ISO50

I can see it be useful as a secondary control surface. If it could be used to scale/rotate/scrub with the left hand (for a righty), I think it’d be great. It could also be useful for tool switching in PS/AI/ID. Three finger swipe down = marquee tool, three fingers up = move tool. Maybe even as a modifier, one finger hold = command, two finger hold = option, three finger hold = shift.

As a standard pointing tool, I can’t imagine that I’d like it. But if it could be used in conjunction with a mouse, I think it’d be super nice.

It’s definitely going to find a home on my desk as an addition, as opposed to a replacement . I couldn’t see this thing making it into any of my production workflow. It would be great for navigating through the web, the OS, and other everyday mundane tasks. Who knows, humans seem to be able to adapt to some pretty odd concepts, so I wouldn’t be overly surprised if it DID sneak it’s way into production tasks… eventually. I also see this thing as another small step to the future of computer interaction. Before you know it we’ll be hitting full on gesture control. Minority Report here we come.

This will only affect people that buy Apple product because it says Apple on it. Or for people that are used to using a laptop as their primary computing device. Judging by the scale of the hand in relation to the product it’s not big enough to do anything. It’s maybe 2x the size of the MBP trackpad. Big deal.

Not that trackpads are bad. I’ve replaced my mouse with the Wacom Bamboo Touch (I have really bad carpal tunnel and Apple’s mice make it worse). I absolutely love using the Bamboo Touch as a mouse replacement. I have limited issues with design/development software. Most of the time I can switch to the pen when I’m in Photoshop or Illustrator and I’m fine. But the Wacom tablets have quite a bit more space to work with. And all the gestures are created with a driver and don’t use the OS multi touch or gestures so if I’m smart enough I could expand on adding my own gestures. They’ve also got the resolution and sensitivity of the Intous3 which is more than enough for me.

Apple isn’t doing impressive design anymore. Especially when it comes to ergonomics. I just threw out my Magic Mouse. Complete piece of crap. I was literally in unbearable physical pain within ten minutes.

@ Will, Oblong (the guys who designed the interface for minority report’s computers) is already doing proper gesture interfaces with computer vision and camera tracking.

I got so much used to my macbook pro’s touchpad, that I find it more comfortable than any mouse. I’ve also added some gestures with jtouch that make it almost irreplaceable. So, if one day I’ll buy a desktop computer, I’d rather use it with a touchpad-like device then a mouse.
In effect, people find it strange that I make all of my works with a touchpad, but I find it so natural…

I miss having the actual separate button on the trackpad on my mbp. One of the only things I’d change about it.

It’s cool like most Apple products are but i would never use it. Although the track pad on my MacBook Pro is great as a designer I prefer a mouse. What i would consider is a tablet integrated into the MacBook Pro’s. Might be small-ish but might be cool!!

I could see this easily complimenting a mouse. On my MBP, I use a wireless mouse in conjunction with the built-in touchpad. Now I can use the same setup on my iMac.

I would like to see if they have any ergonomic research to show that can help with Carpal Tunnel. Then I would consider it.

The biggest thing I see wrong with it is that it is big. I don’t like things taking up space on my desk.

I’m a mouse user till the day I die. I’m a lefty but I use a mouse with my right hand and it feels like I’m holding a pencil. I owned a Wacom Intuos 3. Never enjoyed using it. I can’t imagine this thing being any better. Essentially it would just turn my iMac into mutant laptop. And as far as editing photos goes and what not, I could never use a trackpad of any sorts to edit someone’s face.

It’s a cool idea and I like that Apple is exploring new products. And as people have said, as a secondary device, this could be charming.

I would definitely use this product. At the very least I would trial it against the magic mouse, which I have used a little bit and liked, but I also found that the shaping of my hand when using the mouse was not particularly conducive to taking advantage of the advanced feature set. Worth noting that although I do some graphic work, I’m predominantly a music-based computer user…

I totally agree. When I saw this on the web today I was totally impressed with it’s coolness, but I think I’ll stick with the mighty mouse. I will look forward to trying out the magic trackpad on my next Apple store visit.

Has anyone used the magic mouse? I’ve contemplated getting one several times.

I might try it as a left hand gesture tool, but never as a replacement for my mouse.

The first thing I do when I use a laptop is get a USB mouse to plug in, I can’t stand those little ones used solely as a mouse control.

But, as said above, for shortcuts and gesturing it would be great (I’m still waiting for desktop browsers to get scrolling physics a la ipad/iphone.)

“Well it will be interesting for the newer generation of young aspiring designers when they start using tools like this. For them its just as hard starting off with a mouse as it would be with a trackpad.”

Don’t kids use mice from birth these days? My kid has. I’ve used a mouse since junior high and I’m old.

“Once you become trained to use something you are familiar with, you wouldn’t really have the limits one might think of when using a device such as this.”

There are certain inescapable limits though. Such as the lack of resolution and not being pixel accurate.

As a photographer: Maybe? I actually borrowed a friend’s tablet, and it was absolutely amazing to use when dodging and burning in Lightroom. Kick in some music, veil my head and the monitor under a dark clothe, and just work an image. I could do it for hours, especially with that tablet, so maybe the same thing could be implemented here.

I wonder if this is another step in the dichotomy of creation vs consumption oriented hardware. (IANAdesigner) I get along fine with a trackpad at home for the 2-3 hours a day I use my laptop for purely personal things, but at work, especially with a lot of screen real estate, the precision of a mouse is crucial.

I could imagine the trackpad for gross, gui-based actions but use of command line for things like moving, copying, and deleting hundreds of files at a time.

I would love trying this out on my couch with my MBP plugged into my television. Apple remote is too lacking in functionality to really jump around from 5′-10′ away.

Can’t see using it for work but as a way to jump between Hulu, Plex, Safari without getting up is pretty appealing. Typing would still be an issue but for straight media consumption this could be super-handy.

i absolutly LOVE my trackpad on my macbookpro, and when in workstation mode, i often take my hand from either mouse or keyboard to go for 3 or 4 finger swipes. i even play counterstrike with it. So i cant wait to try it out, see if i still love it.

Down with the clickety click of an ancient mouse. Up with the Trackpad -AND- Wacom Tablet. Two great products together. It works perfect for me.

Just got one today- love it! Super functional and aesthetically pleasing.
Cheers to u and Apple! ;-)

I personally think something like this would work great for browsing the web on the couch in front of a big HD TV. But for my Mac Pro, I definitely prefer a mouse.