14 DAY TRIAL // Apple reportedly took down FingerWorks.com five years into the acquisition of the company, whose two founders were hired as senior engineers at Apple. The duo would later see their revolutionary gesture-based tech implemented into the Mac maker's products. It is believed that Apple has taken down the site in a move preceding its tablet computer’s release.
Known mainly for its TouchStream multi-touch keyboard, FingerWorks was a gesture-recognition company based in the United States. It was founded by John Elias and Wayne Westerman of the University of Delaware in 1998. It began its business by producing a line of multi-touch products including the iGesture Pad and the TouchStream keyboard. The peripherals were deemed as particularly helpful for people suffering from RSI and other medical conditions. The products were immediately discontinued as Apple acquired the company's assets in early 2005.
Strangely enough, the FingerWorks.com website stood in place for a good five years into the acquisition, with Apple now being said to have pulled it. It is now being speculated that the closing might have to do with the upcoming tablet device that Apple has reportedly planned for unveiling later this month. MacRumors has extracted what it believes are relevant excerpts from an old FingerWorks press release, possibly signaling that Apple has finally moved to implementing advanced multi-touch keyboard gestures in the software run by its forthcoming tablet.
The MacNTouch Gesture Keyboard is a complete user interface that serves as a mouse, standard keyboard, and powerful multi-finger gesture interpreter. Mouse operations like point, click, drag, scroll, and zoom are combined seamlessly with touch-typing and multi-finger gesture everywhere on the MacNTouch's surface.
People are amazed by all the things a hand gesture user interface provides. We have a large number of easy- to-use gestures that cover just about every common computer operation. Users don't have to reach for hot-keys because gestures are faster and easier to do.
The rumor-centered site also points out that one of the company’s two founders (Wayne Westerman) has been the author of many multi-touch patent applications from Apple, including advanced gesturing implementations for Mac OS X, since the 2005 acquisition.