Finally a Message from FingerWorks

[daniel1113]

Hey guys,

The staff at FingerWorks has finally put up a message on their website. It reads:

FingerWorks has ceased operations as a business.

If you have a service or support issue:

* Service will continue to be provided to customers who are entitled to it under the terms of their original product warranty.


* For all service and support claims, please visit the customer support section of this website.


* Technical support FAQs and troubleshooting tips are available on this website.


FingerWorks products are no longer available for resale, and no further updates to software drivers will be developed.

Thanks to all the customers who bought and used FingerWorks products. We appreciate your patronage, and hope that you continue to enjoy your FingerWorks product.

Well, that's it.

[PD]

that IS it.It would be interesting to know if they sold their technology or if it's all over. I can't believe that such great technology would not be further developed....

Oh well...

[jono]

It would be a tragedy if an entire line of knowledge disappeared...

Question for law-types: If a company has intellectual property, but then it goes bust and doesn't sell it nor has any plans to (i.e. not in debt), is it forever lost, can it be aquired some other way, can it become public domain, etc?

I feel like some enterprising person on fingerfans could go ahead and make some magic -- or as an open-source project with a dedicated distributor...

Or hopefully someone just bought it and will do something with it

[jono]

I hope he would say something... I always got the impression these guys had passion... how could they disappear so easily and quietly.

Anyway, my friend had an idea to get more information.

Make a site that offers a similar product and wait to see who sues you.

[barbara]

I too would like some sort of explanation as to what happened. The technology is good (no question there), some say the products were pricey but I don't think that was prohibitive. Lots of things are pricey, the individual just makes a decision if they think the product is worth the price - and lots of us thought so

I would really like to know if Fingerworks' products are going to be left to die out, or whether some other company is going to take over and continue the product line.

How about it Wayne - a few lines to tell us why and any future prospects would go a long way.

[TorbenGB]

I think we have more chances to get an answer if our webmaster (i.e. Torben) would send an email as an acting emissary of the forum community...

Your ideas are good, and I think this should be followed through! I am in the middle of moving to a different country and looking for a new job (bye-bye IBM) so I have no concentration left for this at the moment. In a month yes, but not right now. Anyway, I'm just another guy here, I am not special compared to you all. Anybody could have hosted this community, I just happened to do it first...

So ... who will chase Wayne for us

[barbara]

I think if we want to know specific details, we need to ask concise questions.

From my earlier reply from Wayne, I get the impression that *they* aren't/can't speak about the details of the sale/takeover of the company.

Hence the vague answer I posted from Wayne under "Shedding Light on Fingerworks". He didn't say that there would be no more multi-touch technology. And what they had developed to date would have to be worth something.

However, if anyone wants to take up the task and ask Wayne specific questions, I am sure he will answer if he can.

My speculation is that the company has been bought out (probably by Apple) and that the products/technology are too good to just abandon.

You don't win product awards - for the new Winpad - see http://www.cesweb.org/attendees/awards/ ... ategory=47 and then a few months later abandon the company. My guess is that Apple will continue with the products Fingerworks started.

[Max]

You don't win product awards - for the new Winpad - see http://www.cesweb.org/attendees/awards/ ... ategory=47 and then a few months later abandon the company. My guess is that Apple will continue with the products Fingerworks started.

Does anyone know what innovations were introduced with the Winpad? The image on the cesweb site shows something that looks a bit different from the existing products (not that I am too familiar with anything other than the keyboards).

I wish someone could at least tell us who bought FingerWorks. I wonder if they are actually obilged to say and if so where that information might be found. I guess FingerWorks was a private company though, so perhaps it can be and will remain a secret, at least for now.

Max

[TorbenGB]

The image on the cesweb site shows something that looks a bit different from the existing products

Not really; doesn't it look rather like an iGesture Pad built into a stand with a gel wrist support? New shape, same content?

I wish someone could at least tell us who bought FingerWorks.

They're surely under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and those tend to be extremely tough so nobody in their right mind would disregard it. We'll know soon enough, I think: in a few months, that company will have bent the FW products into their own shape&color and make a big announcement and marketing campaign.

[The Juggler]

To be honest I'm not surprised that the current line of products died.

Their fatal flaw is switching cost. The price tag is only a small part of that... learning to use mine effectively took about a month. So the effective switching cost in terms of lost productivity is in the thousands of dollars.

Add to that the fact that the benefits aren't clear until you've switched... and the result is quite definitely a niche product, appealing only to hardcore geeks or serious RSI sufferers.

So... it's sad, but not surprising. I sincerely hope the technology continues to be developed, because it seems to me that it's a clear advance on earlier input methods. But I'm not sure quite how it can reach the mass markets. And until it does, the disadvantage in terms of manufacturing costs is huge... you're looking at runs of maybe thousands or tens of thousands compared to, well, normal keyboards must be produced by the hundred million.

They won't get widespread recognition until they're mass produced and cheap, and they won't get that without some major investment. But major investment is going to cater to the mass markets, not to geeks like me...

On the whole... who can say? Hopefully there will be other products along the lines of the TouchStream, but it's going to take some serious risk-taking to make them successful.

[jono]

I see LP as a solution for people suffering from RSI -- which is a tiny minority of computer users. And of course, only a subset of that group are willing to take the time and expense for a solution. The thing is... how can there not be a solution like this available for people who need this for their health!?

It's fantastic for programmers -- but doesn't it seem like there should be a way to get certain peripherals as you would a medication for an illness? Even at a loss in some respects, I'd hope it would be available in some fashion, even on limited runs.

My .02 ...

[kirasantucci]

I just got a reply on my service ticket. Has anyone seen what these people are calling "continued service"?

Dear FingerWorks Customer,

Thank you for your email.

Please take a moment to review the troubleshooting steps at www.fingerworks.com/
troubleshooting.html.

If you follow those troubleshooting steps and are still unable to resolve the problem, we would like
to obtain and keep the product, and in exchange, refund your money*. To proceed with this option,
please send us your name, address, product serial number and include the product's original invoice
as proof of purchase either as an electronic document attached to this email or by faxing to
512 697-8316. If you choose to fax the proof of purchase, please include the support ticket
number from the title of this email on your fax.

Once we have confirmed your proof of purchase, we will send you a Return Materials Authorization
number with shipping instructions so that you can return your product to us.

Regards,

FingerWorks

* - Refunds may be pro-rated based on warranty status.

Important note! FingerWorks has ceased operations as a business. If you have a service or support
issue, please note the following:

- Service will continue to be provided to customers who are entitled to it under the terms of their
original product warranty.

- For all service and support claims, please visit www.fingerworks.com/support.html.

- At www.fingerworks.com, you will find many useful technical resources, including User Guides and
Tutorials, read-only Discussion Forums, Downloads and Multitouch Utilities, Frequently Asked
Questions, and a Troubleshooting Guide.

FingerWorks products are no longer available for resale, and no further updates to software drivers
will be developed.

Thank you for buying and using FingerWorks products. We appreciate your patronage and hope that
you continue to enjoy your FingerWorks product.


Admin Support
support@fingerworks.com
=========================
FingerWorks Support Staff
http://www.fingerworks.com

They're not gonna fix anything, they're just offering to buy it back off of us at a fraction of the price! This is rediculous! If you're gonna offer to buy them back just say that and don't disguise it as "service"!! What a crock!

[Peter70]

that's really poor. what else can you say?

[Peter70]

as a relatively new user of TS I hope I don't encounter any problems for a while. What are the kind of problems you are experiencing and what seem to be the most common problems with these things? How can they say that they will continue to offer support and then do this?

[kirasantucci]

The left side going dead is the main issue. The ribbon between the two pieces was poorly designed. They were gonna change it when this happened. Never fold your keyboard, dispite what FW says. It will break the cable. If it does break, you can buy another one but it won't look as nice and its a bit of a pain to install, I'm told.

My issue isn't as easy. My left side works sporatically and might be due to small sudden movements from carrying it with me. I have no idea how I should even attempt to fix mine.

And yes, I agree with ivanw, I can think of a lot to say.