“鼠標終結者”問世

????在2002年的科幻片《少數派報告》中，湯姆?克魯斯僅靠手勢即可操作計算機，觀眾們對此拍手叫絕。這令人神往，可謂窺見了計算機交互技術的未來：擺脫了已有數十年歷史的沉悶的鼠標的束縛。從那時起，公眾——特別是科技記者——一直在等待現實世界中出現這樣的技術。微軟（Microsoft）廣受歡迎的Kinect控制器已取得長足進步，而定于今年冬季推出，定價70美元的“The Leap”新款外設將更上一層樓。

????Leap Motion公司由邁克爾?巴克瓦爾德和大衛?霍爾茨共同創辦，其推出的這款長條狀設備通過USB與電腦連接，并發射能識別約一臂之內物體——手臂、手、手指頭、鋼筆甚至筷子——的紅外光。Leap的關鍵在于它比當前版本的Kinect感應器要精確100倍。Kinect能識別手的動作，而Leap的創造者稱該設備能識別最細微的手指顫動，并沒有明顯延時。如此先進（且價格低廉）的技術具有無限可能，最起碼，這意味著快速且超精確的桌面應用導航成為可能。Leap在推出后將與Windows 7、Windows 8以及Mac OS X兼容，能進行基本的系統操作和上網沖浪導航。該公司還將發布一款SDK，對于希望為Leap進行開發的開發者，他們將在遴選之后為其提供Leap感應器。

????巴克瓦爾德和霍爾茨向我大肆炫耀其技術，并讓我親自體驗了一把Leap。我們第一個試驗品是《水果忍者》（Fruit Ninja），這是一款切割水果的休閑游戲。在傳統移動平臺上，用戶在屏幕上瘋狂滑動手指，而各色水果被切成碎屑漫天飛舞，他們對此心滿意足。不過如果是Leap，用戶可以用一根手指或鉛筆、書簽之類的東西，將其當做寶劍使勁揮舞。在將感應靈敏度調至最高的情況下，我只需將一個手指頭往不同方向揮舞幾厘米，就可以完成切割水果動作，手臂其它部分則可以完全不動。屏幕上有一個光標代表我的手指，它移動迅速、反應靈敏而且精度很高，我完全沒有感到延時。

????When Tom Cruise swiped and pinched his way through a computer interface in 2002's Minority Report, audience-goers were wowed. Here was a compelling glimpse at the future of the computer interface, one no longer tethered by the dreary, decades-old mouse. Ever since, the public -- especially tech reporters -- has waited for real-world technology to catch up. And while Microsoft's (MSFT) wildly-popular Kinect controller has made great strides, a new $70 peripheral due out this winter called "The Leap," is poised to take things further.

????Co-founded by Michael Buckwald and David Holz, Leap Motion's mini-candy bar-shaped device connects to a computer via USB and emits infrared light that recognizes objects -- arms, hands, fingers, pens, even chopsticks -- within a distance roughly equivalent to arm's-length. The key to Leap is that it's 100 times more accurate than the current version of the Kinect sensor. Whereas the Kinect will recognize hand movements, Leap's creators argue their creation is so fine-tuned, it registers the slightest finger quiver with no perceptible delay. The possibilities for such advanced (and inexpensive) technology could be endless, but at the very least, it means quick and hyper-accurate navigation across desktop applications. When Leap launches, it will already be backwards compatible with Windows 7 and 8 as well as Mac OS X, allowing basic navigation through the operating system and web surfing. The company is also releasing an SDK and giving sensors to select developers who want to develop for the system.

????Buckwald and Hotz showed off their tech and let me get some hands-on time. Our first dive was Fruit Ninja, the casual game where users slice-and-dice fruit. On mobile devices, users swipe their fingers across the screen sending fruit gibs flying about, which is satisfying enough. With the Leap, users use a finger or an item like a pen or marker, waving it around like a sword. With the sensitivity level cranked all the way up, I hacked-and-slashed fruit merely my moving my finger a few centimeters in different directions, all while most of my hand and wrist remained stationary. The onscreen cursor, a representation of my finger, moved smoothly, swiftly, and accurately with no detectable delay.