Funny joke and all, but it got me thinking.
Why not some sort of gesture for undo like a multi finger scribble (similar to 'rubbing something out' with an eraser)?
Then I tried a bit harder & thought why not just use cmd-Z ;)
Shake to Undo (for Mac OS X)
21–30 of 57 posts
Re: Shake to Undo (for Mac OS X)
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yep! Here's some instructions on how it was done. The underlying app, ScreenKnock, still works on Lion. Instructions: http://maketecheasier.com/smack-your-mac-to-switch-spaces/20... ScreenKnock: http://welcometochrisworld.com/2008/10/02/screen-knock/
Thanks for linking that, really neat. I just ran it, and after configuring to use command-arrows to switch spaces, it works really well on my MacBook. In fact, rather than hitting the side of the screen, just a gentle tilt to the left or right is enough to switch spaces. The dynamic feels really good.
Ah ha! Yes, I knew it must have been a residual memory and not my own idea.
Re: Shake to Undo (for Mac OS X)
#23I just hope this doesn't inspire people to really shake the macbooks so hard to cause a disk problem or any other hardware issue. I advise you add a disclaimer for this? ;)
That's actually why the sensor is in there in the first place: to let the hard disk shut off if it detects that the laptop is falling.
Re: Shake to Undo (for Mac OS X)
#24Meh. Punch to Undo!
Re: Shake to Undo (for Mac OS X)
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm pretty sure there was a virtual desktop manager for OS X around 10.3 or 10.4 that, in one fork, supported smacking each side of the laptop to cycle left or right. I also recall being able to use the ambient light sensors under the speaker grills for the same thing: Cover one with your hand, and the desktops move that way. It was pretty fantastic.
Yep! Here's some instructions on how it was done. The underlying app, ScreenKnock, still works on Lion. Instructions: http://maketecheasier.com/smack-your-mac-to-switch-spaces/20... ScreenKnock: http://welcometochrisworld.com/2008/10/02/screen-knock/
Hehe, I remember trying out the predecessor, SmackBook: http://blog.medallia.com/2006/05/smacbook_pro.html
I also remember installing a bunch of similar little toys built around the same time using this sensor - MacSaber: http://blog.isnoop.net/2006/05/20/macsaber-turn-your-mac-int... SMSRotateD: http://osxbook.com/software/sms/smsrotated/ SeisMac: http://www.suitable.com/tools/seismac.html
(Amusing to look back on this since I work on Cydia now, which is all about non-app software like neat accelerometer toys [one of the more popular packages is Graviboard], just on little bitty devices I wouldn't have imagined back in 2006.)
Re: Shake to Undo (for Mac OS X)
#26Ugh, it's not sensitive enough. I don't know how sensitive the HD shock sensor needs to be though... but I wish I could just tap the edge of my monitor.
That would be a fun feature for passing colleagues to make use of.
Re: Shake to Undo (for Mac OS X)
#27It doesn't seem to work on my 2010 MBA... perhaps due to the SSD?
Yeah—the new Airs don't have Sudden Motion Sensors. Which makes sense, since there's no hard drive to stop, but it breaks all the clever hacks that used the accelerometer.
It's not really a clever hack, just an undocumented IOKit device.
`ioreg | grep Motion`
Re: Shake to Undo (for Mac OS X)
#28While a pretty funny article, I disagree with the underlying message that Apple is making Lion too similar to iOS in ways that decrease its functionality. For me, launchpad has been perfect for organizing my apps because just clicking the applications folder presents me with too many unrelated options. For example, my second launchpad window is only apps I've downloaded, so it's obvious to me how I would launch Starc…
Launchpad may be useful (though between Stacks and Quicksilver, I don't need it), but there are other areas where Apple made changes that they shouldn't have, even by their own standards. For example, the new full-screen mode nice on a small screen, but is detrimental to anyone who has multiple monitors, and Apple didn't even ensure that the transition animates smoothly with their own apps. Mission Control is at least an understandable attempt to integrate Spaces and Expose, but the new layout mode for Expose that lets windows overlap by more than 80% is a pretty big sacrifice that doesn't seem entirely necessary. They also removed several features that were mostly harmless or completely harmless to noobs, but useful for power users (eg. the mode-switch button on Finder windows, or the ability to browse a PDF in two-page mode with continuous scrolling on.) Simplification is good, but there's no reason to remove features that don't get in the way or make things cluttered.
I don't mind Apple experimenting and iterating with their UI, but it feels like with 10.7 they took things too far and were too single-minded about it. On the other hand, I've only been using OS X since 10.3, so I missed out on all the early roughness, and almost all of their changes from 10.4-10.6 turned out to be for the better.
Re: Shake to Undo (for Mac OS X)
#29Oh my. The internet is a strange place. Digging up things weeks after they were made in an hour, sent jokingly to a few close friends, and mostly forgotten, and throwing them all over Twitter and the Apple blagoblag.
My only disappointment is that they didn't report on Shell of Disapproval instead, which is a program that I actually use daily.
Re: Shake to Undo (for Mac OS X)
#30Nice one. :-) Very soon, I'll be playing games that needs me to shake my Mac violently, twist, turn and sometimes requiring me to flap the screen repeatedly to ward off the lazer guns of attacking Stormtroopers.