????隨著我繼續(xù)測試這款設備，這種現(xiàn)象也越來越常見。然后我下載了一款叫“解剖青蛙”的應用，然后像《功夫小子》一樣用手上戳下戳，終于解剖了一只青蛙。然后我又花時間玩了一款叫Flocking的虛擬化游戲，一群虛擬的小魚會隨著你的手指移動。游戲看起來雖然不錯，但是很快就讓人覺得無聊了。然后我又下載了一個叫Exoplanet的應用，它可以讓你縮放一個虛擬的宇宙，我在觸摸點選星星上花了很多時間。（想象一下用一根濕面條戳中一個針尖的難度——它讓你不禁懷疑，上帝究竟是否也會花這么多時間關(guān)心地球上的瑣事。）另一款名叫Gravilux的應用的表現(xiàn)則和它在其它平臺（Android、iOS、Mac和PC）上的表現(xiàn)一樣好。這款應用的開發(fā)者斯科特?斯尼博也把另一款基于iOS的音樂應用OscilloScoop上傳到了Leap平臺上。這證明了比起其它因素，Leap Motion的問題可能更多在于軟件的執(zhí)行上。

????雖然Leap Motion上的游戲給人的印象不深，但是不能否認，這種娛樂方式的確在新興科技中扮演了一個非常重要的角色。就像上世紀八九十年代的電腦玩家進化成了2000年以來科技爆炸時代的電腦人才，以及社交媒體一代的年輕人進化成了今天擅于利用資訊的勞動者一樣，像Leap Motion體感控制器這樣的產(chǎn)品也有潛力孕育一批“手勢極客”

????雖然Leap Motion還不像微軟的Kinect體感設備那樣強大（當然也沒有那么貴），但是Leap Motion的確能探測到用戶的任何活動，甚至靈敏得有點過頭。如果我把手指伸出來，它經(jīng)常也會同時感應到我的大拇指。如果我戴著我的Nike+腕帶的話，它會認為這個腕帶的閃閃發(fā)光的金屬扣是我的另一根神秘的手指。還有就是作為一個Mac用戶，我非常羨慕Windows8的界面，我甚至想把Leap Motion當成一個無須接觸的觸摸屏，用來操縱我的蘋果電腦。當然，前提是我能調(diào)整一下它那過于靈敏的傳感器。

????為了用Leap Motion來控制Mac操作系統(tǒng)，Airspace商城還專門提供了兩款應用，一款叫Touchless for Mac（這款應用也有一個PC版），另一款叫（Better Touch Tool），兩款應用都是免費的。Touchless是由leap Motion公司推出的，后者則是由德國獨立編程師安德里斯?海根伯格開發(fā)的。Touchless包含兩個區(qū)域，一個是用來“懸?！保ɑ蛞苿庸鈽耍┑?，另一個是用來“觸摸”（或點擊鼠標）的。使用這款應用雖然很精確，但是有些尷尬，感覺就好像是在戴著一雙磁性的手套使用iPhone一樣。當然你可以那么做，但是它生來就不是為了這樣用的。Mac操作系統(tǒng)的按鈕實在太小了，用一根手指去按很費勁，更別說伸在空中的一根顫巍巍的、像香腸那么粗的胖手指了。我花了大約大半小時適應這個系統(tǒng)，最后給了這款軟件一個憤怒的中指（而它完全沒檢測出來），然后又用回了我最信賴的鼠標。

????Better Touch Tool的表現(xiàn)雖然稍好些，但仍然有很長的路要走。它可以讓某些手勢相當于鍵盤的快捷鍵（比如雙手合什就是關(guān)掉窗口、睡眠的意思）。我設計了一些我認為合理的動作，比如用三根手指向左劃動代表Safari的“返回”。但是等我真正使用的時候，我發(fā)誓這款設備根本沒理我。我再揮手、滑動，也一樣沒有識別。最后，我對它做了一個掐脖子的動作，不過我的電腦還是沉默地盯著我，真沒勁。

????所以，我決定暫時跟Leap Motion說聲再見。希望下次我再把它插到電腦上的時候，它可以讓我對它翹起大拇指——說不定到時候，它已經(jīng)能明白這是什么意思了。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：樸成奎

????That experience became a familiar one as I continued testing the device. I downloaded Frog Dissection, and managed to somehow zip open a virtual reptile using "wax on, wax off" gestures à la Karate Kid. I fiddled with Flocking, a visualization app that looks great but bores quickly, with simulated fish swimming to bits of light controlled by my fingers. I pinched and zoomed through the virtual universe with Exoplanet but had a heck of a time touching the stars. (Imagine trying to poke a pin with a wet noodle -- it will make you reconsider any belief that God sticks his fingers in our tiny earthly concerns.). Meanwhile, another visualization app, Gravilux, worked as well as it does on other platforms (Android, iOS, Mac, and PC). Its developer, Scott Snibbe, also ported his iOS-based music app, OscilloScoop, to the Leap platform, proving perhaps that the controller's problems are more about software execution than anything else.

????While the Leap Motion's games are underwhelming, there's no denying that entertainment plays an important role in emerging technology. Just like computer gamers from the 1980s and 1990s evolved into the computer-savvy workforce at the 2000s tech boom, and the social media generation has matured into a crop of info-fueled workers today, forward-leaning products like the Leap Motion Controller have the potential to breed a future wave of dextrous, gesture hackers.

????And though it is nowhere near as powerful (or expensive) as Microsoft's (MSFT) Kinect sensor, the Leap Motion Controller did detect every movement -- to a fault. If I pointed my finger out, the device often detected my thumb, too. If I was wearing my Nike+ (NKE) Fuelband, it would think the bracelet's shiny metal clasp was another, mystery finger. Still, as an everyday Mac user, I am jealous of the Windows 8 touch interface, and I had hoped to use the Leap Motion as a smear-free touchscreen to drive my Apple (AAPL) computer -- if only I could adjust to its overactive sensors.

????To run the Mac operating system, Airspace offers two apps: Touchless for Mac (they have a PC equivalent, too) and Better Touch Tool. Both free programs, Touchless was made by Leap Motion, while Better Touch Tool was developed by German indie coder Andreas Hegenberg. Touchless consists of two zones, one for "hovering" (or moving the cursor) and the other for "touching" (or clicking the mouse). Using it was precise but awkward, akin to trying to use an iPhone with magnetic gloves. Sure, you can do it, but it wasn't really meant to work like that. The Mac operating system's buttons were too small to be pressed with a finger, let alone a quivering, airborne ghost digit that's as fat as a hot dog. After about a half hour of trying to acclimate to the system, I finally gave the software the finger (totally undetected!) and went back to my trusty mouse.

????Better Touch Tool returned much improved results but still has a way to go. By turning actual gestures (bringing both hands together like a slow clap, for example) into keyboard shortcuts (close window, sleep, etc.) at last the Leap sprang to life. I programmed a slew of moves that made sense to me, such as three finger wag left as "back" in Safari, but when it came time to use them, I swear the device wasn't looking. Waving, I got nothing. Flicking, not a blip of recognition. Finally, I mimed choking the wretched thing, but my computer stared back, unamused.

????So, I've decided to wave goodbye to the Leap for now. Hopefully, the next time I plug it in, I can give it a thumbs up -- and maybe then, it will know exactly what I mean.