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Comment by mattiask | Hacker News Reader

Well, it wouldn't be a solid ball since it would have to be able to be squeezed so if dropped it atleast shouldn't roll away, and contrary to most smartphones it would actually be able to handle being dropped quite well. Rings/camera/gestures (minority report) in general are of course interesting but I think the downside of that approach is no tactile feedback

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That's true. What tactile feedback could a hackysack-size ball really give though besides perceived firmness?

If the finger rings were actually more like thimbles, could they impart some texture onto a finger tip? If you were brushing over a virtual surface, could they then give a sensation of texture? Raised on a page to denote a button, etc?

I really liked the OP's article, but found it frustrating stopping short of real suggestions and predictions - great opportunity to try to forecast where things could be in 10-15 years.

Well, the ball could in theory feel how much pressure you excert on it and where, and provide haptic feedback. In a super advanced scenarion perhaps the ball could provide feedback by varying it's firmness. Guess it depends on how advanced technology is how good the thimble solution could be, but it strikes me easier to manipulate a ball, which you could do even when it's in a suit pocket than to do gestures in the air. Some gestures might be doable though. I have a hard time coming up with a "Cursor" scenario for that solution though and tactility makes it so much more easy to control. Maybe if you used your fingers against a hard surface but that would limit it's flexibility.

Instead of thimbles, implants beneath the skin within fingers?

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