Installation and etc About the Mouse Gesture Input About Typing Keyboard Layout Purchasing and Support Care and Maintenance

Installation and etc.

What PowerBook models will the MacNTouch work in? There are two models of MacNTouch keyboards. One for the Ti-15 PowerBooks and one model for the Al-12, 15, and 17 inch PowerBooks. How easy is it to install the MacNTouch? The Ti-15 is very easy and takes about 5 minutes to do. The Al-12 is fairly easy, requires a screwdriver, and takes about 10 minutes to do. The Al-15 and the Al-17 require the removal of the PowerBook's top enclosure and could take 30 - 45 minutes to complete. Full instructions are provided but if you would rather not be bothered then Apple certified technicians will be able to do the installation for you. How does the MacNTouch connect to the PowerBook? It uses a special ribbon cable that connects to one of the USB ports. It therefore requires dedicated use of one USB port on the PowerBook. Will the USB ribbon cable be visible? The ribbon cable is not visible for the Al-15 and 17 inch models and only slightly visible on the Al-12 inch PowerBook. About a half inch of cable can be seen on the Ti-15 models. Will the PowerBook still close up normally? Yes. The ribbon cable does not get in the way of closing your PowerBook. Is the rear flap on the Ti-15 PowerBook going to have to stay open because of the MacNTouch connection? No. A special flush mounted USB connector is used for the MacNTouch that allows the rear flap to remain closed. Why don't you use the existing keyboard connector to connect the MacNTouch to the PowerBook? Unfortunately, the existing keyboard connector is not compatible with the USB interface. It was designed to scan the mechanical keyboard key matrix and would be impossible to use as a USB port. How much power does the MacNTouch keyboard use? The MacNTouch keyboard uses about 0.45 watts. If your 15" Ti was only powering the MacNTouch then it would deplete the battery in about 125 hours. During normal PowerBook use the MacNTouch would reduce the battery life by approximately 6 minutes. In sleep mode the MacNTouch uses about 0.15 watts. What are the dimensions of the MacNTouch Keyboard? 105 mm by 274 mm by 4 mm thick for the Ti-15 model and 105mm by 272 mm for the Al-12, 15, 17 models. Do I have to install software to use the MacNTouch? No. But you may find the tips and animated tutorials found both on this site and on the installation CD to be useful. Does the MacNTouch keyboard interpret and filter the gesture "imagery" locally or does it utilize the PowerBook's processor? The MacNTouch is fully self-contained and does all the gesture processing using it's own dedicated microprocessor. It does not tax the PowerBook's processor.

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Are mouse operations limited to particular areas of the MultiTouch Surface? Yes. If you set up your MacNTouch for right hand operation (default) then mouse pointing must begin on the right half of the keyboard. If you set up for left hand operation then the mouse must start on the left side. Of course, once the mouse pointing starts you can cross the mid point of the keyboard without interrupting pointing. I'm left handed. Can the MacNTouch keyboard work for me? Right and left hand pointing and gestures are easily swapped to accommodate everyone. How does one move the mouse pointer? The mouse pointer is invoked by touching two fingertips anywhere on either the right or left half (which half depends on how you set it up) of the MultiTouch surface. Pointer movement then follows the movement of the fingers until they fully lift off, even if additional fingers touch. Does it matter which fingers are used for mouse pointing? The only general requirement is that pointing is started with two fingers, excluding the thumb. Must one always use two fingers to move the mouse pointer? No. Once pointing is initiated with two fingertips one may use any number of fingers or even the whole hand to move the pointer. This makes pointing more relaxing. How do I adjust the pointing sensitivity and acceleration? The simplest way is to use the usual speed controls in your operating system's mouse-motion control panel. However, Mac OS X controls may not offer as much range as one would like. With the MyGesture Editor you can independently customize the internal pointing, dragging, and scrolling sensitivities, as well as acceleration functions. Furthermore, our internal acceleration curve is inherently smoother than what is possible on the operating system side. How is clicking done? A double click is executed by tapping three adjacent fingertips on the MultiTouch surface. A left mouse click is executed by tapping two adjacent fingertips. Right and middle mouse button presses are done with other finger combinations. Clicking can be invoke anywhere on the surface half set up for mouse. How is dragging done? A left button drag is done by touching and moving three adjacent fingertips. How is scrolling done? Just bring four adjacent fingertips down on the MultiTouch surface. Move them up or down to scroll your screen. Scrolling remains in effect until you lift your fingers off the MultiTouch surface. How long will it take to become proficient at pointing and clicking? Pointing and clicking is really easy. One should be able to master it within a few minutes On the MacNTouch, will I still be able to do paired key/mouse operations like Shift+Click or Alt+Click? Yes. They're easy to do.

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How will people remember all the gestures you have? People are naturally very good at learning and remembering hand gesture. Simple motions can be learned almost instantly, while more complex motions might take a little practice to master. A great deal can be accomplished with simple gestures. In addition, you don't need to learn all of the gestures - learn what you want to learn. What's so great about gesture input anyway? Our multi-finger gestures are the quickest way to issue command shortcuts, move the text cursor and more! Here's why: All MultiTouch gestures can be performed anywhere on the surface, wherever your hand happens to be. This avoids wasteful hand repositioning to awkwardly reach for multiple keys in a hotkey sequence, or to move the mouse cursor onto a toolbar button. MultiTouch gestures are distinguished by finger combination and a simple motion direction as the gesture starts, so the command assigned to the gesture issues immediately. In contrast, symbolic gestures drawn with stylus on tablet cannot be recognized until you finish drawing the symbol. Drawing complex symbols takes awhile, which delays command issuance and slows you down. What makes your multi-finger gestures healthier than the alternatives? Because our touch sensing technology is zero-force, MultiTouch gestures are essentially effortless. Just as easy as swiping your fingers through the air! In contrast, holding multiple keys for a shortcut can get tiring! For each command, you use a slightly different motion and finger set. This way you're less likely to overuse any one finger muscle, as can happen with repeated clicking of mechanical mouse buttons. You won't tire your hand gripping a mouse or stylus. Just rest your hand on our touch surface whenever you like! A single, continuous gesture motion can do the same job as repetitive keypresses and holds. For commands like Undo or Next App that sometimes need repeating, the command issues repeatedly the farther you move if you start the gesture slowly. But if you only want a command to issue once, start with a quick, crisp motion. Reversing direction usually produces a complementary command like Redo or Prev App. Such intuitively paired motions are easier to memorize than separate shortcut keys for every command. I want to customize the gestures. Can I do this? Yes, all gestures and key mappings are customizable with our new MyGesture Editor. To prevent a tower of Babel, the core right hand gesture set is standard across all our products (i.e. pointing, dragging, scrolling, clipboard, text editing, and file/window manipulation gestures). If you are left-handed then the above comments apply to the core left hand gesture set. The two-handed surfaces of TouchStream Keyboards leave dozens more left-hand gestures free for customization and future enhancements like 3-D navigation. We have worked with customers to develop left-hand application-specific gesture sets for Photoshop, Emacs, Maya, Desktop Switching, and Word (Text Formatting). If you think your favorite application warrants its own gesture set, try out your ideas with the MyGesture Editor. If you think an application gesture set warrants addition to the default library, feel free to contact us. I have an application that doesn't use standard hotkey mappings (e.g. it maps F2 instead of Cmd+S to save). Can I customize the gesture-hotkey mappings for specific applications? You can customize all internal gesture-hotkey mappings with our MyGesture Editor. Changes made with the MyGesture Editor are permanently stored in your MacNTouch until you change them. Sometimes hotkey-command mappings are not consistent across the different applications you use. In that case you'll want to change the hotkey settings within these applications to be more consistent. Is the MacNTouch an "Inkwell" recognized device? Not at this time. However, we are considering making it Inkwell compatible late this year.

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Is there a users group for the MacNTouch? There is a forum for all MultiTouch users. Where can I buy a MacNTouch Keyboard? You can purchase through our online store or from one of our Apple resellers. Where can I have the MacNTouch installed in my Al PowerBook? Installation can be done by any Apple certified technician. Our Apple resellers can also do the installation. Will I be able to replace the key layout with my own design? This is not recommended. The cover on the MacNTouch is held on by strong adhesive and it is not intended to be removed. I've discovered a bug in my MacNTouch. Can it be fixed without pulling it out? The firmware in all of our products is fully upgradeable via the USB device firmware upgrade specification. The upgrade utilities can be downloaded here. What is your product return policy? If purchased directly from FingerWorks, purchaser may return FingerWorks Multi-Touch Products for any reason within thirty (30) days of delivery for a refund of the purchase price less a restocking fee. Click here for more details. Will the MacNTouch work with a desktop PC or Mac? Since MacNTouch has a USB interface it will work with any USB enabled computer. Will you ship outside the US? Yes. Purchaser must pay international shipping charges and any import fees.

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Can the touch surface be cleaned easily? Yes! Much more easily than a keyboard! The smooth surface cover is made of Lexan, a fairly hard plastic. It can be cleaned at any time with a non-abrasive, non-corrosive, common household cleaners like Windex, Formula 409, or Lysol. DO NOT USE CLEANERS THAT DISSOLVE PLASTIC. We prefer cleaning with Lysol disinfectant spray bottle because it leaves the surface nice and slippery. Note that if you do not put the PowerBook to sleep while cleaning, you may get spurious keystrokes while any liquid remains on the surface. How often should the surface be cleaned? Grime seems to build up at different rates for different people, but generally you should clean it if you see grime or if the surface no longer feels slippery. A Lysol-cleaned surface will look and feel more pleasant for pointing and gesturing. Heavy grime buildup could also interfere with the touch sensing. Can liquid spills damage the unit? Spills won't damage the MacNTouch keyboard but you should avoid allowing liquid to get inside your PowerBook. While any liquid is on the MacNTouch's surface it may behave erratically so be sure to wipe it dry before using it.. Will the symbols printed on the surface ever wear off? No, they are actually printed on the back side of the Lexan cover, so you would have to wear all the way through the plastic to damage the printing. Remember this interface operates with a very light touch, so if you're having any trouble with surface or fingertip wear, you must be pressing unnecessarily hard!

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What the best way to start learning to touch type on the MacNTouch? Touch typing on the MacNTouch is similar to touch typing on a regular keyboard but you use a light touch. No key banging is needed or advised. For additional information, see the Typing Instructions page. How fast can people type on the MacNTouch? Touch typists can achieve 60 - 70 wpm on the full size TouchStream. At this time there is no data on maximum typing speed with the MacNTouch. Can I rest my fingers, palms, or entire hands on the surface without causing unwanted input? Yes. Our MultiTouch software ignores resting fingers and palms. You can rest a hand at any time by dropping all five fingers on the surface simultaneously. However, most isolated finger taps near keys are interpreted as typing, so you must be careful to only tap the keys you intend. If the entire surface is used for both typing, mouse, and gesture input, how does the system tell which mode I am using? The system tells what mode you want to use by watching how many fingers first contact the surface: - single finger taps convert to typing - multi-finger touch means mouse, gesture, or resting Is there any tactile feedback like textures or bumps on the surface? Yes. There are braille-like dots, or raised dimples, at the center of each home row key. These let you find home row by sliding 5 fingers on the surface without looking down. There are no tactile indicators on the other keys. If you learn to reach the proper amount for them and then spring back to home row, you can really 'touch' type (without looking down). Is there any audible feedback when typing? You can enable audible key noise using the accessiblity panel. Some people find this to be useful in the beginning. However, after you adapt to MultiTouch you may want to turn off the sound and enjoy typing in complete silence. How long will it take to become proficient at touch-typing? Learning time is very age dependent. The younger you are the faster you'll get it. In general, the MacNTouch Keyboard is not recommended for the older user unless you have youthful hand coordination and you are willing to take the time to relearn using a keyboard. It can take 1 to 4 weeks to reach your normal typing speed depending on your age. After mastering the MacNTouch, people come to love the effortless, light feel of zero-force typing. And they love the ability to switch instantaneously between typing, pointing, and gestures without reaching off the keys. Thus you should experience increased performance if you do a healthy mix of typing, pointing, and editing as is typical with modern GUI applications. What about hunt-and-peck typing? Hunt and peck typing is easy. Just touch the key you want to enter. But remember not to bang the keys. Can I move the locations of the keys? Yes, you can remapped keys and adjust their physical location using our MyGesture Editor. On the MacNTouch, will I still be able to do paired key/mouse operations like Shift+Click or Alt+Click? Yes

Keyboard Layout

Hey! The shift and enter keys are almost non-existent. What gives? Serious TouchStreamers use the home row Shift chords. We also have modifier chords for Cmd, Ctrl, Alt, and the fn/punct pads, and even the embedded number pad if you like. The only time you will need, or likely use the modifier keys in the lower left corner are for combinations of 2-3 modifiers like Shift+Cmd+Alt. Turns out it's easier to hit multiple modifiers with Shift in the same row as Cmd, Ctrl, and Alt. We have intuitive gestures for nearly every Cmd+letter hotkey, so you won't be using the Cmd key so often. Combining a Shift chord in one hand with any gesture in the other lets you emulate Shift+Cmd+letter hotkeys, as explained here. Similarly, our new Enter chord, a tap of Right Thumb+Pinky anywhere on the right half, is more convenient than any Pinky Enter key. D'oh! I can't find the Any Key. What do I do now? The FingerWorks hand icon next to the Space key can be custom-mapped to any key or action with the MyGesture Editor. It can even be mapped to produce a string of characters. I don't like where you put the BackSpace/Delete key. Is there anything I do about this? Once again the MyGesture Editor comes to the rescue. If you don't like the left thumb for BackSpace/Delete, you can change it to Space or any other key. The layout looks weird. What's the deal with the slanting keys? The arch and inward rotation of each key row reduces ulnar deviation of wrists that makes conventional laptop keyboard usage cramped and uncomfortable. While the mirror-symmetric slant of the key columns may look unfamiliar, it fits your fingers' natural flexion/extension path on both hands almost perfectly! This way your fingers will naturally stay centered on keys as they flex within each column.

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