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Real-time Multi Touch with PubNub

2 min read Stephen Blum on May 11, 2011

This tutorial walks you through how to build real-time multi touch functionality with PubNub, enabling you to sync multi touch actions across any number of devices. Check out the live multi touch demo here (open in two browser windows), or check out the multi touch source code.

Use your fingers to transmit touch events to anyone. PubNub uses JavaScript Native Browser Touch events to capture your fingers’ position and transmit them in real-time. Try it out!

Real-time JavaScript Finger Attack!

We have a few iPads and iPhones to play with at PubNub. We used our hands to move around each other’s fingers in real time. “Don’t touch my fingers!” and “I attack you with my finger!” are a few phrases used during our tests.

Usage of Multi touch and Real-time

PubNub is changing the “closed web” into the “real-time web”. Right now the web is ready to be augmented with real-time. Amazing things will be built. A Real-time Craig’s List. What would that look like? We are not sure, though we know it will be built someday. A Real-time E-commerce will be built too. Who will build it first? Some one will and it may be you.

E-commerce today is like a grocery store at 3:00am, no one is around and the isles are empty. However, time-of-day on the internet doesn’t matter. There is always someone online. Someone is standing in the same tea + coffee aisle your in right now. But you can’t see them, yet.

Multi-Device Compatible

PubNub can live on any device. The device will have web rich capabilities and be connected to the internet. Such as iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, Symbian and the ordinary laptop and desktop computer.

Meaning of Real-time

Humans leave their ears open for incoming sound. When another human shouts, everyone hears the information instantly. Today the internet is like a human with shutter closed hearing. When a human shouts on the internet, no one hears this.

Communication is slammed against the internet’s shutter door and the information is squashed up. When a human visits a website or presses F5 (refresh), the shutter doors are opened with a downpour of information. PubNub removes the shutter doors on the internet. With PubNub you can build apps that stay open and clear. Information is allowed to flow. Today at PubNub, we have removed the shutter doors for multi-touch. There are more doors and shutters to break down. We are excited to see which one will be next.

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