为什么手指永远取代不了鼠标

    随着我继续测试这款设备，这种现象也越来越常见。然后我下载了一款叫“解剖青蛙”的应用，然后像《功夫小子》一样用手上戳下戳，终于解剖了一只青蛙。然后我又花时间玩了一款叫Flocking的虚拟化游戏，一群虚拟的小鱼会随着你的手指移动。游戏看起来虽然不错，但是很快就让人觉得无聊了。然后我又下载了一个叫Exoplanet的应用，它可以让你缩放一个虚拟的宇宙，我在触摸点选星星上花了很多时间。（想象一下用一根湿面条戳中一个针尖的难度——它让你不禁怀疑，上帝究竟是否也会花这么多时间关心地球上的琐事。）另一款名叫Gravilux的应用的表现则和它在其它平台（Android、iOS、Mac和PC）上的表现一样好。这款应用的开发者斯科特•斯尼博也把另一款基于iOS的音乐应用OscilloScoop上传到了Leap平台上。这证明了比起其它因素，Leap Motion的问题可能更多在于软件的执行上。

    虽然Leap Motion上的游戏给人的印象不深，但是不能否认，这种娱乐方式的确在新兴科技中扮演了一个非常重要的角色。就像上世纪八九十年代的电脑玩家进化成了2000年以来科技爆炸时代的电脑人才，以及社交媒体一代的年轻人进化成了今天擅于利用资讯的劳动者一样，像Leap Motion体感控制器这样的产品也有潜力孕育一批“手势极客”

    虽然Leap Motion还不像微软的Kinect体感设备那样强大（当然也没有那么贵），但是Leap Motion的确能探测到用户的任何活动，甚至灵敏得有点过头。如果我把手指伸出来，它经常也会同时感应到我的大拇指。如果我戴着我的Nike+腕带的话，它会认为这个腕带的闪闪发光的金属扣是我的另一根神秘的手指。还有就是作为一个Mac用户，我非常羡慕Windows8的界面，我甚至想把Leap Motion当成一个无须接触的触摸屏，用来操纵我的苹果电脑。当然，前提是我能调整一下它那过于灵敏的传感器。

    为了用Leap Motion来控制Mac操作系统，Airspace商城还专门提供了两款应用，一款叫Touchless for Mac（这款应用也有一个PC版），另一款叫（Better Touch Tool），两款应用都是免费的。Touchless是由leap Motion公司推出的，后者则是由德国独立编程师安德里斯•海根伯格开发的。Touchless包含两个区域，一个是用来“悬停”（或移动光标）的，另一个是用来“触摸”（或点击鼠标）的。使用这款应用虽然很精确，但是有些尴尬，感觉就好像是在戴着一双磁性的手套使用iPhone一样。当然你可以那么做，但是它生来就不是为了这样用的。Mac操作系统的按钮实在太小了，用一根手指去按很费劲，更别说伸在空中的一根颤巍巍的、像香肠那么粗的胖手指了。我花了大约大半小时适应这个系统，最后给了这款软件一个愤怒的中指（而它完全没检测出来），然后又用回了我最信赖的鼠标。

    Better Touch Tool的表现虽然稍好些，但仍然有很长的路要走。它可以让某些手势相当于键盘的快捷键（比如双手合什就是关掉窗口、睡眠的意思）。我设计了一些我认为合理的动作，比如用三根手指向左划动代表Safari的“返回”。但是等我真正使用的时候，我发誓这款设备根本没理我。我再挥手、滑动，也一样没有识别。最后，我对它做了一个掐脖子的动作，不过我的电脑还是沉默地盯着我，真没劲。

    所以，我决定暂时跟Leap Motion说声再见。希望下次我再把它插到电脑上的时候，它可以让我对它翘起大拇指——说不定到时候，它已经能明白这是什么意思了。（财富中文网）

    译者：朴成奎

    That experience became a familiar one as I continued testing the device. I downloaded Frog Dissection, and managed to somehow zip open a virtual reptile using "wax on, wax off" gestures à la Karate Kid. I fiddled with Flocking, a visualization app that looks great but bores quickly, with simulated fish swimming to bits of light controlled by my fingers. I pinched and zoomed through the virtual universe with Exoplanet but had a heck of a time touching the stars. (Imagine trying to poke a pin with a wet noodle -- it will make you reconsider any belief that God sticks his fingers in our tiny earthly concerns.). Meanwhile, another visualization app, Gravilux, worked as well as it does on other platforms (Android, iOS, Mac, and PC). Its developer, Scott Snibbe, also ported his iOS-based music app, OscilloScoop, to the Leap platform, proving perhaps that the controller's problems are more about software execution than anything else.

    While the Leap Motion's games are underwhelming, there's no denying that entertainment plays an important role in emerging technology. Just like computer gamers from the 1980s and 1990s evolved into the computer-savvy workforce at the 2000s tech boom, and the social media generation has matured into a crop of info-fueled workers today, forward-leaning products like the Leap Motion Controller have the potential to breed a future wave of dextrous, gesture hackers.

    And though it is nowhere near as powerful (or expensive) as Microsoft's (MSFT) Kinect sensor, the Leap Motion Controller did detect every movement -- to a fault. If I pointed my finger out, the device often detected my thumb, too. If I was wearing my Nike+ (NKE) Fuelband, it would think the bracelet's shiny metal clasp was another, mystery finger. Still, as an everyday Mac user, I am jealous of the Windows 8 touch interface, and I had hoped to use the Leap Motion as a smear-free touchscreen to drive my Apple (AAPL) computer -- if only I could adjust to its overactive sensors.

    To run the Mac operating system, Airspace offers two apps: Touchless for Mac (they have a PC equivalent, too) and Better Touch Tool. Both free programs, Touchless was made by Leap Motion, while Better Touch Tool was developed by German indie coder Andreas Hegenberg. Touchless consists of two zones, one for "hovering" (or moving the cursor) and the other for "touching" (or clicking the mouse). Using it was precise but awkward, akin to trying to use an iPhone with magnetic gloves. Sure, you can do it, but it wasn't really meant to work like that. The Mac operating system's buttons were too small to be pressed with a finger, let alone a quivering, airborne ghost digit that's as fat as a hot dog. After about a half hour of trying to acclimate to the system, I finally gave the software the finger (totally undetected!) and went back to my trusty mouse.

    Better Touch Tool returned much improved results but still has a way to go. By turning actual gestures (bringing both hands together like a slow clap, for example) into keyboard shortcuts (close window, sleep, etc.) at last the Leap sprang to life. I programmed a slew of moves that made sense to me, such as three finger wag left as "back" in Safari, but when it came time to use them, I swear the device wasn't looking. Waving, I got nothing. Flicking, not a blip of recognition. Finally, I mimed choking the wretched thing, but my computer stared back, unamused.

    So, I've decided to wave goodbye to the Leap for now. Hopefully, the next time I plug it in, I can give it a thumbs up -- and maybe then, it will know exactly what I mean.