Everyone has been waiting around to see what Apple was going to shock us with this time, and many have been pleasantly surprised by the MacBook Touch Bar. They actually compared it to the adaptive keys we seen Lenovo come out with a few years ago, although the company quickly threw the idea away after poor feedback.
Nearly all Apple fans haven't realized something similar to the Touch Bar was created nearly a couple of decades ago. It was also created by Microsoft, their biggest rival in the world. Adaptive hardware might become huge now, but it has been toyed with since the end of the last century.
Did Microsoft Influence Apple In Any Way?
Apple are meant to be the biggest innovators in the tech world. Not only have they proved it with computer software, but with phones and music devices too. But you can't deny a lot of the stuff you'll now find on a Touch Pad was once investigated at great length.
It might have been old school compared to the touchscreen interfaces we have today, but it's surely got to count. Steven Bathiche was in charge of the applied sciences department at the time when they explored how keyboards could change depending on what was on the screen.
Access To Less Options In The Past
We didn't have touchscreen interfaces like we do today, so do you have any idea what kinds of things Microsoft played around with in the hope for a breakthrough? Things like ancient touchscreens, keyboard buttons, and projectors were all taken into consideration.
In 2009, Microsoft finally finished their extensive research into the technology. Their final adaptive keyboard might look familiar to you because of the touch screen display sitting on top of the keys. Some will say there isn't much difference between the two, but will the Touch Pad fair any better?
Microsoft Ended Up Disregarding It
The only reason Microsoft wanted their innovative keyboard to become successful was because of their customers. They thought it would be capable of making the average keyboard user a lot more productive. After all, there isn't too many people with the ability to hit hundreds of different shortcuts in a session.
Unfortunately the adaptive keyboard was locked away never to be seen again. It was only a concept, so it would be impossible to guess what might have been. Does this mean Apple should be worried because it's not a prominent feature on keyboards today?
Why It Actually Never Came To Light
Once you dig a little deeper you realize Apple might be okay. The only reason Microsoft ditched it was because they only made software at the time. If you can remember when they did finally release their first computer it was a touchscreen, so the keyboard they spent so much research money on would have been useless.
It's also obvious there are a lot more options today because of the advancements in technology, so maybe Apple are onto a winner and only time will tell. It's still hard to accept they weren't heavily influenced by their bitter rival even though they'll never admit it.