4 ms·

"Is it really so hard to imagine a task for which gesturing is appropriate?" Yes. Can you think of some examples? I can't think of a single task I'd like to

"Is it really so hard to imagine a task for which gesturing is appropriate?" Yes. Can you think of some examples? I can't think of a single task I'd like to do on a desktop computer that wouldn't be easier and more-precise with a mouse. You know what's easier than pinch-zoom? A scroll-wheel. Multi-touch is great for phones/tablets, but this seems pretty silly to me as an interface for, y'know, computing.

Cushman 16y ago
So I'm sitting here typing on my laptop. To my right is a large monitor. Sometimes it's a little hard to type on the laptop while watching the monitor, so I have a second keyboard under it in case I need to do anything significant. I have a mouse between the two. Let's say I'm coding on the laptop, and I want to scroll the docs that are up on the monitor. Three things need to happen here: 1) focus on the docs, 2) scroll, and 3) focus back on my work. My goal of course is to do this as swiftly and effortlessly as possible. So, using the keyboard: I alt-tab from editor to browser, hit the space bar to scroll down, alt-tab back. Alt-tabbing is more of a hassle the more programs I have open. Additionally, the scrolling is either a lot (page down) or a little (down arrow); usually what I want is something in between. It could be made easier if I had a specific keystroke set up to switch to Chrome, or to scroll by x amount, but that's far from intuitive. Using the mouse: I move my hand down to the trackpad, or over to the mouse. Wiggle it around briefly to locate the cursor, then drag it across the screen to the second monitor. Use two-finger scrolling or the mouse wheel to scroll to where I want to. On OS X I blessedly don't have to click to focus scrolling, so I could start typing immediately, but to avoid confusion (and because I want to scroll my code) I need to drag the pointer back. This provides a much better scrolling experience, but the process of moving focus across monitors with a pointing device is a huge drag. Using a hypothetical desktop gesture reader: I lift my hand in front of the second monitor. This focuses on the window. I draw two fingers down (or up) to scroll. I drop my hand back to the keyboard and begin typing immediately. My elbow stays on the table, so it's quite comfortable. I have excellent granularity in scrolling— not as good as the mouse wheel, since I'm not actually touching the screen, but probably about as good as two finger scrolling. Most helpfully, the task of focusing on the browser and back is about as effortless and intuitive as it possibly could be without reading my mind.
IChrisI 16y ago
I browse the web a lot on my desktop, and I find myself missing my laptop's two-fingers-and-swipe-down scroll.
- ollysb 16y ago
  Perhaps you want one of these apple trackpads in your stocking http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC380LL/A?fnode=MTY1NDA1Mg&mco=MTg1ODE3MDE http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC380LL/A?fnode=MTY1NDA1Mg...
Tycho 16y ago
Use if for a screen on a wall in a public place, like a train station. Passengers can gesture to the viewport to see different timetables etc., but they can't actually get physically near the things and damage them. Basically: give the public access to expensive electronic interface while keeping well protected from physical contact.
bd 16y ago
"Yes. Can you think of some examples? I can't think of a single I'd like to do on a desktop computer that wouldn't be easier and more-precise with a mouse." Currently we have mostly just mouse+keyboard, so it's pretty much expected that majority of present applications would be optimized to work best with these inputs. Once we will have more expressive inputs, new types of applications will start to pop up. For example, I often work with 3d. For such applications, mouse + keyboard controls feel very clunky. Even simple tasks like setting up cameras or placing objects in the scene are pain. It would be much more natural to manipulate 3d objects using gestures in 3d space.

Cushman 16y ago

So I'm sitting here typing on my laptop. To my right is a large monitor. Sometimes it's a little hard to type on the laptop while watching the monitor, so I have a second keyboard under it in case I need to do anything significant. I have a mouse between the two. Let's say I'm coding on the laptop, and I want to scroll the docs that are up on the monitor. Three things need to happen here: 1) focus on the docs, 2) scroll, and 3) focus back on my work. My goal of course is to do this as swiftly and effortlessly as possible. So, using the keyboard: I alt-tab from editor to browser, hit the space bar to scroll down, alt-tab back. Alt-tabbing is more of a hassle the more programs I have open. Additionally, the scrolling is either a lot (page down) or a little (down arrow); usually what I want is something in between. It could be made easier if I had a specific keystroke set up to switch to Chrome, or to scroll by x amount, but that's far from intuitive. Using the mouse: I move my hand down to the trackpad, or over to the mouse. Wiggle it around briefly to locate the cursor, then drag it across the screen to the second monitor. Use two-finger scrolling or the mouse wheel to scroll to where I want to. On OS X I blessedly don't have to click to focus scrolling, so I could start typing immediately, but to avoid confusion (and because I want to scroll my code) I need to drag the pointer back. This provides a much better scrolling experience, but the process of moving focus across monitors with a pointing device is a huge drag. Using a hypothetical desktop gesture reader: I lift my hand in front of the second monitor. This focuses on the window. I draw two fingers down (or up) to scroll. I drop my hand back to the keyboard and begin typing immediately. My elbow stays on the table, so it's quite comfortable. I have excellent granularity in scrolling— not as good as the mouse wheel, since I'm not actually touching the screen, but probably about as good as two finger scrolling. Most helpfully, the task of focusing on the browser and back is about as effortless and intuitive as it possibly could be without reading my mind.

IChrisI 16y ago

I browse the web a lot on my desktop, and I find myself missing my laptop's two-fingers-and-swipe-down scroll.

ollysb 16y ago
Perhaps you want one of these apple trackpads in your stocking http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC380LL/A?fnode=MTY1NDA1Mg&mco=MTg1ODE3MDE http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC380LL/A?fnode=MTY1NDA1Mg...

Tycho 16y ago

Use if for a screen on a wall in a public place, like a train station. Passengers can gesture to the viewport to see different timetables etc., but they can't actually get physically near the things and damage them. Basically: give the public access to expensive electronic interface while keeping well protected from physical contact.

bd 16y ago

"Yes. Can you think of some examples? I can't think of a single I'd like to do on a desktop computer that wouldn't be easier and more-precise with a mouse." Currently we have mostly just mouse+keyboard, so it's pretty much expected that majority of present applications would be optimized to work best with these inputs. Once we will have more expressive inputs, new types of applications will start to pop up. For example, I often work with 3d. For such applications, mouse + keyboard controls feel very clunky. Even simple tasks like setting up cameras or placing objects in the scene are pain. It would be much more natural to manipulate 3d objects using gestures in 3d space.