Apple details next-gen multi-touch techniques for tablet Macs
In a revised company filing discovered by AppleInsider, iPhone maker Apple Inc. illustrates a number of techniques that would pave the way for tablet Macs that display a near full-sized multi-touch keyboard and run an undiluted version of the Mac OS X operating system.
Much of the 52-page filing describes methods for accurately detecting and deciphering a plurality of simultaneous contacts on a touch screen, which sets the foundation for future tablet-based products that users can manipulate using not only more than one finger, but more than one hand.
The illustrations in the April 15, 2008 document, which builds on filings dating back two years, depict a tablet Mac with a full windowing interface, by which interface windows can be enlarged, shrunk, moved, and cycled, rather than being locked or set in place as they are with the company's iPhone.
