Very Computer

Has anyone integrated Touch Screens into any pick applications?

On Wed, 06 Mar 2002 16:45:53 GMT, "Concerned Netizen"

Quote:>Has anyone integrated Touch Screens into any pick applications?

Depends on the method of integration. You can integrate any
touch screen as a mouse, in a GUI environment. If you want
to integrate otherwise, you'll need to go str8 RS-232, which
I think is going to be difficult in the multi-user
environment of pick. That's not to say you can't botch
together a GUI/ASCII solution using Accuterm, ViaDuct, or
wIntegrate, using the mouse drivers. I think most of these
emus support passing mouse information through as ASCII
sequences, so it's just a matter of writing an input
function that accepts keyboard input and also traps mouse
commands. Then, you just relate that click(or tap in the
case of a touch screen) on a certain spot you've drawn on
the screen. The really fun part is mapping and tracking
'touchable' screen spots in green screen. I had some ideas
down a few years ago, but I'm sure they're gone now. I've
been waiting for a chance to do pick integration with touch
screens, ever since I worked at a fiber manuf. plant that
used 'em on the production floor. I had one on my desk and
it was a blast to toy with. I've also been considering
adding Accuterm mouse support to my IPR input routine. If I
can get it to work correctly(return the mouse location upon
click), would you be interested in it? It'll have to run in
two seperate modes, key entry OR mouse. I seriously doubt
you can do both at the same time.

  Regards,

   Glen aka Ryengoth
     http://www.picksource.com

About 13 years ago I wrote a job and time card tracking system for a job
shop using Lear Siegler touch screen terminals. When you touched the screen,
the terminal sent back the x/y coordinates. I found the programming to be
fairly fast and easy. But that was then and this is now.

Sorry the information is so stale.
Jeff

--

Jeffrey Kaufman
Key Data Systems Group
www.keydat.com
559-432-3832
559-432-4657 fax

Has anyone integrated Touch Screens into any pick applications?

Drexel Management has a great bar/restaurant POS app using a touch
screen. Mark Brown wrote the interface.  Let me know if you need more
info.

I know a company a while back that wanted Linux workstations with
touch screen over an X11 GUI - this eliminates the need for Windows
licenses and other Windows considerations.  I don't know if they were
successful.  Let me know if you'd like me to look them up.

Tony

You might try to contact Mark Brown.  I know he's done a lot with
touch-screen applications and it's quite likely he'd be able to help you.

Bill

Has anyone integrated Touch Screens into any pick applications?

Yes, but WHAT you can do depends entirely on the front end tools you
are using.

As others have said, the touch screen is really little more than a
"FAT RAT" the size of your screen.

If you are using some form of windows/web front end, then re-acting to
"mouse clicks" (screen touches) isn't a problem.

You can also get stuff to happen with some of the terminal emulation
products that have some basis of mouse support (well, actually I can
only speak first hand about AccuTerm, but I'm sure it is true for the
others as well).

Whilst on the subject, one of the really "neat toys" we played with a
few years ago was a film grid you could add to any existing terminal !
(back then 15" was BIG) that simply plugged into the mouse port.

There were a number of other products that allowed you to "convert"
existing screens to touch screen capabilities - I'm sure the list has
grown substantially since last time I looked, and also the cost of
REAL touch screen devices has probably come down too

Regards,

Ross Ferris

Reminds me of the pressure-sensitive gizmo that Brian Stone and
Alcyona was selling about a millenium ago.  It sat under any standard
monitor and was able to identify the location of a touch to the screen
based on the amount of pressure which was transferred to the base.  I
don't know if that technology is still viable.

I think what we come down to is exactly what Ross says below.  It's
all in the software, the touchy feely part is trivial.

Tony

Quote:>Yes, but WHAT you can do depends entirely on the front end tools you
>are using.

>As others have said, the touch screen is really little more than a
>"FAT RAT" the size of your screen.

>If you are using some form of windows/web front end, then re-acting to
>"mouse clicks" (screen touches) isn't a problem.

I haven't. Surely it's a client-side thing anyway? It seems to me the Pick
application wouldn't give a monkeys about what went on on the client.

Mike.

We have integrated touch  screen with our POS application.  We were able to
use the same interface we wrote to use the mouse with wIntegrate. If you
have already made your software "mouse aware" you may find that you will
have to do nothing.

If you would like more info or assistance feel free to contact me.

Fred
Total Computing Solutions

Has anyone integrated Touch Screens into any pick applications?

Human Interface Technologies did a lot of work with touch screens for some of
the Jiffy-lube type operations.

You might contact Bill Fairbanks at 804/794-0700 in Richmond *ia.

Lee Bacall