[mythtv-users] Remotux Released!
Chase Douglas
chasedouglas.lists at gmail.com
Tue Jan 12 20:34:47 UTC 2010
On Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 11:35 PM, Ross Campbell <ross.campbell at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> So, The iPhone client works great, but I have some suggestions and ideas :
>>> Multiple input modes using full screen - change modes by doing swipe
>>> all the way across screen from edge to edge
>>
>> How can you differentiate between a swipe and a legitimate mouse movement?
>
> perhaps straight across from one edge to the other within a very short
> period of time? Perhaps double tap in a corner to enable a 'change
> input mode'
>
I'm really not in favor of either idea just because I can see users
doing average tasks with Remotux and accidentally activating these
gestures. From that aspect, I think it makes the most sense to leave
it as it is. It will prevent users from confusion when they
accidentally invoke a gesture, and it keeps overall complexity down.
>>> - mouse-only input mode - use right 90% of screen as touchpad, have
>>> two buttons on left side that act like mouse buttons 1 and 2 (and 3 if
>>> chorded)
>>
>> You can already right and middle click (and drag with them too), so
>> why eat up screen real estate with buttons?
>
> What you've implemented is great -- don't get me wrong -- however, it
> doen't replace the usability of two buttons. Also, for any sort of
> gaming use, it would be invaluable.
There's no haptic feedback, so I'm not sure how nice it would be to
have buttons. Right now you can fully utilize the mouse input without
looking at the device. This means you can keep your eyes on your
computer's display as you use it. If you start to incorporate
differentiated regions of the device's screen, the user will need to
be watching the screen instead of focusing solely on the computer
display.
>>> - Full keyboard mode - use space up to top where current mode select
>>> is. Make escape in top left. Put arrow key grouping in top right in a
>>> "diamond-like" arrangement of up above left,down,right
>>
>> How would you switch to and from this mode? Hence the UI Navigation
>> Bar at the top. There just isn't enough space for meaningfully sized
>> buttons when you've already got the keyboard pulled up.
>
> See above. Also, IMHO, just re-arranging the keys to have default mode
> with escape in place of shift, replace insert with up, end with left,
> PgUp with down, and PgDown with right would go a long way. in top left
> and arrow keys
Unfortunately there are still issues with this approach. The reason I
laid out the keys as I did was:
1. Keep the modifier keys in one section (left side of static bar)
2. Keep the rest of the standard all-purpose keys in another section
(right side of static bar)
3. Dynamically show other groupings of keys for tasks that use them
(Movement, Function, Media keys in the dynamic bar)
This means that if we put the arrow keys in both the top and bottom
bars, we'd have to completely rethink this layout approach. Beyond
that, I'm not sure there is that much to gain going this route.
Because the buttons are so small and there's no haptic feedback, you
don't really gain much usability improvement by having them in a
layout that is useful mostly when you don't look at the keyboard. Now,
things would be more useful if we had a mode that didn't require a
keyboard, like what you suggest next.
>>> - Mouse + arrow keys/enter/escape - make left 60% of screen act like
>>> mouse, right 40% devoted to large arrow key diamond with an "enter"
>>> button in the center, and an "escape" button above and to the left of
>>> the arrows. This would be a good "hulu mode"
>>
>> I could see this being useful, but integrating it into the UI could be
>> tricky due to real estate issues. I'm certainly open to help if anyone
>> is interested in implementing, but I don't know when I could get
>> around to it myself. I've already moved onto my next "big project", so
>> I'll likely only do basic maintenance on Remotux and rinputd unless
>> something changes.
>>
>>> - MythTV remote mode - provide mythtv keybindings, but keep it simple.
>>> Prominent up/down/left/right, enter/escape, volume up and down,
>>> pause/play, menu and info.
>>
>> Ummmm... Have you heard of MyMote? (And after searching, take a look
>> at who made it too).
>
> I know... Thanks! This just seems far more interesting due to the
> POTENTIAL to control anything and everything on my computer, and is
> far less "offensive" than the wireless keyboard sitting on the living
> room table.
>
>>> - tilt sensor mode. Map joystick axes to tilt sensors. Put joystick
>>> buttons onscreen
>>
>> Again, does this work well for anyone above, and is it worthwhile if
>> you already have a touchpad like interface?
>
> It would be a great game controller option for flying / driving games
> in emulators :)
Possibly, but I think there could be a much better interface than what
Remotux provides if what you really want is a gravitational joystick
or steering controller. However, someone could certainly provide such
an app using rinputd as the communication medium. On Linux it supports
almost everything except force feedback.
Thanks,
Chase
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