This post would be improved by adding a sentence explaining what ScrollPods are. I don't mean the technical details that you promise in an upcoming post, but rather anything whatsoever about what it's like to use them.
Fair comment. It’s a macOS app that lets you scroll hands-free with your Apple headphones (AirPods Gen 3+, AirPods Pro and AirPods Max) by gently nodding your head up or down. You can also set it up to scroll by moving your head right or left. I also strongly agree with your final comment, as I have a lot to share about what it’s like using ScrollPods day to day and the convenience that comes with this. Like sipping an iced coffee with right hand instead of scrolling or sitting 1 meter away from my desk to stretch my legs while reading a presentation. Thanks for reminding me and I will prioritise this in my next blog post.
> It’s a macOS app that lets you scroll hands-free with your Apple headphones (AirPods Gen 3+, AirPods Pro and AirPods Max) by gently nodding your head up or down.
Man, you write too damn much.
"Use your AirPods to scroll on macOS by head movement".
So what, this uses the gyroscope in AirPods (Why do headphones need a gyroscrope?) to turn head movements into scrolling?
Sounds like a terrible idea. Like...cool. I decided to move my head around to stretch my neck and now I've lost my position on the document I was reading.
Because of Spatial Audio.
Give it a try, you will be positively surprised. Especially on scrolling via turning your head horizontally. On the problem you described I implemented a gesture called pause. Meaning if your head exceeds the degrees you have specified it will pause ScrollPods automatically.
I don't own AirPods and never will. I file them under "They sound amazing if you've never listened to headphones that actually sound amazing". The same category as Beats by Dre.
And why would I ever want Spatial Audio? If I'm listening to music, I don't need to sound like it's coming from a specific direction. If I'm watching a video, it's already going to have stereo sound. I don't need it to change based on head movements. If I'm on a Zoom/Teams meeting, I know I can create positional audio, and moving my head to face the voice is just going to be weird.
The scroll wheel works. I don't need to replace it. If I want to free up that hand, I think the better solution is eye tracking from the web cam on top of my screen.
Head tracking is not precise enough from my experimentation. ScrollPods provides a scrolling experience on par to that of a trackpad/mouse in my opinion. Also give horizontal scrolling a try which is turning your head left and right to scroll down/up. The best way to describe it is surprisingly natural. Happy to hear any feedback whether it's constructive or positive.
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[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 20.3 ms ] threadMan, you write too damn much.
"Use your AirPods to scroll on macOS by head movement".
Sounds like a terrible idea. Like...cool. I decided to move my head around to stretch my neck and now I've lost my position on the document I was reading.
I'll keep my scroll wheel.
And why would I ever want Spatial Audio? If I'm listening to music, I don't need to sound like it's coming from a specific direction. If I'm watching a video, it's already going to have stereo sound. I don't need it to change based on head movements. If I'm on a Zoom/Teams meeting, I know I can create positional audio, and moving my head to face the voice is just going to be weird.
The scroll wheel works. I don't need to replace it. If I want to free up that hand, I think the better solution is eye tracking from the web cam on top of my screen.
Voluntarily moving the repetitive motion of scrolling from my hands to my neck felt the opposite of ergonomic.
Curious how this is different.