Forget touch, waving your hands around is the future
I might be speaking for myself here, but ever since the 2002 sci-fi thriller, Minority Report, I've been wanting a desktop interface that I can control with my hands.
Pictured below is Steven Spielberg's vision of how high-end government agents could interact with computers.
Naturally, if Steven Spielberg can do it, so can Microsoft. Craig Ranta, Steven Bathiche and Monique Chatterjee, employees of the Redmond-based software giant, filed a patent in late 2006 for a"wearable computer pointing device". Now, that very same patent has been made public. Here it is in image form:
All looks a bit strange, but let us explain. To activate the 'mouse', as it were, you make a fist with your hand. Then, a gyroscope module will track the cursor based on you turning the yaw and pitch. There are two mouse buttons, conveniently positioned for easy-thumb access and the device fits snuggly around the palm of your hand so not to interfere with your use of the keyboard. Pretty Handy.
Speculation is already rife regarding Apple's supposed plans to go fully touch-controlled by 2010. Is this Microsoft's alternative? Share your thoughts, and let us know if you believe the tried-and-trusted mouse could be replaced anytime soon, in the HEXUS forums.
