Any thoughts on touchscreen tablets?
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  1. #1

    Default Any thoughts on touchscreen tablets?

    I've been noticing more and more touch midi controllers lately. Being a student, I obviously can't afford any of them, however I have been thinking about upgrading my laptop. I am looking for any new info about tablet PCs, and whether or not it'd be a wise choice to pay extra for a touch screen. HP has one with 4 gigs of ram and looks like it would be pretty decent with windows 7 (hush, if it's good enough for Noel Borthwick of Cakewalk, apparently*). I'm just praying that there will be some sweet new software aps that mimic the hakim continuum, lemur, kaoss pad or dexter, as well as whether or not any pc manufacturers are considering adding "weight" sensitivity to their touch screens (the continuum controller costs 3000 for a 24 inch model, but it also senses pressure which you can use to adjust volume, etc).

    I mean, how cool would it be to even bring one of those huge 20 inch desktop deals in, lay it down in front of you facing straight up, and do some drumming, effects, track playing and a sweet continuum solo all on the same surface with your face lit up like you're telling a ghost story?

    Don't get me wrong, on top of that I'd rather have the tactile response of arcade buttons for juggling and drumming, but the effects and instruments would be invaluable.

    Thank you for your time.

    Andrew Garlock

    *interesting article about how perhaps 7 is the real deal: http://createdigitalmusic.com/2009/0...-xp/#more-7680

  2. #2
    Tech Guru BestLegsinHD's Avatar
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    i had a touch screen tablet pc, a gateway. it wasnt really touch enabled, i had to use a pen to touch it. kind of first generation and gimmicky, but all together fun. ign.com has had some rumors about a touch screen mac tablet.

  3. #3

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    Alright, let me rephrase then. When Apple finally brings out their touch computers, will software designers start catching up to the technology and start creating some amazing new software to take advantage of the touch screen?

    I think it's really a no-brainer, I just don't know if the music industry big-wigs will view touch-screen owners as a viable market for new software (as it likely wouldn't be intuitive for someone to use with a mouse per say).

    However, there are also those handwriting pads available now. I think in 6 months those would be an inexpensive solution for touch manipulation of software; kind of like a bigger kaoss pad that plugs into the pc. I would pay 600 for a 16x or 20x8 inch touch midi controller with cool software, especially if there were dedicated buttons on it too. The buttons could be for navigation of effects and instruments.

    Maybe we should send a concept to korg and novation, make sure they get it right hey?

    Things I'd like for a midi controller:

    -smooth touch interface

    -backlit quantized squares (like a checkerboard) for quantized effects (like the halving effect, cutting your loop into smaller halves)

    -piano key backlight for continuum-like instruments, showing where the notes are. I would be fine using an external light to shine on it if the backlighting is too expensive/complicated/not durable enough, but I think less people would buy it if you had to shine a light. Maybe if it came with a sweet black light at the top and bottom then they could just use florescent paint to mark the keys. It just has to be visible in a dark club.

    -pressure sensitivity (unsure of the reality of this one).

    -additional buttons for navigating the effects and instruments without going to the computer keyboard

    -SOFTWARE!

  4. #4
    Tech Guru charo's Avatar
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    check out sensomusic usine for touchscreen software that is available now. also if you look up my thread about monotouchlive you will see pics of how i was using a tabletpc in my setup.

    good luck

  5. #5

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    Ok, so I was looking around the web and Wacom has these tablets available already. In fact, here* they show it in action with a theremin style instrument, although I imagine any instrument could be swapped for it. It includes touch sensitivity, but they aren't lit up at all. I would just buy some clear florescent ink and draw my own designs on it, shine a blacklight on it and it's good to go.

    Interestingly enough, Wacom is also the creator of the NextBeat, so making a dj specific controller would be right up their alley. I just don't know how to contact them about this.


    *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5FiC563GgM

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