17. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of detecting at least one connected component comprises the step of detecting a plurality of touch connected components and at least one hover connected component to generally determine an orientation of the appendage of the user, so as to enable the gesture to be correctly recognized.
17. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of detecting at least one connected component comprises the step of detecting a plurality of touch connected components and at least one hover connected component to generally determine an orientation of the appendage of the user, so as to enable the gesture to be correctly recognized. 20. The method of claim 17 , further comprising the steps of: (a) analyzing temporal patterns of the plurality of touch connected components as the touch connected components change over time; (b) identifying groupings of multiple fingers that are in contact with the display surface; and (c) determining that the multiple fingers are coupled to a hand of a specific user, based upon the orientation of the connected components and their temporal patterns.