multitouch + audio feedback linux dev -> XO-2?

[david at lang.hm]

On Mon, 26 Jan 2009, Wade Brainerd wrote:

> My (unasked for) opinion is that multitouch should not be a focus of OLPC's
> development efforts.  The real benefit will just come from being able to
> touch the screen in the first place.
>
> Writing a decent multitouch interface requires massive UI design and coding
> efforts that we frankly cannot muster right now, and the concept is so
> immature in the Linux world that we cannot rely on someone else to do it for
> us.  A real multitouch device would require a development effort similar to
> what Apple put into the iPhone, that is hundreds of engineers over several
> years with absolute control over the software stack.  Given financial
> realities that's just not going to happen with XO-2.
>
> That said, here's hoping the final solution is pressure sensitive!  The
> Nintendo DS gets all kinds of wonderful features out of that, and it's
> already part of XInput.
>
> Imagine the possibilities of a screen that can become any kind of keyboard
> you can imagine (computer, piano, drum, painting canvas, etc).
>
> Here's to staying focused,

agreed, but I don't see how you can do a keyboard and not have some 
multi-touch stuff (shift keys to start with)

I am in the group that has serious doubts about the current XO-2 design. I 
suspect that when push comes to shove the idea of the second screen being 
the keyboard will go the way of the crank in the XO-1