by John S. Krill
note: Although I wrote this article in 1999 nothing much has
changed. There's always hope.
 This will not be all that technical but
will be slightly cynical. A sense of humor is required. I
have worked with computers since 1974 and have found that
most of the insiders that control the way computers work
and the manner in which users are forced to interface
with computers to have little or no humor when it comes
to their work.
Back in the 70s Xerox invented the
graphical interface, Apple stole it from Xerox. Microsoft
stole the graphical interface from Apple. The primary
input devices at Xerox, Apple and Microsoft was, and
still is, the keyboard and the mouse. The keyboard and
mouse combined have probably cause more injuries than all
the wars of the 20th Century. Now we have very
high resolution monitors that strain the eyes and
increase the difficulty in using the mouse. How many
times have you seen someone almost collapse from the
strain of trying to hit the mark with the mouse pointer.
So in the past quarter century we have only increased the
physical difficulty.
Where are the input devices that will
reduce the physical and mental strain of using a
computer? Well there is voice input devices. Voice input
is still in development. Until you can communicate with
the operating system and any software application or
utility without spending days training the voice input
software these devices will not be commonly used. I think
we all find those cell phone users that have to make
calls in public places and talk in a load voice annoys us
all. Now visualize an office full of computer users
trying to issue commands, dictate a letter, or sending
e-mail using voice input. Or someone in-flight trying to
create a confidential report with passengers around them
intently listening in while they use voice input. I do
believe that voice input has a great future. For someone
that has to do a lot of input: writers, legal and medical
workers, etc, voice input should be considered. It will
not replace a mouse and keyboard only reduce there use.
Another input device that should be
considered is the pen. I personally use the Wacom pen and
tablet. It works well with high resolution monitors and
is easy to use. We have been writing all our lives and
the pen input device is used just like a pencil. There is
no strain, physical or mental, that is associated with
the mouse. One advantage of the pen is that you do not
have to put it down every time you need to do some typing
at the keyboard. Going back and forth between pen and
keyboard is easier than with a mouse. So what’s
keeping everyone from using one. Cost. The 4X5 pen tablet
from Wacom is $80 for the serial model and $90 for the
new USB model. Compare that to a mouse for as little as
$5. Also the mouse comes will ALL computers sold today,
so why bother getting another input device.
What about that graphical interface
that Xerox invented back in the 70s? Has it been
improved? Only by small incremental steps. Overlapping
widows, improved scrolling, floating menus. Context menus
in Windows 95 is not an improvement. They were an
original part of the Xerox interface. They weren’t
used by Microsoft until Windows 95. Heck, Microsoft
didn’t start using the OTHER mouse button until
Windows 95. Compare an original Mac with Windows 98. What
improvements do you see? 20+ years and still the same old
thing.
Many aspects of computing have changed:
faster computers, larger and better monitors, increased
sophistication of software applications, more complicated
operating systems (Windows 98, Windows NT,) etc. Lacking
is improved methods for users to interact with their
computers. I know research is ongoing in user interfaces
but nothing really new has been introduced since Apple
released the Lisa. We have the computing and graphical
power needed for improved graphical interfaces but maybe
the answer will come from an entire new direction.
We’ll just have wait and see.
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