Our Verdict
personal computer Lord really tried to make touchscreen electronic computer a thing in recent class , but it ’s little surprisal why those efforts have largely break down . hunch over a keyboard pawing greasy paw all over the show does n’t exactly enliven a neat user experience .
The common people at eyeSight Technologies think there ’s a better elbow room withControlAir , a free Mac software equal to of contain media player software using nothing but an index fingerbreadth carry aside from the screen .
ControlAir superimpose on - screen playback buttons that can be controlled using a fingerbreadth held up to the built - in FaceTime HD camera .
Touch-free control
ControlAir enables tactual sensation - free , gesture - ground dominance over seven Mac media player apps include iTunes , Spotify , Rdio , QuickTime Player , and VLC . Running in the background , ControlAir hijacks the build up - in FaceTime HD tv camera , wait for users to raise their hand in the direction of the electron lens with a finger held upright , at which point a controller pops up on the cover .
On - screen push allow for introductory playback control ( play / break , premature or next rail , and intensity up / down ) but little else . Artist and cut names are displayed in the upper unexpended quoin next to an icon representing the practical program currently being controlled .
Curling a finger translates to activating a pick out on - filmdom button in ControlAir .
When apply between one and five fundament from the screen , exploiter can move their finger left or good ( and yes , any finger worked in our tests ) to foreground push button on the control bar , bend a finger’s breadth to make a selection or hold it to your lips in a “ shush ” motion to mute or unmute the sound .
It ’s a pretty straight trick , and with enough ambient light in the elbow room , ControlAir can be reasonably reactive . The biggest problem was getting the software to recognize a finger in the first place , which often required multiple attempts .
Give ‘em the finger
As impressive as the software might be , ControlAir work well on a mid-2012 15 - in Retina MacBook Pro in a brightly light way . This light limitation makes the software not dependable enough yet for daily manipulation .
In an medium or darker environment , the menu legal community icon displays a “ low frame pace ” erroneous belief , warning the computer software may have problem make out gesture — there ’s no remedy other than move to a advantageously - lit location . MacBook drug user holding the notebook on their lap will also want to carry their hand close to their face for best results .
ControlAir work best in brilliantly lit room , and will discourage about a “ humbled frame charge per unit ” even in average kindling scenario .
ControlAir only support built - in photographic camera , although it worked just exquisitely with the connected Thunderbolt Display take by default on our MacBook Pro . However , there ’s no way to manually switch between multiple television camera , and ControlAir completely ignores third - party enhancements like iGlasses , which could brighten up the paradigm and potentially improve gesture recognition .
The volume and mute option are unsatisfying — they really control at the system level , rather than the player software itself . This specify ControlAir ’s functionality on Macs with external audio hardware connected , at least until the developer provides verbatim volume command over the media instrumentalist .
ControlAir admit musical accompaniment for popular medium musician software such as Spotify , iTunes , and VLC .
Bottom line
ControlAir offers a coup d’oeil at the time to come of how users might someday interact with Macs , but in its current incarnation , the software is best viewed as proof of concept rather than a utility for casual use . The current controls are extremely basic , and wo n’t supersede the need for a black eye to skip between playlist or select specific tracks and album .
