Apple has recently posted a job description for a “Handwriting Recognition Engineer” to work out of Santa Clara Valley, California:
Are you passionate about providing handwriting solutions to end customers? Do you strongly believe that using a stylus and a tablet is the way to interact with computers?
Apple Handwriting Recognition team is seeking an engineer who will be responsible for advancing gesture and handwriting recognition on Mac OS X. The ideal candidate will be an expert in the area of pattern recognition, with an excellent understanding of handwriting recognition issues. The person will also assume primary responsibility for maintaining existing code and tools.
Key Requirements:
• Expert in the area of pattern recognition
• Strong design and analytical skills
• Strong coder with experience in C
• Ability to write quality code and ship quality products
• Ability to manage several concurrent projects
• Track record of innovation and excellence on previous assignments
Additional Desired Skills and Experience:
• Well versed in the area of handwriting recognition
• Knowledge of and experience with neural network algorithms
• Experience with Unix and familiarity with Mac OS X
• Knowledge of Cocoa or Carbon (with desire and ability to learn the other)
• Excellent communication skills
PhD or a minimum of 5 years experience
Apple Handwriting Recognition team is responsible for Inkwell which allows Mac OS X users to use their graphics tablets to write wherever one would want to on the screen, and the recognized text just flows to the current insertion point, as if it had been typed on a keyboard. Users can also use Inkwell to write commands. Inkwell provides a set of simple gestures that can be used for common functions, such as cut, copy, paste and select all. More info about Apple’s Inkwell here.
[Attribution: Mac Rumors]
So, does this job posting hint at a forthcoming Tablet Mac (the computer tablet done right), the rebirth of the Apple Newton, this thing, or something else?
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Emperor Gates’ new clothes: the failed mainstream Tablet PC – August 22, 2005
RUMOR: Apple Tablet exists running ‘reduced version’ of Mac OS X – May 24, 2005
Apple granted U.S. patent for Tablet Mac (with images) – May 10, 2005
Apple looking to add wireless connectivity to iPod, rumored Tablet Mac? – August 25, 2004
Apple hints at ‘handheld tablet computer’ with European design trademark filing – August 13, 2004
The Age ponders video Bluetooth iPod; tablet Mac possibilities – January 22, 2003
Apple readying secret iTablet for Macworld unveiling? – January 03, 2003
Tablet Mac watch begins – November 17, 2002
Take two and call me in the morning.
It’s the big iTunes/Airport Express remote!
“It’s the big iTunes/Airport Express remote!”
Ive been dreaming of such a device and I hope it’s true
Just like the ‘X-Files’ truth…
It’s out there. Probably a tablet thingie…
But I’d rather it be iPod/Newton thingie…
Just do it!
nah…. first post
Could also be a PDA – remember the Newton?
Put this together with the design patent and the Intel Handtop oriented processor (think great power at low watt) and what do you get? Definitly an Apple iBook Mini with WiFi and handrecognition. Sometimes next year.
Or just maybe THE iPod Pro. Mac OS X on an Intel Handtop, small widescreen but large enough to whatch those Mp4 videos. Write some notes, listen to music and whatever. For Mac and PC users!
Apple has had a small team continuously working on handwriting recognition since before the Newton came out (12 years ago this month IIRC).
This could be nothing more than Apple’s replacing a person who moved on to other stuff.
I HOPE it will be some sort of ibook/pda/pod crossover thingie, but I really believe Shadowself is right.
it just a mirror see hes looking at himself in it!!
Other than all the “Key Requirements” I think I am perfect for the job!
Mac OS X has had the Newton’s handwriting recognition engine built into it for quite some time now (since at least 10.3, possibly even in 10.2). The recogniser understands a few different gestures from the original Newton recogniser, but it’s otherwise essentially unchanged, to the point where the old Newton easter egg is still in there. (If you have a tablet, write “Rosetta! Rosetta! Rosetta!” and you’ll see what I mean.)
It’s the printed text recogniser from Newton OS 2.0 that’s present in Mac OS X – the cursive recogniser isn’t there. Also not present is the shape recogniser, and if memory serves deferred recognition is implemented either. The recogniser is kick-ass – generally getting 99%+ of things written, so long as you try to keep from writing cursively. Even if you do join a few letters together it still gets it right. Apple developed this recogniser in-house, as an off-shoot of the speech recognition software they developed for Mac OS.
It would be fantastic if Apple released a tablet Mac. I’ve thought for a long time that it would be good if Apple’s screens supported pen input. Back when I was a Newton developer I would often find myself trying to tap at things on my Mac’s screen when moving between the two. Ideally this should be a standard Powerbook feature.
Apple’s 1st attempt at Handwriting Recognition
http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/retro/timeline/90s/930827.html
doubt it will b a palmtop, the market for those is slowing. Most likely a tablet, or just a relacement for the member of staff previously working on the project. A smartphone / connected pda would have a market, but i dont c apple bringing something like that out. Thats y i turned to palm’s treo 650.
Damn, it’s that creepy guy again!!!
Please, oh please let it be a Newton-esque thingy!
Why write about this? Draw a prototype…
It’s like growing dominos starting with the iPod mini, then the iPod, Mac Mini, iBook and iMac.
The whole idea behind a tablet mac/pc is that you can carry with you display and input device as you move around. The Table PCs are just laptops with a rotating screen. You may still need access to other hardware that is normally connected to your computer or is too awkward to lug around. There is no need to carry around all that. Just make a wifi display with touch sensitive screen that is associated with a base computer. Then I could work on my sofa with the tablet in my lap, walk around, use it to control iTunes from any room and be able to see all that I would see if I were at my desk. In a doctors office, each doctor could have one tablet that he takes with him as he visits patients and calls up their medical records for each patient instead of carrying paper documents. When going back to the desk just install the tablet in a desk dock and it behaves as if it were a regular display. Make the display in 10″, 15″ and 19″. The 10″ is a perfect remote music controller. The 15″ allows you to sit in your garden and work. The 19″ would be great as a portable (around the house) movie watcher.
How about this; a Mac Mini (which comes without a keyboard or display anyway) as a multi-media/computing hub, with the user input and output handled by a portable tablet with little or no computing power or memory. The units communicate via wireless/airport modules…no keyboard anywhere, just stylus input.
I think shipwithsails and Zeke are on to something!
And this kind of “super-remote” would, of course, also allow Apple to sell even more Macs, whereas a normal tablet might hurt Powerbook sales.
If I had a fully functional remote for my PowerBook…oh man. As it stands I use my blue tooth enabled cell phone and the Salling Clicker software (http://homepage.mac.com/jonassalling/Shareware/Clicker/). Works great for iTunes and iDVD but I wish I could control the mouse pointer.
I believe the next logical step would be a PDA more than a tablet. There are two main reasons I say this.
1. M$ has already set the tablet market up for intense scrutiny and skepticism. Not that I don’t believe Apple wouldn’t kill them with whatever they released, but if the numbers don’t support the volume of sales necessary to be a success there is no reason to think that just because it is Apple it will sell well (look at Mac vs. PC sales… we all know which is superior so why don’t we have the 95% market share?!).
2. I just think that it’s a matter of ‘OS perspective’. If Apple comes out with a tablet that touts “OS X at your finger tips” you are going to run into those people that refuse to leave the discomfort of Windows.
Apple has introduced the masses to their engineering prowess through the iPod, but that didn’t have Apple designed software. If they can introduce a PDA that has the power of OS X behind it without giving people the impression that it’s trying to steal them away from Windows, then there will be far less opposition to the concept of owning one (How many Treo owners bought it because they just had to have Palm OS? Or how many didn’t because they were afraid their PDA wouldn’t be compatible with Windows?)
A PDA would be the missing link between the engineering of the iPod and the power of OS X.
/$.02
Hay guys, do you think this touch screen is for ipod & itunes?
For itunes user, they don’t need a keyboard for their car. They just ‘touch’ screen and select their song. For Apple will release their own kind of touch screen for mobile user.
for ipod user, this will make way for video pod.
What do you all think?
Question: Whats the most annoying thing with the iPod?
Answer: The inability to easily find one single track among 1.000s
Solution: Provide an Inkwell-based input screen to the iPod, so that searching for a song is as easy as in iTunes.
Conclusion: No PDA, no tablet …but a functionality enhanced iPod
The only thing seperating an iPod from a PDA is the ability for direct input and a network adapter. Everything else is there. You add Inkwell and wifi/bluetooth to an iPod and buddy, you’ve got a PDA.
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