[UFO Chicago] Other meeting follow-ups (was The Curfew Tolls)

[Jesse Becker]

--- On Sun, 12/14/08, Brian Sobolak <brian at planetshwoop.com> wrote:

> This article had me wondering how recent advances in touch
> screen user
> interfaces might change computing.  It isn't
> necessarily new -- I remember
> using a touch-screen in the Downer's Grove library in
> 1982 -- but I think
> the iPhone is opening up minds to the possibility of
> something different
> from KVM tools.

You're right:  touch screens have been around for a long time.  However, they didn't fundamentally change how things worked.  The most common use (that I know of), has been on ATM/kiosk systems.  Most of those still use dedicated buttons, both for a numberpad, but also for choosing different choices displated on-screen.  The ATM I used less than 2 hours ago was a touch screen, except for whenever I had to enter numbers.

More important, I think, is the inclusion of accelerometers in various devices that will allow for different types of interaction.  Various applications for the iPhone and the Nintendo Wii (and others) really are changing interaction with computers in much more basic ways.  The game consoles especially, which do not have touch screens, are showing this.

Also, consider that in immersive environments (VR, metaverse, matrix, etc), the interface probably won't be a touch screen, but will be some sort of other interface.  More online the lines of gloves, some sort of hybrid device you hold in your hand(s), or a neural interface.


--
Jesse Becker
GPG-fingerprint:  BD00 7AA4 4483 AFCC 82D0  2720 0083 0931 9A2B 06A2