I want this so much…

[MacTCP]

touch-screen iMac!!!

 

[t3h]

Seems suspiciously short on details...

 

[funkytoad]

I suppose it could be possible

 

[slomacuser]

There is a company that can make your new iMac to be a screen touchable so ... nothing suspicious

http://www.trolltouch.com/

http://www.trolltouch.com/aboutus.html

 

[t3h]

I wasn't suspicious about the possibility, I've heard of TrollTouch before. It was just the fact that the seller seemed not to list very many details about the machine...

 

[MacMan]

There's a country park visitor centre near here that certainly used to have at least three touch screen iMac G3s for use by visitors. I don't know whether they are still using them or have upgraded to something else, maybe I should go and see...

 

[Quadraman]

"iTouch touch screen software"

Can you make any screen a touch screen with just software?

 

[~tl]

Can you make any screen a touch screen with just software?

No...

 

[LCGuy]

I believe it - there was a company many years ago I think called MicroTouch who modified CRT iMacs to have touch screens. They would disassemble the machine, apply a touch sensitive surface to the display, which would connect via a USB port, and then sell it to a business as a touch screen enabled iMac. These would be used as information kiosks, and just about anything else that a business would have a touch screen for.

Notice there seems to be something coming out of the side of the iMac? That would be the USB hookup, I'd imagine.

But yeah, I'd imagine its the real thing. I remember reading about these in an issue of Australian MacWorld back in 1999.

 

[MacMan]

"iTouch touch screen software"
Can you make any screen a touch screen with just software?

The way it works is that the CRT is manufactured with a membrane fitted to the front of the glass. This membrane has the touch sensors embedded in it which communicate with the necessary touch screen software. Some touch-screens can simply replicate a mouse meaning that third party software is not required.

Back in the old days there used to also be things called "light pens" which were electronic pens that had a light sensor fitted to the end. These were connected to the computer and with certain software you could use it for pointing, drawing, plotting etc right on-screen. The way they work is by detecting the position of the pen based upon the CRT sweep sequence and the signals sent back by the light sensor. They didn't require any modification to the computer or screen, just the light sensor and software. I don't think anything like this was available for the Mac but maybe there were light pens about for the Apple IIs. I have used light pens on BBC and other Acorn computers and they're good fun!

 

[MacTCP]

It's real. I used one just like it to take some survey once.