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Imo, the idea that it would be great to type on a glass touch screen is Steve Jobs biggest and most long-lasting misstep. Overall I think it's interesting and

Imo, the idea that it would be great to type on a glass touch screen is Steve Jobs biggest and most long-lasting misstep. Overall I think it's interesting and bizarre that both modern technology and visions of the future have totally sacrificed tactility. It seemed to be all about removing the real world: tactile interfaces are old fashioned, in the future everything works in a way that has minimal connection to reality, e.g. a Minority Report style UI, and so obviously is ethereal and cannot be touched. It makes me wonder why we had that ideal in the first place, and whether that ideal shaped technology or vice versa. Why did we fantasise about losing tactility? Something I've also noticed is that we almost seem to be unable to imagine a programmable tactile interface, even in science fiction. I guess humans wanted "something extra/futuristic/other-worldly", and that meant having things be unlike anything else in the world, which as the author points out, means something without tactility.

xav0989 4y ago
IIRC, there was a US Navy ship whose stations had physical buttons, knobs, and switches that were software controlled, as in they mapped to different function depending on if the operator selected the weapons, or navigation, or radar, etc. functions. You still had the tactile interface, but you gained the flexibility of the dynamic interfaces. Not sure how well it performed though.
- picture 4y ago
  I think that's a pretty common design pattern for industrial/reliable applications. Multi Function Displays have been common in "glass-cockpit" aircraft for a long time. The F16 notably also feature master mode switches on the group of buttons below the HUD. It allows the operator to quickly switch between air to air, air to ground, dogfight modes, etc, bringing up relevant displays and controls at a moment's notice. I've heard that pilots consider F16 one of the best designed in terms of interface. Soft buttons are also pretty common for test and measurement equipment. I own many modern digital oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers, all of which feature physical buttons around the screen that are selected by software to do different things
- jakzurr 4y ago
  That's pretty interesting. Apparently touchscreen throttle and helm controls didn't work out, though, and were removed. I haven't read anything about this since 2019, but here's the link: https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/11/20800111/us-navy-uss-john-s-mccain-crash-ntsb-report-touchscreen-mechanical-controls https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/11/20800111/us-navy-uss-john...
mrbombastic 4y ago
IMO tactility was sacrificed in favor of versatility because we don't have a material that is both tactile and versatile and simulating such a thing is hard. And IMO it was a good tradeoff to make, instead of a tactile keyboard you have a keyboard that is infinitely adaptable. Maybe that changes with AR advances, could be gloves? embedded chips that send electrical impulses to your hands? an actual material versatile enough to be tactile and adapt to all the needs of a modern computing environment? But all those seem pretty far fetched to get into consumers hands in the near future and certainly back then. There are slight advances here with things like haptic engines in phones but it is still a far cry from the feel of a real tactile substance.

xav0989 4y ago

IIRC, there was a US Navy ship whose stations had physical buttons, knobs, and switches that were software controlled, as in they mapped to different function depending on if the operator selected the weapons, or navigation, or radar, etc. functions. You still had the tactile interface, but you gained the flexibility of the dynamic interfaces. Not sure how well it performed though.

picture 4y ago
I think that's a pretty common design pattern for industrial/reliable applications. Multi Function Displays have been common in "glass-cockpit" aircraft for a long time. The F16 notably also feature master mode switches on the group of buttons below the HUD. It allows the operator to quickly switch between air to air, air to ground, dogfight modes, etc, bringing up relevant displays and controls at a moment's notice. I've heard that pilots consider F16 one of the best designed in terms of interface. Soft buttons are also pretty common for test and measurement equipment. I own many modern digital oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers, all of which feature physical buttons around the screen that are selected by software to do different things
jakzurr 4y ago
That's pretty interesting. Apparently touchscreen throttle and helm controls didn't work out, though, and were removed. I haven't read anything about this since 2019, but here's the link: https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/11/20800111/us-navy-uss-john-s-mccain-crash-ntsb-report-touchscreen-mechanical-controls https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/11/20800111/us-navy-uss-john...

mrbombastic 4y ago

IMO tactility was sacrificed in favor of versatility because we don't have a material that is both tactile and versatile and simulating such a thing is hard. And IMO it was a good tradeoff to make, instead of a tactile keyboard you have a keyboard that is infinitely adaptable. Maybe that changes with AR advances, could be gloves? embedded chips that send electrical impulses to your hands? an actual material versatile enough to be tactile and adapt to all the needs of a modern computing environment? But all those seem pretty far fetched to get into consumers hands in the near future and certainly back then. There are slight advances here with things like haptic engines in phones but it is still a far cry from the feel of a real tactile substance.