One Button Is One Too Many: Apple Applies for Patent on "Invisible" Controls

Steve Jobs has been on a quest to rid the world of buttons since the original Macintosh debuted sans numeric keypad. In later years, we've seen the G4 Cube (with its touch-sensitive power-on area, as opposed to a physical button), the Apple Pro Mouse (sometimes known as the zero-button mouse), and most recently the iPhone/iPad with their single button.

If you thought one button was as low as any practical device could go, you were wrong. Apple has filed a patent application, 20100103116, for a "Disappearing Button or slider."

It's an artistic vision that lends itself well to the conceptualisation of some really futuristic gadgets, but fine-tuning the practical function of such an interface could be a nightmare.

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