Dan Bricklin @danb@qoto.org

I'm very sad to hear of the passing of Gordon Bell, a giant in the history of computers in the last 60 years. From his leading work at Digital Equipment Corporation to the NSF and Microsoft, he has been an inspiration to us all. He was also, from my experience (our paths crossed many times), an enthusiastic, fun, and warm person. On his Microsoft Research Web Site https://gordonbell.azurewebsites.net/ , he included a photo I took of him on a Segway. Here's a copy. May his memory be a blessing!

@kaplag @stroughtonsmith Apple apparently has been doing lots of work related to pencils and #VisionPro. See some of the patents: https://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/patents-smart-pens/ There's cameras-in-pencil, moving in the air, game controls, and more.

@kaplag @stroughtonsmith I love writing on an iPad, too (cf my NoteTakerHD iPad app from 2010) and have lots of tablet/pen experience from the 1990’s including pen/tablet/spreadsheet and other areas patents. But the VisionPro opens other avenues but lacks a rich fine-motor input means.

@stroughtonsmith Now, imagine that pen in your hand over or on an iPad (perhaps on Magic Keyboard as an easel) as you look straight ahead with #VisionPro. Squeeze, rotate, haptics, hover.

Another #aurora photo from Newton, MA USA iPhone 15 Pro handheld. Amazing how sharp the stars are.

Cold Spring Park, Newton, MA USA 10:44pm iPhone 15 Pro.

Note: For those who don't know my full background, I co-founded a company called Slate in the early 1990's that made apps for early "pen computers". I even hold some patents for our work on a spreadsheet with special gestures and handwriting recognition. On the iPad, I personally wrote one of the very early notetaking apps (NoteTakerHD).

Reading some comments, I think I wasn't clear enough about the role of the iPad. I was assuming the pen would normally manipulate things you see elsewhere, not under it. Like a mouse. The iPad could add context, but especially to add electronics and computing power to interact with the pen, and an appropriate surface on which to move the pen.

@helge Yes, I don't think a great OLED display is needed. Yes, like the Mac. I was thinking more of having the thing you are manipulating being not below the pen but elsewhere. Like a mouse on the desk and the screen vertical in front of you. I guess I wasn't clear enough.

@helge I wasn't thinking of the iPad just for an image. Yes, the AvP can do that, and probably would to some extent. Their pencil, though, is tuned to writing on their screen and may need some electronics and processing there. (AI for good tracking?)

@kaplag Just on a plain surface could be interesting. I think the iPad helps with precise positioning (more than 150 dpi at 100 or more samples per second helps for a pen as I recall from my pen-computing days), charging, more computation, and an image under your hand. Not sure what support the pencil requires of the surface under it. (Remember the Wacom, etc., from the 1990's and later - it's been a long time since I was last in the precise pen world.) This is not gross motions but rather light feathering or more. Of course, Apple doesn't always seem that concerned with cost of a pro accessory.

@Gte Guy: Take a look at what I wrote about having the new Apple Pencil (with an iPad) for use with Apple VisionPro.

Thoughts after Apple iPad event with implications for #VisionPro: Today, Apple positioned iPad and VisionPro for professional use, including movie production and sound editing (e.g., FinalCut & Logic Pro on the iPad), and training (VisionPro). They also updated the Apple Pencil. Here's an exciting idea:

An issue to some with Vision Pro has been the lack of strong integration of hand controllers, especially compared to more gaming-centric headsets. For serious use of VisionPro's initial major pro app, Excel, I think it helps to use a physical keyboard and trackpad, which it does support. But that's not rich enough for many more advanced uses.

I think in the not-too-distant future we’ll see the iPad integrated with VisionPro like the Mac started, if not more so. You’ll use an iPad, perhaps with a Magic Keyboard, and the new Apple Pencil Pro for professional-level control. Having both a pencil, with squeeze, twirl, haptic-feedback, hover, etc., along with the current full-motion hand and arm movement in 3D-space, gives you the start of a very rich and precise way of interacting with spatial computing. Moving on the hard iPad surface could be quite superior to waving something in the air or using a joystick. The Mac is not for using a pen, but the iPad is. I’m thinking long-term, not just the current headset. The videos they showed of their pro-apps on iPad, and the VisionPro update which included touting a film director using it to oversee the editing and visual effects for an upcoming film, hinted towards this convergence to me. I wonder if it's true.

@shanselman Thank you, Scott, for always making me think and learn! I had just been listening to your recent podcast with Kate Kalcevich about Innovation in Accessibility (https://hanselminutes.com/942/innovation-in-accessibility-with-fables-kate-kalcevich) when I came up with this framing about #Connections. The podcast included how one needs input from others to understand what helps make something accessible to them -- you can't always just imagine yourself.

@shanselman Scott: I've been thinking about your observation that the NYTimes #Connections puzzles can be "sometimes very not fun" because it's "competing" on opinion. I highly value your feelings about things so I was trying to figure out why I'm not as bothered. One thing I thought of was two approaches in software product development, both valuable. One is to figure out a way that works. Any solution is OK. For most under the hood stuff, that's good. In fact, "elegant" clever solutions are often highly valued and are fun. Alternatively, when building an app for others to use, the choice of affordances depends upon understanding those others who may think differently than you. Getting into someone else's head may be where the joy comes from even if it's a odds with your own feelings. Two different types of fun.