanics" will still have job security. More so, the more people that know how to drive.
I was lucky enough to see Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within on a digital screen at the Irvine Spectrum in OC California. From the moment the first green "Preview" image popped up on the screen I was in awe at the difference. I didn't think it would be that noticeable, but seriously...no regular movie projection can compare. The clarity of the image was incredible.
I did some research into trademark law (and yes, IANAL) a couple of years ago when I was in a band and we wanted to trademark our name.
From what I recall, if a company doesn't exercise due dilligence in defending their trademark, then they forfiet the right to it.
So, wouldn't MS NOT going after a score of other products, all using Windows, or something similar, basically invalidate their claim on a trademark for Windows. I think the defense should be able to use this point to pretty effectively shut down any suit on this line.
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As a digital artist, I can say that while this is intriguing at first glance, it's not all that practical for artistic purposes. The reason people by Wacom's and pay so much for quality digitizing touch screens isn't just the motion tracking, it's pressure sensitivity. Without any way to track variances in pen pressure or angle, you're really limited in what you can do with it. It would remain a novelty at best.
Of course most people understand TVs. They have a single purpose. But that understanding is limited to the USE of a TV, not the repair or creation of it. The same with an automobile, which is another complex contraption. Most people understand how to use one, partly because of education on it, partly because of a clarity of purpose, and partly because of an evolved, and unified user interface.
Computers try to be the "do everything machine" which dilutes this clarity of purpose when compared with, say, a TV or a VCR (which people still have trouble understanding.) And it doesn't help that there are a million ways to accomplish the same task, reducing the usefullness of training.
If you learn to drive stick, you're pretty much set for the basics no matter what car you use. But more importantly, is that no matter what car you use, there are always certain fundamentals (gas, speed, ect...) that you need to watch (and they're mercifully small compared with the things you need to track on a computer) and you always know what your goal is in a car: you want to get from point a to point b.
Almost all normal phones are pretty much the same. The interface is usually the same (and uncomplicated) and again, you know what you're trying to do and have a limited set of variables involved. Migrate this to a cell phone and you have a variety of interfaces (how many ways are there to pick up a call and hang up afterwards? or to place a call?) and most cell phones do more than just call, providing complex menus and such that further confuse the average user.
So yes, part of it is a lack of education. Obviously these things possess the capability to be understood by those who dedicate the time. But part of it is a lack of solid, unified user interfaces and a clarity of purpose (which in some part can't be avoided.)
And to that poster up top who was worried about someone taking his job. If you teach someone to drive, will you put the mechanics out of business? No. We need to "teach people to drive." All of us "mechanics" will still have job security. More so, the more people that know how to drive.
I was lucky enough to see Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within on a digital screen at the Irvine Spectrum in OC California. From the moment the first green "Preview" image popped up on the screen I was in awe at the difference. I didn't think it would be that noticeable, but seriously...no regular movie projection can compare. The clarity of the image was incredible.
I did some research into trademark law (and yes, IANAL) a couple of years ago when I was in a band and we wanted to trademark our name.
From what I recall, if a company doesn't exercise due dilligence in defending their trademark, then they forfiet the right to it.
So, wouldn't MS NOT going after a score of other products, all using Windows, or something similar, basically invalidate their claim on a trademark for Windows. I think the defense should be able to use this point to pretty effectively shut down any suit on this line.