Re: [Ipodlinux-devel] Text input via scroll wheel

[Jim W. <js...@bl...>]

> the problem with this input scheme is that the scroll wheel (and touch 
> wheel)
> only detect rotational motions.
>> Apparently theyve offered to license their technology to Apple.  
>> Thought the
>> idea might be useful to us for text input under Linux...

   License it?  Well, if I'd adapted it, I'd license it too - this isn't 
new.  This is basically Quickwriting, and I don't know who (if anyone) 
"owns" that idea (maybe the same people here.  And do we really know 
*what* the touch wheel detects?  It could possibly truely detect only 
rotational motion (some arrangement of capacitance-sensing running 
underneather that cancel each other in sequence somehow - I don't know, 
just a very vague idea)  Or it could have circuitry to detect a touch 
*anywhere* (maybe like a trackpad - can a trackpad do any kind od 
absolute positioning?), in which case one could detect where the finger 
hits the wheel, when it leaves it and very quickly touches the center 
"button", then leaves the button and touches the wheel somewhere else.  
The two points define your letter.

Jim Witte
js...@bl...
Indiana University CS