News

• Apple patents new multitouch, 3D Gestures

  A new Apple patent reveals the company is looking into ways to integrate more gesturing into the iPad and other devices, a la Tom Cruise's holographic glove-controlled system in Minority Report.

• Windows 8 will take laptop touchpads to the next level

  If you've used a Windows 7 laptop with a "multitouch" touchpad, you've likely been a little disappointed to see that it offers only a few gestures: pinch to zoom, twist to rotate, two-finger scrolling, maybe three-finger swiping. The functionality is handy, but it's a long way from having a touchpad that behaves like a little multitouch touchscreen.

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  Disable a laptop touchpad while you type, Win 7 edition

  Many moons ago I wrote about TouchFreeze, a free laptop utility that solves one of life's most maddening problems: accidental swipes of your touchpad while typing. (Why isn't Windows smart enough to do this on its own? Just saying.)

• 4 reasons Apple's Magic Trackpad won't kill the mouse

  Apple's multi-touch assault on the desktop continues with the US$69 (AUD$99) Magic Trackpad, a jumbo touch panel that allows desktop Mac users to do away with their mouses and act like they're using MacBook Pros. But just because people can say goodbye to the mouse doesn't mean they will. Here are four reasons not to count out the PC mouse just yet:

• Microsoft launches Surface touch PCs

  Microsoft has officially launched its Surface line of touch computer units in Australia with a focus on retail, education and finance markets.