Touchscreen for Mac?

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Touchscreen for Mac?

Postby Detour DJ » 27 January 2015, 11:59

Hi all,
I've been running ShowXpress on a MacBook Pro for a while now. I've started using an external keyboard because I use a lot of key triggers and I don't want to destroy my nice Mac with all the key bashing during an energetic show. Ideally, I'd like to get a larger touchscreen monitor too for quicker and more ergonomic button selection. I know Windows 7/8 have embraced touchscreen monitors, but unfortunately Macs haven't gone in that direction much. Does anyone have a recommendation for Mac-compatible touchscreen monitors in the 19"-24" range?
Larz Hanson
Owner-Operator
Detour DJ, Sound & Lighting
7431 Frontage Road NW
Cleveland, TN 37312
(423) 432-3489
DetourDJ@gmail.com
http://www.DetourDJ.com
Detour DJ
 
Posts: 94
Joined: 10 January 2012, 14:38

Re: Touchscreen for Mac?

Postby Pink LD » 28 January 2015, 18:29

Put into Google "Mac Touchscreen" and you will get results like this:
http://www.cnet.com/news/touch-screen-mac-unlikely-says-apples-federighi/

It is frustrating to me when you consider iPads are touchscreen. It is also frustrating that ShowXpress software has limited the PC version to single touch and I have a FOH setup of twin 23in, 10 point touch per each monitor. The only way currently I can get multi-touch with SX software is to either emulate the app Live Mobile on my PC or use a tablet with the app. But the app is limited to single playback pages and not as easy to use in the type of shows I do.

Word of warning that if you do get some aftermarket touchscreen that does work with Mac products I suspect it will be limited to single touch, and that will be single touch per 1 screen at a time. There are workarounds that can get you single touch per monitor, but still it is only singe touch.

Ultimately I still wish that SX developers would just develop multi-touch for PC and forget trying to have the software be multi-OS capable. I think it is time to just embrace multi-Touch in Android/Win PC.
Pink LD
 
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Location: Green Bay WI

Re: Touchscreen for Mac?

Postby Detour DJ » 28 January 2015, 18:55

Thanks for your input, Pink LD. Yeah...I've done several Google searches on the topic. There just isn't much action on the touchscreen subject for Macs, and I don't understand why. They pioneered touchscreen stuff with the iPhone and iPad, and helped to totally change the way people go about their daily lives. OS X is more stable than Windows, and typical Macs have more video horsepower than typical PC's. I agree that writing cross-platform code is more time-consuming and difficult, but being a Mac guy, I appreciate their efforts. I've seen various reviews on a couple modern touchscreen displays, and I'm bidding on one right now. Supposedly, it allows multi-touch on PC or Mac. We'll see and I'll report back with my findings.
Larz Hanson
Owner-Operator
Detour DJ, Sound & Lighting
7431 Frontage Road NW
Cleveland, TN 37312
(423) 432-3489
DetourDJ@gmail.com
http://www.DetourDJ.com
Detour DJ
 
Posts: 94
Joined: 10 January 2012, 14:38

Re: Touchscreen for Mac?

Postby Pink LD » 28 January 2015, 19:01

Yep, we are on the same page of understanding the problem.

However whether or not the monitor you are bidding on does support multi-touch, and the Mac version of ShowXpress supports touch...

(I don't know about the Mac version as I have been PC and bulletproof while touring multiple Windows XP, 7, and 8.1 machines for an average of 125 shows a year. If Window's wasn't stable I wouldn't be able to do that, but I digress...)

...anyhow, if all those things are true? I'd be curious to know if you do get multi-touch or single touch via Mac and the SX software. Let me know. Thanks.
Pink LD
 
Posts: 688
Joined: 04 January 2010, 19:03
Location: Green Bay WI

Re: Touchscreen for Mac?

Postby Detour DJ » 28 January 2015, 19:26

Sorry...I meant no insult to PC users. Actually, I know several guys who have run PC's for music and/or lighting for years, and they've been happy. Me...not so much. I've struggled with PC's time and again. I bought a PreSonus digital mixer a few years back and tried everything to get it to interface for recording with 3 Windows laptops and a high-power PC desktop. No luck. On a whim and a prayer, I bought a Mac Mini with just standard features, and it worked flawlessly right out of the box where all the PC's fell flat. That was the start of my switchover to Mac. Personally, I appreciate that OS X seems to be much cleaner code right away as it doesn't bother me with annoying pop-up alerts or ads to buy something. The included apps are straightforward and useful, not just commercial trash like so much stuff packed in with typical Windows computers. And Internet Explorer...OMG. Talk about leaving your back door wide open for intruders...

So, yeah, I'm a happy Mac guy now. LOL!

I'm very interested to find out about ShowX's multitouch capability too. I know I currently can do several key presses at once while mousing to a new scene and it works fine, but of course, that's just non-touchscreen. I'll update here as I get useful news.
Larz Hanson
Owner-Operator
Detour DJ, Sound & Lighting
7431 Frontage Road NW
Cleveland, TN 37312
(423) 432-3489
DetourDJ@gmail.com
http://www.DetourDJ.com
Detour DJ
 
Posts: 94
Joined: 10 January 2012, 14:38

Re: Touchscreen for Mac?

Postby Pink LD » 28 January 2015, 19:36

I took no offense I just am very versed in the products I use. For example if I had gone by the reviews of my touchscreens I would have never bought them. But I told my salesman that though others complain that you can't use twin touchscreens I bet him that we could do it. In 5 minutes he was doing 10 pt drawing on MS Paint on 1 screen and I was 10 point scrolling Google World.
I use Mac for show planning when I am working Thursday Night Football sets because my boss builds the sets in 3D on Mac software. Why? Because it is better.

Sometimes at shows I use an iPad. But I prefer my Android tablet because it is much cheaper and disposable. If some drunk breaks it in a show situation or I drop it, I don't care. I get them for under $100, pay $20 for comprehensive insurance coverage. Which has more than paid for itself the 2 times I have made a claim in the last 3 years.

But all that aside? I still want to know your results with SX on Mac with a touch screen. If you do get multi-touch, I would switch to a Mac book faster than you can say "Android".
Pink LD
 
Posts: 688
Joined: 04 January 2010, 19:03
Location: Green Bay WI


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