Tactile control Apreciation/Opinions please.

[dehuszar]

So far as I know Windows 7 with touch-support installed allows for up to two finger gestures, tweening, etc though the screen itself doesn't have a specific limit that I'm aware of. So using Windows 7, you couldn't do a full 8-channel mix at once, but you should be able to do real-time tweaking as though you had two mice. My guess is the libraries will mature quickly now that touch-based phone OSes are coming to touch-laptops/tablets/slates, and touch libraries are due for release in Linux generally.

I wouldn't buy the screen to only mix with two fingers, but if you are exploring touch-interfaces anyway, why not get to know the STM mixers a little more intimately?

Sam

[David]

It's not a touch screen and is in no way such a stunning controller option as the HP touchscreen but for the cheap price the Wacom pen and touch has multitouch and allows for the development of applications for it using a freely available flash SDK.
I'm wondering how easy it will be to create a lemur like flash interface to be controlled by the Wacom?

Well here's a flash mulitouch interface

[dehuszar]

It's not a touch screen and is in no way such a stunning controller option as the HP touchscreen but for the cheap price the Wacom pen and touch has multitouch

Not sure I can tell which side you're coming down on, but to be sure, it's not a 'typical' touchscreen in the sense that touch is being determined via the interruption of IR signals that are emitted from the frame that encases the glass.

Wacom's are very cool, but you can't get a Wacom that large without the screen costing 10s of thousands of $$$.

Personally, I am exploring a screen such as this for web design first, and audio second. It would be easier to purchase a Beringer automated fader/knob box than to drop $2k on this monster. But the tech is solid. It just may not be good for every conceivable use. I think it will be fantastic for use in Ableton and SFP.

Hover-effects aside, if it can be done well with a mouse, it should be doable with a touchscreen.

[astroman]

as mentioned I have the Korg Electribe app on my iPad...
2 things I noticed just yesterday:
the sound with headphones plugged in is... well, kind of plastic like...
but once it's send through Celmo's Guitar Ampsim (or a similiar plugin) that's a fat.
The non linear frequency response is a perfect match.

On the interface side I partly disagree with Sam:
it's ALL in the software - not size, not features.
Plenty of screen estate is convenient (no question), but I was just amazed when I eventually realized HOW those dials on the virtual Electribe worked.
From habit one tips a control and drags around the icon, which is fiddly and you don't see what's going on anymore because your finger covers the image.

Well, you can tip the control (it will reflect a hit by changing color), leave your finger on the surface and drag an inch or so away. The dial is still under your control and (opposed to the real world) you don't collide with any surface element in between.
This way acidesque Filter frequency/resonance sweeps can be done with great precision, operating the respective dials simultanously. It's really responsive.

Another thing that surprised me is the writing speed on the onscreen keyboard.
As a 2-finger-only writer I'm almost faster than on a regular keyboard
There's probably some (extra) capability that might be handy for beat programming etc.

cheers, Tom

ps: of course I'm in no way interested into talking someone into iGadget whatsoever stuff.
The point is strictly about the user interface and what you can do with it.
Imo the basic control with Apple's SDK is pretty outstanding. Of course some history with Apple developement makes their stuff a bit more familiar to understand (than say Win GDI or DotNet), so I didn't extensively explore what's available elesewhere...

[dehuszar]

On the interface side I partly disagree with Sam:
it's ALL in the software - not size, not features.

I think we're talking about different things then. I was emphasizing the difference between the IR disruption method of touch vs a touch-plate behind the screen and how that affects response time, size/cost constraints, etc.

I have no illusions that the core touch libraries for your desktop of choice and how applications are explicitly written to utilize it will have more of an impact in terms of how smooth & precise the interactivity is.

Two interesting announcements since the conversation started, Ubuntu's uTouch library has been formally announced (http://fridge.ubuntu.com/node/2101), and jQuery has announced a new touch project for mobile and touch-based web.

Neither of these will directly affect what we're doing here, but now every major OS developer has a touch system in place, and with jQuery officially throwing their hat in the ring, it appears that the web is going touch in a real way. The next 2-3 years should be exciting for advancements in interactivity.

[Neutron]

if ielectribe could be synced it would be much better. i dont know what a company like korg would think about using line6 MIDI in.
I sure hope that we dont see a whole bunch of different MIDI adapters that (in a very apple ish way) only work with their own app

[Liquid EDGE]

Nice read this, Right i need to rob a bank or something, gear lust is starting to take over, BCF2000, iPad, Brainworx Digital-v2, Solaris, Adern's stuff, Das stuff, the list goes on. Sometimes think i'd rather live in a caravan (studio is separate from my home) so i've got the cash to invest in all the gear one would want.