With XWinder, FingerWorks introduces another
fundamental advance in human computer interaction--a simple
utility that lets people use intuitive hand motions to
move and resize windows in one step.
One-Handed Manipulations
Both TouchStream and iGesture users can
manage windows with a special XWinder chord. The XWinder
tool grabs the window under the pointer whenever thumb+index+pinky
touch. Further hand movements can then:
Move a Window
With cursor in desired window, slide thumb+index+pinky
in desired direction just like you would dragging
the titlebar.
Stretch
Horizontally
Spread (or contract) thumb and pinky.
Note this will be easiest if index finger lifts
after chord selection.
Stretch Vertically
Rotate hand CW or CCW. Again this is easier with
index finger lifted.
Maximize/Restore
Briefly tapping right thumb+index+pinky
toggles maximize/restore (in XWinder for Windows
only).
Send
To Back
TouchStreams with XWinder for Windows can send
windows to the back, underneath others by tapping
left thumb+index+pinky.
On Mac OS X Panther, the simple taps above offer
quick gesture access to Apple Exposé.
Two-Handed Manipulations
XWinder enables TouchStream owners to
simultaneously move and resize applications with BOTH
hands working together as if stretching an elastic frame.
ANIMATION NOTES:
Users actually move their hands on TouchStream surface, not on computer screen.
During window resizes, window contents will be redrawn by Windows or Mac OS X more often than shown.
By simply dropping 3 fingers of both hands
simultaneously on the TouchStream surface, the left hand
'grabs' the upper-left window corner while the right 'grabs'
the lower-right corner. Thus TouchStream owners can move
and resize applications windows in one intuitive step
-- stretching opposite corners of the window frame with
each hand! Once again, the power of multi-finger gestures
lets you stay focused in the window center where you work,
eliminating dozens of mouse trips for title-bar-click,
title-bar-drag, resize-border-point, resize-border-drag,
etc.!
Magnetic Window Edges
This is a cool XWinder feature for easy tiling against the edges of other windows. Extra pushes are needed to move or expand past the frame boundaries of other visible windows, or past the screen edge, like pushing refrigerator magnets over one another. Edges must be at least partially uncovered to have magnetic effect. Magnetic edges are not supported on XWinder for Mac OS X.
Alternative One-Handed Manipulations
The animation below shows how touching all five fingers can change hand scaling and rotation behavior to generally resize or vary aspect ratio rather than horizontal/vertical stretch.
ANIMATION NOTES:
XWinder initially grabs the window underneath the mouse pointer, not necessarily the focus (top) window.
Two fingers are used to move the mouse cursor over desired window (not shown).
Red fingers that touch in the middle of an XWinder operation cause size or aspect variation instead of vertical or horizontal stretch.
By default, XWinder initially grabs the window underneath the mouse pointer, not necessarily the focus (top) window. This way, partially occluded windows can be brought into view without clicking them to the top! Configuration options also allow grabbing of the focus (top) window.
Pricing and Availability
XWinder is available as a free download through December 2004 with the purchase of any iGesture or TouchStream product. Though XWinder debuts on Windows XP, 2000 and Mac OS X only, FingerWorks provides the XWinder source code under the MPL/GPL/LGPL open-source tri-license so that Linux, Solaris, BeOS, BSD, and other operating system enthusiasts can port XWinder to their favorite operating system.
XWinder also demonstrates the power of FingerWorks' Hand Motion SDK. This SDK allows developers to design their applications for highly intuitive two-handed manipulations, like panning/zooming a CAD drawing with the left hand while the right hand draws or drags objects over large distances and scales. With the FingerWorks Hand Motion SDK, applications can receive Hand Motion Events, an extended form of mouse event that includes chording, translation/rotation/scaling motion and hand source data. These rich, two-handed manipulations are simply impossible through the standard mouse/keyboard APIs provided by existing operating systems.
