4 ms·

Will I still need to be sitting at a desk with a keyboard and mouse?

keldaris 9y ago
"Need" is a strong word, but you'll probably want to if you're trying to be productive. VR/AR won't replace the tactile feedback of a good keyboard, etc. Then again, as someone who can't even use current VR/AR offerings (high myopia, don't use contact lenses) and is only following all of this as a fairly disinterested spectactor, it looks to me like the initial craze is already blowing over and people are taking a better look at the disadvantages and limitations of the current products. I don't see VR/AR taking over monitors or much of anything else, though I'm sure AR will find productivity applications in specific fields soon enough.
- manquer 9y ago
  perhaps with gestures and voice input integrated into good software applications , the keyboard will altogether be eliminated..
  - jsjohnst 9y ago
    There isn't a voice input in existence that I'd be interested in using while writing code or doing photo/video editing. Even dictating code to another human who is as fluent as you are in the language of choice is a non-starter, so I don't see any machine based way of doing it catching up soon.
    - 15155 9y ago
      I can't speak as fast as I type, which makes any kind of dictation solution a non-starter.
      - jsjohnst 9y ago
        The only solutions I've seen that even "come close" in the speed / accuracy comparison are unfair comparisons. An example was posted by someone in another comment of a guy doing Python coding with Emacs using Dragon Dictation. In that example, the guy used over 2,000 custom "macros" to get to something close to his pre-RSI speeds. This sounds fantastic, but the speeds of a typer who has learned to leverage 2,000 custom macros would be an order of magnitude faster (imho) than someone dictating using similar macros.
        15155 9y ago
        This is the principle behind https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stenotype https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stenotype machines.
        jsjohnst 9y ago
        Exactly! There are also specialized keyboards for computers that have existed over the years that have had typists reach 300-400wpm, but they never caught on.
  - keldaris 9y ago
    Neither gestures nor voice input will ever eliminate keyboards for the simple reason that keyboards are vastly more efficient. No technological innovation can ever change that because the limitation is on the human side of things.
SideburnsOfDoom 9y ago
I for one much prefer a physical keyboard with a good tactile sense, preferably cherry brown switches. So I would keep that. Picture the same setup, just with the monitors removed. Maybe a white plastic sheet as backdrop for virtual screens.
- melling 9y ago
  You haven’t tried any futuristic solution, so how would you know that you’re not going to like it?
  - SideburnsOfDoom 9y ago
    Futuristic solution to keyboards? I've tried lots of keyboards. Probably going to try lots more, there are frequent times when you have to use the only keyboard that's there.
    - melling 9y ago
      yeah, I’m using the screen keyboard on my iPad right now. Actually, I just dictated most of this particular response. Once again, you haven’t used the futuristic solution so saying that you must use a keyboard seems a little premature. if you’re walking around with a pair of Google glasses, you don’t have a keyboard there.
      - JustSomeNobody 9y ago
        Saying and implying there's going to be a popular futuristic solution is premature as well. Keyboard has been around a LONG time. We're past the halfway point to the age of the Jetson's and we still have them.
        melling 9y ago
        Horses were around for thousands of years. Henry Ford said people would just wanted a faster horse. Most people lack imagination.
piaste 9y ago
Oh, we've got just the thing for that: http://i.imgur.com/LZr6ks4.jpg http://i.imgur.com/LZr6ks4.jpg
dsr_ 9y ago
No, but you'll want to be at a desk or a chair with a keyboard mount. Typing is always going to be more efficient for precision data input until we get to the third or fourth generation of direct brain interface... and nobody wants to be a beta tester for that.
- melling 9y ago
  Voice, eye tacking, and gesturing don’t offer possibilities? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0QNiZfSsPc0 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0QNiZfSsPc0 http://ergoemacs.org/emacs/using_voice_to_code.html http://ergoemacs.org/emacs/using_voice_to_code.html And yes, if you’re clicking away in a room of programmers, it won’t work for you, but with a Hololens I’ll find a quiet location.

"Need" is a strong word, but you'll probably want to if you're trying to be productive. VR/AR won't replace the tactile feedback of a good keyboard, etc. Then again, as someone who can't even use current VR/AR offerings (high myopia, don't use contact lenses) and is only following all of this as a fairly disinterested spectactor, it looks to me like the initial craze is already blowing over and people are taking a better look at the disadvantages and limitations of the current products. I don't see VR/AR taking over monitors or much of anything else, though I'm sure AR will find productivity applications in specific fields soon enough.

manquer 9y ago
perhaps with gestures and voice input integrated into good software applications , the keyboard will altogether be eliminated..
- jsjohnst 9y ago
  There isn't a voice input in existence that I'd be interested in using while writing code or doing photo/video editing. Even dictating code to another human who is as fluent as you are in the language of choice is a non-starter, so I don't see any machine based way of doing it catching up soon.
  - 15155 9y ago
    I can't speak as fast as I type, which makes any kind of dictation solution a non-starter.
    - jsjohnst 9y ago
      The only solutions I've seen that even "come close" in the speed / accuracy comparison are unfair comparisons. An example was posted by someone in another comment of a guy doing Python coding with Emacs using Dragon Dictation. In that example, the guy used over 2,000 custom "macros" to get to something close to his pre-RSI speeds. This sounds fantastic, but the speeds of a typer who has learned to leverage 2,000 custom macros would be an order of magnitude faster (imho) than someone dictating using similar macros.
      - 15155 9y ago
        This is the principle behind https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stenotype https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stenotype machines.
        jsjohnst 9y ago
        Exactly! There are also specialized keyboards for computers that have existed over the years that have had typists reach 300-400wpm, but they never caught on.
- keldaris 9y ago
  Neither gestures nor voice input will ever eliminate keyboards for the simple reason that keyboards are vastly more efficient. No technological innovation can ever change that because the limitation is on the human side of things.

SideburnsOfDoom 9y ago

I for one much prefer a physical keyboard with a good tactile sense, preferably cherry brown switches. So I would keep that. Picture the same setup, just with the monitors removed. Maybe a white plastic sheet as backdrop for virtual screens.

melling 9y ago
You haven’t tried any futuristic solution, so how would you know that you’re not going to like it?
- SideburnsOfDoom 9y ago
  Futuristic solution to keyboards? I've tried lots of keyboards. Probably going to try lots more, there are frequent times when you have to use the only keyboard that's there.
  - melling 9y ago
    yeah, I’m using the screen keyboard on my iPad right now. Actually, I just dictated most of this particular response. Once again, you haven’t used the futuristic solution so saying that you must use a keyboard seems a little premature. if you’re walking around with a pair of Google glasses, you don’t have a keyboard there.
    - JustSomeNobody 9y ago
      Saying and implying there's going to be a popular futuristic solution is premature as well. Keyboard has been around a LONG time. We're past the halfway point to the age of the Jetson's and we still have them.
      - melling 9y ago
        Horses were around for thousands of years. Henry Ford said people would just wanted a faster horse. Most people lack imagination.

piaste 9y ago

Oh, we've got just the thing for that: http://i.imgur.com/LZr6ks4.jpg http://i.imgur.com/LZr6ks4.jpg

dsr_ 9y ago

No, but you'll want to be at a desk or a chair with a keyboard mount. Typing is always going to be more efficient for precision data input until we get to the third or fourth generation of direct brain interface... and nobody wants to be a beta tester for that.

melling 9y ago
Voice, eye tacking, and gesturing don’t offer possibilities? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0QNiZfSsPc0 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0QNiZfSsPc0 http://ergoemacs.org/emacs/using_voice_to_code.html http://ergoemacs.org/emacs/using_voice_to_code.html And yes, if you’re clicking away in a room of programmers, it won’t work for you, but with a Hololens I’ll find a quiet location.