AppleInsider | New Apple filing details virtual input touch-screen interface

AppleInsider | New Apple filing details virtual input touch-screen interface: "New Apple filing details virtual input touch-screen interface

By AppleInsider Staff
Published: 12:00 PM EST

Apple Computer in its research and development labs is experimenting with a variety of touch-screen technologies, recent patent filings have revealed.

The latest filing surfaced late last week, describing a virtual input device placement on a touch-screen user interface. Based on the visual diagrams associated with the filing, Apple appears to be working on several methods of displaying a virtual keyboard as part of the Mac OS X interface, which would allow users to type and input data without the use of a physical keyboard.

Virtual keyboard

In the filing, made Sept. 16, 2005, Apple said the technology includes 'an application display, associated with an application executing on the computer, and a virtual input device display for a user to provide input to the application executing on the computer via the touch screen.'

'In response to a virtual input device initiation event, initial characteristics of the virtual input device display are determined,' the filing goes on to read. 'Based on characteristics of the application display and the characteristics of the virtual input device display, initial characteristics of a composite display image are determined including the application display and"