Patent ID: 8125448

Claim:
In a computing environment, a system comprising: a pointing device configured for wearing on a user's hand, the pointing device being generally U-shaped, and having a first part that is configured to fit in a user's palm coupled to a second part that is configured to fit behind a user's knuckles, the pointing device comprising circuitry that senses hand movements, the circuitry including at least two gyroscopic sensors including a first sensor that senses pitch and a second sensor that senses yaw, a magnetometer configured to detect a direction that the pointing device is facing, a gesture detection mechanism configured to cause the circuitry to detect a gesture, output a first data corresponding to performing a first set of functions on a first device corresponding to the gesture when the pointing device is facing a first direction, and output a second data corresponding to performing a second set of functions on a second device corresponding to the gesture when the pointing device is facing a second direction, and a transmitter that transmits the first data and the second data corresponding to the gesture to a host computing device coupled to the pointing device; and an enable switch comprising a capacitive proximity sensor that is positioned on the first part of the pointing device that is configured to fit in the user's palm such that the enable switch is actuated while the user's hand is closed and a user's fingers are proximate to the capacitive proximity sensor and such that the enable switch is not actuated when the user's fingers are not proximate to the capacitive proximity sensor, and wherein the circuitry transmits the first data and the second data corresponding to the sensed hand movements only when the enable switch is actuated.