Knock Some Commands Into Your Laptop

An anonymous reader writes "For the first time, you can smack your computer and get a meaningful response! An article at IBM Devworks show you how to rap on the laptop case with your knuckles and have commands run on those knocks. Enterprising hackers have developed modules for the Linux kernel to take advantage of laptop integrated accelerometer sensors; with them the possibilities are endless."

multiple desktop switching

[Speare]

A MacOSX program called VirtuaDesktops has integrated this sort of thing, but it's still a bit finicky. You knock the laptop and it switches to the next desktop in the direction you knocked. It needs some debouncing because the recoil often just switches you right back to where you were.

This is not new

[SuperMog2002]

This has been around for months on the MacBook Pro in the form of Smackbook [google.com]. The user simply hits his MBP to switch desktops. In this case, one of the desktops is running OS X, the other XP via Parallels.

Re:multiple desktop switching

[Jeff DeMaagd]

Definitely not the "first time", though maybe a first for Linux.

I think there is a video called "SmackBook" that demonstrates the use of the software you described. I thought it was posted on Slashdot.

Re:multiple desktop switching

[catwh0re]

Here is a video link for interested people "Smack book" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uvQTTPr9Rw [youtube.com].

Macs also have a few other apps such as stable window which keeps a window upright while turning the laptop around, plus a few games that work on a similar principles such as "Neverball" amongst others. There are even widgets that tap into the AMS to play small ball-in-hole games.

My particular favourite is the app that turns your powerbook into a light saber making sound effects as you swing it around. (MacSaber)

I've avoided pasting links to all of these as most are run on small sites where a direct link will /. the 'ell out of them. However just do a google search for anything you're interested in. There is a lot of fun projects happening with AMS as a HID device in the open source community.

Re:SmackEdit

[justsomebody]

More magic here

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/HDAPS [thinkwiki.org]

Re:SmackEdit

[pesc]

It simulates a manual typewriter and when smacked on the side, it performs a carriage return including the bell ring

On the typewriters I have used, the bell doesn't ring when you do a carriage return. It rings when you reach a certain column so that you know that you are beginning to reach the end of the line and that you may want to do a carriage return before typing the next word.