I've written recently on here about how people might consider changing the interface - moving on from the old mouse/keyboard model of computing and into other interfaces that could have an effect across the whole electronics industry.
Whether it's motion sensing, voice activation or simply breathing, there are new ideas being concocted all over the place.
So it was interesting last week when I saw a couple of posts by Matt Webb, who described an iTunes interface which used Amit Singh's hacks of the Powerbook's internal motion sensor (which is usually used to protect the unit when it tips). Matt wasn't the only one taking up the challenge, as Wired reports:
[Peter] Berglund's reaction when seeing the code that Singh had produced was typical of many coders working on tilt-sensitive projects: "I thought it was amazing -- I got the same feeling of awe as the first time I saw a color screen and the first time I saw a QuickTime clip," he said. Out of this evolved Bubblegym, which Berglund believes is the first tilt-sensitive game for a computer. Berglund's work earned praise from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who wrote a personal e-mail of congratulations -- something that Berglund described as "a cooler thing than any game or technology itself."
Like all the best hacks, Singh's exposure of the motion sensor is both simple enough to be exploited easily and clever enough to inspire some interesting uses. Take, for example, the Python script that Matt Webb created in a few minutes that uses the motion sensor to control iTunes when the PowerBook is bumped. Or the challenge from Tucows' Joey deVilla for someone to link the motion sensor to the Trash, so that when you shake the PowerBook it empties like a high-tech Etch A Sketch.
Now, I'm not clever enough to know how to put any of these things together myself, but one thing is clear: people are learning how to develop actual, usable alternatives to traditional input methods.
Roll on the future!
