I have tried to cuddle up with linux and give it a shot, but i have yet to find a distro that works with my wireless card. I'm not going to use an OS that won't get me online, so stupid things like driver support for common products should be a given. Till it is, I'll have a hard time convincing myself or others to try it. That said, i know I don't use Vista because itunes breaks the glass effect when it's open (last i tried it, which was like 2 months ago), so i guess itunes is still a pretty big deal. It makes sense too, my primary use for computers is music and web. -Taylor
3m sells pre-made glass or plastic panels with the leads and everything all ready to throw on a screen or whatever... though I'm not sure through who. I thought digikey sold them... maybe it's Arrow... I know I've seen them recently... Maybe they weren't 3M... Maybe search for "resistive touch panel supplier" or something and see what you get...
-Taylor
Resistive touch panels (not including the screen) are incredibly simple and cheap... They can register position, but if you don't care, you can still use them to see if they've been pressed. Get some palm-pilot touch panels, peel off the overlay on the back for the graffiti section, and you have a nice ~4 inch touch sensor. Buy custom sizes from a place like 3m or digikey, or get old palm pilot touch panels (no screen, just the touch part) for $4 each from http://www.halted.com/ Look up how they work... they basically act as a voltage divider when pressed... a simple comparator circuit is all that you need to register a press, and it's much more elegant than resting the screen on a push switch...
-Taylor
Slashdot Mirror
I have tried to cuddle up with linux and give it a shot, but i have yet to find a distro that works with my wireless card. I'm not going to use an OS that won't get me online, so stupid things like driver support for common products should be a given. Till it is, I'll have a hard time convincing myself or others to try it. That said, i know I don't use Vista because itunes breaks the glass effect when it's open (last i tried it, which was like 2 months ago), so i guess itunes is still a pretty big deal. It makes sense too, my primary use for computers is music and web.
-Taylor
3m sells pre-made glass or plastic panels with the leads and everything all ready to throw on a screen or whatever... though I'm not sure through who. I thought digikey sold them... maybe it's Arrow... I know I've seen them recently... Maybe they weren't 3M... Maybe search for "resistive touch panel supplier" or something and see what you get... -Taylor
Resistive touch panels (not including the screen) are incredibly simple and cheap... They can register position, but if you don't care, you can still use them to see if they've been pressed. Get some palm-pilot touch panels, peel off the overlay on the back for the graffiti section, and you have a nice ~4 inch touch sensor. Buy custom sizes from a place like 3m or digikey, or get old palm pilot touch panels (no screen, just the touch part) for $4 each from http://www.halted.com/ Look up how they work... they basically act as a voltage divider when pressed... a simple comparator circuit is all that you need to register a press, and it's much more elegant than resting the screen on a push switch... -Taylor