10 ms·

I kind of wish for something opposite, not a tool to minimize my physical movements, but to actually make me move more. I'm not talking about a computer on a tr

by 11001 13y ago

I kind of wish for something opposite, not a tool to minimize my physical movements, but to actually make me move more. I'm not talking about a computer on a treadmill. But, for example, if, say I'm moving something from one virtual place to another (copying files, etc), I would like to be moving something physically as well, I feel like that would get me more connected to what I am doing. The same reason it is much more pleasant and less distracting(to me anyway) to read a physical book that I'm holding, rather than something on the screen. I have no concrete suggestions though.

khafra 13y ago
Something like the leapmotion? https://www.leapmotion.com/ https://www.leapmotion.com/
- 11001 13y ago
  Thanks for the link!
- melling 13y ago
  From the reviews that I've read, it isn't quite ready. Has anyone integrated one into their development process?
  - technomancy 13y ago
    The Leapmotion is designed for analog input. Typical software development is nearly all digital input: hitting keys and such, which is something that you have to sacrifice in a system like the Leapmotion or a multitouch surface. I could see it being a lot more useful for games or graphic design.
  - simcop2387 13y ago
    There's been a few people playing with them reported on hackaday[1]. I'd agree with that assessment that it's not quite ready but they are definitely getting close. [1] https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Ahackaday.com+leapmotion&oq=site%3Ahackaday.com+leapmotion&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i58.4153j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Ahackaday.com+leapmoti...
TacticalCoder 13y ago
The goal in "minimizing fingers movements" when typing is not about being lazy or not wanting to exercise. The goal is to be a) more efficient and b) minimize the risk of developing RSI. Nothing prevents you from still doing real exercise even if you have a keyboard made to minimize fingers movements: the two aren't incompatible.
- masklinn 13y ago
  > The goal is to be a) more efficient and b) minimize the risk of developing RSI. Also 3 keeping one hand free, Douglas Englebart used a chording keyset during the mother of all demo, when using the mouse
  - 0xdeadbeefbabe 13y ago
    And Steve Jobs decided not to include it in the first Apple machine :(
- 11001 13y ago
  You didn't understand me. It's not about being lazy or not getting enough exercise. It's about being more connected to your work. Maybe it's not the case for you, or even most people, but I am much more connected to what I'm doing if there is a physical component to it (writing down a lecture, even if I'm never going to read it, reading a book on paper that I'm touching, etc.)
leoc 13y ago
The gorilla arm http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/G/gorilla-arm.html http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/G/gorilla-arm.html will hit you hard if you try to use a near-vertical touchscreen, or hold your hands up and out to make gestures, for long periods. A better solution would be a touchscreen pitched at an angle like that of an eazel or a pitched writing-desk: as those historical precedents suggest, that seems to be a good compromise offering easy manipulation without as much of the hunching over that a flat desk inflicts on you. Or if you just want larger ratio of physical to on-screen movements you could just lower the sensitivity of your mouse.
AJ007 13y ago
Expect to see big innovations in this area with the commercial release of the Oculus Rift. There are two big things the Oculus does: Adds depth Creates an enormous large (virtual) work space Think about instead of sitting hunched over a small laptop in a tiny room, the entire Grand Canyon is your office. You don't need to use the whole thing, but the space is available just in case. You won't have to hunch over, you can move around, may be even run. This user "okreylos" on YouTube has some really interesting videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/okreylos?feature=watch http://www.youtube.com/user/okreylos?feature=watch By combining the Oculus & Hydra with the Kinect, he has a tool to move around an interact with 3D data There is someone else, who I can't remember, who used the Kinect to overlay images of his own hands in the 3D environment. Curiously, with all of this focus on augmented reality the solution may just be to pull the reality around us in to the digital world.
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 13y ago
  Would be cool to have the grand canyon, and an efficient eyes free keyboard, a one handed eyes free keyboard with buttons on which you could type at least 80 wpm.

by 11001 13y ago

khafra 13y ago

Something like the leapmotion? https://www.leapmotion.com/ https://www.leapmotion.com/

11001 13y ago
Thanks for the link!
melling 13y ago
From the reviews that I've read, it isn't quite ready. Has anyone integrated one into their development process?
- technomancy 13y ago
  The Leapmotion is designed for analog input. Typical software development is nearly all digital input: hitting keys and such, which is something that you have to sacrifice in a system like the Leapmotion or a multitouch surface. I could see it being a lot more useful for games or graphic design.
- simcop2387 13y ago
  There's been a few people playing with them reported on hackaday[1]. I'd agree with that assessment that it's not quite ready but they are definitely getting close. [1] https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Ahackaday.com+leapmotion&oq=site%3Ahackaday.com+leapmotion&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i58.4153j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Ahackaday.com+leapmoti...

TacticalCoder 13y ago

The goal in "minimizing fingers movements" when typing is not about being lazy or not wanting to exercise. The goal is to be a) more efficient and b) minimize the risk of developing RSI. Nothing prevents you from still doing real exercise even if you have a keyboard made to minimize fingers movements: the two aren't incompatible.

masklinn 13y ago
> The goal is to be a) more efficient and b) minimize the risk of developing RSI. Also 3 keeping one hand free, Douglas Englebart used a chording keyset during the mother of all demo, when using the mouse
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 13y ago
  And Steve Jobs decided not to include it in the first Apple machine :(
11001 13y ago
You didn't understand me. It's not about being lazy or not getting enough exercise. It's about being more connected to your work. Maybe it's not the case for you, or even most people, but I am much more connected to what I'm doing if there is a physical component to it (writing down a lecture, even if I'm never going to read it, reading a book on paper that I'm touching, etc.)

leoc 13y ago

The gorilla arm http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/G/gorilla-arm.html http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/G/gorilla-arm.html will hit you hard if you try to use a near-vertical touchscreen, or hold your hands up and out to make gestures, for long periods. A better solution would be a touchscreen pitched at an angle like that of an eazel or a pitched writing-desk: as those historical precedents suggest, that seems to be a good compromise offering easy manipulation without as much of the hunching over that a flat desk inflicts on you. Or if you just want larger ratio of physical to on-screen movements you could just lower the sensitivity of your mouse.

AJ007 13y ago

Expect to see big innovations in this area with the commercial release of the Oculus Rift. There are two big things the Oculus does: Adds depth Creates an enormous large (virtual) work space Think about instead of sitting hunched over a small laptop in a tiny room, the entire Grand Canyon is your office. You don't need to use the whole thing, but the space is available just in case. You won't have to hunch over, you can move around, may be even run. This user "okreylos" on YouTube has some really interesting videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/okreylos?feature=watch http://www.youtube.com/user/okreylos?feature=watch By combining the Oculus & Hydra with the Kinect, he has a tool to move around an interact with 3D data There is someone else, who I can't remember, who used the Kinect to overlay images of his own hands in the 3D environment. Curiously, with all of this focus on augmented reality the solution may just be to pull the reality around us in to the digital world.

0xdeadbeefbabe 13y ago
Would be cool to have the grand canyon, and an efficient eyes free keyboard, a one handed eyes free keyboard with buttons on which you could type at least 80 wpm.