4 ms·

No, doubting the magical usability of touch interfaces is still a very popular viewpoint, and until recently was conventional wisdom amongst almost anyone in th

No, doubting the magical usability of touch interfaces is still a very popular viewpoint, and until recently was conventional wisdom amongst almost anyone in the know. Touch interfaces actually do work pretty well though. Direct manipulation is just more engaging.

joebadmo 16y ago
I agree that direct manipulation is engaging and intuitive, but I think it has fundamental ergonomic issues when you're talking about doing any sort of long-term, serious work. When you get to screen sizes that we're all using now at work, a handheld device is no longer feasible, and a large touchscreen monitor is silly for the same reason that whizbang Minority Report/Kinect interfaces are silly: you arms get tired very quickly. This fantastic video comes to mind: http://10gui.com/video/ http://10gui.com/video/
- othermaciej 16y ago
  The context here is devices that are small and light enough to be reasonably handheld - i.e. tablets and phones. It's not yet clear to me if touchscreen will ever make sense for larger-screen devices, certainly you do not want to interact using touch with a vertical surface for any length of time. However, using an iPad for "long-term, serious work" is just fine. So I don't think you should equate large screens with serious work.
  - joebadmo 16y ago
    Yeah, I suppose it depends. I tend to feel cramped and annoyed at having to manage windows whenever I'm on anything smaller than 2 monitors < 19" or something equivalent. I think the 10GUI idea linked above is great because it's intuitive enough and still robust. The intuitiveness and engagement of the iPad is great, but I find it restrictive (the input bandwidth is limited by the direct manipulation paradigm). I think it's fantastic for people who have trouble understanding or don't particularly feel the need to spend time learning the intricacies of indirect manipulation, but I don't see that as a problem for my generation (cusp of X/Y) or subsequent ones.
  - xseoco 16y ago
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joebadmo 16y ago

I agree that direct manipulation is engaging and intuitive, but I think it has fundamental ergonomic issues when you're talking about doing any sort of long-term, serious work. When you get to screen sizes that we're all using now at work, a handheld device is no longer feasible, and a large touchscreen monitor is silly for the same reason that whizbang Minority Report/Kinect interfaces are silly: you arms get tired very quickly. This fantastic video comes to mind: http://10gui.com/video/ http://10gui.com/video/

othermaciej 16y ago
The context here is devices that are small and light enough to be reasonably handheld - i.e. tablets and phones. It's not yet clear to me if touchscreen will ever make sense for larger-screen devices, certainly you do not want to interact using touch with a vertical surface for any length of time. However, using an iPad for "long-term, serious work" is just fine. So I don't think you should equate large screens with serious work.
- joebadmo 16y ago
  Yeah, I suppose it depends. I tend to feel cramped and annoyed at having to manage windows whenever I'm on anything smaller than 2 monitors < 19" or something equivalent. I think the 10GUI idea linked above is great because it's intuitive enough and still robust. The intuitiveness and engagement of the iPad is great, but I find it restrictive (the input bandwidth is limited by the direct manipulation paradigm). I think it's fantastic for people who have trouble understanding or don't particularly feel the need to spend time learning the intricacies of indirect manipulation, but I don't see that as a problem for my generation (cusp of X/Y) or subsequent ones.
- xseoco 16y ago
  http://XSEO.CO http://XSEO.CO - You have a business and you are not familiar? Why not develop on the Internet? Want a website for your business? Want an online store? Want a presentation website for your company? WE HAVE THE SAME PRICE FOR ALL! id messenger: xseoco