Status report
I updated the touchlib page to include a "Who should use touchlib?" section. Also included is some discussion of OSC.
Currently I am deliberating about where and how I can set up my table in a more permanent place in my house. Right now it's next to my main PC in my living room but it's not in a place where I would ever use it. Ideally I'd like to get a couple cheap computers that I can dedicate to the table that I can either leave on all the time or set them up so that they boot up into the touch screen software. Getting everything set up each time takes away from the fun.
I've also been looking into LED projectors. There are several mini projectors on the market that use bright LED's instead of the usual bulbs. LED's last lots longer (they are rated at 10,000 hours) and are much cheaper. Amazon.com has the Mitsubishi PK10 listed for $379.00. They are also smaller and generate less heat (and probably less IR). In a situation where I'd like to leave the table on and unattended, I think long life is a great advantage. The drawback is that the image is not nearly as bright. This may not be as much of an issue for a touch table where the projector is fairly close to the screen but it I would need to test it out. There is a Toshiba LED projector coming out which is supposed to be brighter than the current crop. It might be worth waiting for.
UPDATE: I did some more checking around today and I noticed the Mitsubishi PK20 is also available for 599$. It's supposed to be 150% brighter than the PK10, though it's still only 25 lumens which is kinda crappy. Also interesting is the fact that it can produce a 20" diagonal image from only a foot away. This could significantly reduce the height requirements for my screen and maybe also make coffeetable type setups possible.
Now that OSC is working I am thinking of using Flash 9 as my language of choice for developing apps. As soon as I finish upgrading my OS (I'm moving to Vista). I plan on writing some Actionscript classes to make it easy to interface with FLOsc and to generate touch events for your actionscript code.
Speaking of OS's I am also planning on installing Ubuntu Linux on one of my old machines. It's going to be a challenge to learn my way around in Linux, but maybe I'll be able to help port Touchlib once I get the basics down.
Currently I am deliberating about where and how I can set up my table in a more permanent place in my house. Right now it's next to my main PC in my living room but it's not in a place where I would ever use it. Ideally I'd like to get a couple cheap computers that I can dedicate to the table that I can either leave on all the time or set them up so that they boot up into the touch screen software. Getting everything set up each time takes away from the fun.
I've also been looking into LED projectors. There are several mini projectors on the market that use bright LED's instead of the usual bulbs. LED's last lots longer (they are rated at 10,000 hours) and are much cheaper. Amazon.com has the Mitsubishi PK10 listed for $379.00. They are also smaller and generate less heat (and probably less IR). In a situation where I'd like to leave the table on and unattended, I think long life is a great advantage. The drawback is that the image is not nearly as bright. This may not be as much of an issue for a touch table where the projector is fairly close to the screen but it I would need to test it out. There is a Toshiba LED projector coming out which is supposed to be brighter than the current crop. It might be worth waiting for.
UPDATE: I did some more checking around today and I noticed the Mitsubishi PK20 is also available for 599$. It's supposed to be 150% brighter than the PK10, though it's still only 25 lumens which is kinda crappy. Also interesting is the fact that it can produce a 20" diagonal image from only a foot away. This could significantly reduce the height requirements for my screen and maybe also make coffeetable type setups possible.
Now that OSC is working I am thinking of using Flash 9 as my language of choice for developing apps. As soon as I finish upgrading my OS (I'm moving to Vista). I plan on writing some Actionscript classes to make it easy to interface with FLOsc and to generate touch events for your actionscript code.
Speaking of OS's I am also planning on installing Ubuntu Linux on one of my old machines. It's going to be a challenge to learn my way around in Linux, but maybe I'll be able to help port Touchlib once I get the basics down.
posted by David Wallin at 5:23 AM
2 Comments:
thanks for the news on the LED projectors. It rocks that they produce such a large display at short distance from the screen, indeed a great property for coffee-table ambitions :) I can imagine little visual narratives surrounding a cup of coffee, or connecting multiple cups. Or how about warnings when your cup becomes too cold to drink? :)
Another reason for this reply is a thumbs-up to you, your input into the community is greatly appreciated by ppl like me who don't have the programming skills to create the tools you do. Thanks for providing people like me an entry point into the world of FTIR displays (to name specifically what I'm interested in).
i can only repeat what adriaan says: thank you a lot!
i just ordered the samsung pocket imager SP-P300ME. i think this led-projector did'nt make it stateside. but its successor, the 310 should be available in the US soon. see the forum post for my experiences with that device.
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