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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1234839
There are still some of us around who remember the days when the only way to talk to a computer was with a keyboard and we didn't have to mess with punch cards or rows of switches. At the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in the mid- sixties, Douglas Englehart came up with the idea of basically turning a trackball, then used by the military for weapons control, upside down. After the German company, Telefunken, came up with some enhancements, the mouse scuttled down to Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and lined up with the Xerox Alto, where it was rediscovered by one Steve Jobs. Even in these days of touch pads and screens with their digital (as in "finger") interface, the mice are everywhere. But, as people who work constantly in the world of video, graphics, sound, and pictures, they do fall a bit short of what we would consider the ultimate interface. The software we need to use for these tasks is loaded with buttons, sliders, and various interface elements designed to make them mouse-friendly. But finding an exact setting by dragging across a tiny slider can be a challenge. The folks at Loupedeck found a better way. The Loupedeck Creative Tool (CT) takes UI control in a completely different direction by combining some very familiar physical controls with state- of-the-art display and touch technology. The result is a rather amazing device that puts all the needed controls right at hand and at the right time. The way the Loupedeck CT achieves all that is through a partial regression back to the days of actual buttons, dials and knobs. On the CT, they take on unique functions, and even personalities, based on the specific workspace you're in. And it does this on a compact, six-inch square slab. A lot of the CT's technological magic comes from the full-color, high-resolution, touch-sensitive graphic labels that adorn many of the controls. As with any UI, there is a learning curve in getting started with the Loupedeck, but the dynamic labeling means that it doesn't require a lot of memorization.