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I can’t stand using trackpads on laptops. Unless I have no place to use it I always plug in a mouse. And using a touchscreen to position the cursor in a document will never be easy unless my fingers get as skinny as an anorexic model’s. And as much as I like to eat, that just ain’t happening. |
Say goodbye to the computer mouse
It’s nearly 40 years old but one leading research company says the days of the computer mouse are numbered.
A Gartner analyst predicts the demise of the computer mouse in the next three to five years.
Taking over will be so called gestural computer mechanisms like touch screens and facial recognition devices.
“The mouse works fine in the desktop environment but for home entertainment or working on a notebook it’s over,” declared analyst Steve Prentice.
He told BBC News that his prediction is driven by the efforts of consumer electronics firm which are making products with new interactive interfaces inspired by the world of gaming.
Steve Prentice is obviously on drugs.
A Gartner analyst predicting wackiness. There was a 70% probability this would happen. Please note that this puts him in the upper right quadrant. Mouse “Unadoption” has crossed the chasm from early adopter to mainstream acceptance.
Yes, and the Segway will revolutionize the human race….
I am with Uncle Dave on this one. Who wants finger prints on their screen anyway?
When we get accurate voice recognition (which will be two weeks after flying cars and cold fusion) then perhaps the mouse will curl up its tail. But not very soon.
Can this guy be fired in 3 to 5 years?
#4 Only after OS/2 becomes the standard operating system for business.
I don’t think the mouse is going anywhere soon. But if you ever used gestures on a Macbook (Pro) trackpad you would see alternatives may not be as bad as one would think.
Well, Apple was famous for the ONE-FINGERED MOUSE (the same as their mono-fingered Customer Service!!!), so I shudder to think what the ONE-FINGERED “gestural computer mechanism” might be !!!
Touch screens will never replace the mouse. It’s too tiring to constantly hold your arm out to touch the screen. Maybe when touch screens can sit in your lap so you don’t get fatigued they’ll replace a few mice.
# 9 hhopper
I 100% absolutely agree.
Idiot: “The computer mouse will be extinct within a few years.”
Computer user: “But the mouse is ubiquitous, it very easy to use, is cheap, and it simply works.
Idiot: “You’ll use touch screens.”
Computer user: “My new monitor does not act as a touch screen.”
Idiot: “Well, the monitor as you know it will also become extinct.”
Computer user: “Fine, let’s say I choose to replace my 20 dollar mouse with a 300 dollar touch screen monitor, but why would I want to constantly reach up and touch the screen when I can simply use my mouse to control the cursor while comfortably resting my hand on the desk?”
Idiot: “You don’t understand, there will be a whole new paradigm for monitors. They’ll be built into surfaces like the top of desks.”
Computer user: “So what you’re saying is that the computer desk, as we know it, will also become extinct?”
Idiot: “Oh certainly, you’re catching on.”
Computer User: “Let me get this straight, you want me to replace my current monitor and my computer desk, for a desk with a built-in monitor, probably costing about one grand, which will need to be replaced about every four years, the average life span for a monitor, because for some bizarre reason you think my 20 dollar mouse is too hard to use?”
Idiot: “Yeah, isn’t this exciting?!”
Sound of gun being loaded, sound of gun fire, sound of idiot dropping dead. End scene.
#9 – hhopper – Maybe when touch screens can sit in your lap…
Tablet PCs?
12.
You’re missing the point. With a mouse your hand just rests there while you read the screen. And best of all, your hand/mouse and eyes can work both independently and together.
But you cannot rest your hand on the touch screen monitor, even if it is in your lap, because then the screen is blocked. Basically, no matter where the touch screen is, you’ll have to move your hand to the screen and then back to a resting spot over and over and over again. It’s pure nonsense. Heck, this is the exact reason the Tablet PC is at best a niche device.
[Duplicate comment deleted. – ed.]
I don’t like gestures, I had a Asus laptop that came with them, like back/forward, you swipe your finger on pad and it does thing, like draw circle it reload pages, swipe forward, it goes forward, back so on. I also have a program on my PC and Tablet that let you use them. The problem is I can’t never remember what gestures does what!
#13 – SN – You’re missing the point.
I’m not missing any point. He was asking for touch screens that sit in your lap, and I showed him one.
…even if it is in your lap, because then the screen is blocked.
Then it’s perhaps time to lose some weight?! 😉
… no matter where the touch screen is, you’ll have to move your hand to the screen and then back to a resting spot over and over and over again.
What if the screen is on the wall? Big deal in lifting your fingers? I see a great use for a finger operated OS in organizing thoughts… e.g. when drawing up flowcharts, relational charts etc. I’ll probably not use it for programming. This technology has its place.
There’s a place for touchscreens but it’s not in home computers.
“Then it’s perhaps time to lose some weight?”
Once again, you don’t get it. If you are using your hand to move the cursor on the screen, then it necessarily follows that your hand is blocking the screen. With a mouse you can move the cursor and look at that exact location at the same time. You cannot do that when your hand is in the way.
“What if the screen is on the wall?”
You’re going to stand with your hands stretched out surfing the net? Typing a document in Word? Editing a picture in Photoshop?
“Big deal in lifting your fingers?”
What do you mean “your fingers”?! Your fingers are connected to your hand, which will also have to be moved.
“I’ll probably not use it for programming. This technology has its place.”
You just proved our entire point. Thanks! This technology will not kill off the mouse and at best it will fit some small niche market.
#17 – hhopper
So, you don’t think there will be any games that takes advantage of this?
640 KB should be enough for everyone. (I know… Billy never said that…)
#18 – SN – You’re going to stand with your hands stretched out surfing the net? Typing a document in Word? Editing a picture in Photoshop?
I’ve already given you the area where I’m going to use it…
If you are using your hand to move the cursor on the screen, then it necessarily follows that your hand is blocking the screen.
If you think that this is going to be used as a precision tool, you’re missing the whole point. It’s for a more natural and faster interaction.
What do you mean “your fingers”?! Your fingers are connected to your hand, which will also have to be moved.
Oh, goodness… spending calories… now, that’s terrible.
You just proved our entire point. Thanks! This technology will not kill off the mouse and at best it will fit some small niche market.
I never said that it would kill off the mouse. You’re getting all worked up for nothing.
I guess the “Idiot” is shilling for the M$ $urface Computer – at about 10 Grand per copy, I’ll keep my trackball !!!
They are replacing it with a gerbil.
i wanna mind meld with my computer…..
now excuse me while i go feel up the black rectagaloid on my desk……..
Touchscreens I imagine are fascinating and have thought about jumping aboard the second generation iPhone 3G for mobile internet connection ability. But I live in Florida and find finger oil production a problem in moist environments, so I continuously prefer wash to have clean hands when I use a keyboard or mouse. Quicker than maintenance of cleaning trackballs, etc. And after more than four decades of film photography, I’ve recently moved to digital and I’ll be darned, I have to wash my nose first to reduce the oil so as not to smudge the LCD display on the back of the camera.
Were I ever to get an iPhone, I’d have to keep a microfiber cloth (supposedly washing machine cleanable) to keep the oils from appearing on its screen. Or a chamois.
I hear Blackberry folks can type pretty fast on QWERTY using its tactile buttons. I’d be interested to see how fast typing is possible on the Apple touchscreen. ‘Cause I imagine my fingers would be blocking the keyboard. I’m a touch typist, so it would probably be a fairly simple adjustment to recognize the key placement.
As for the mouse, trackball devices have really spoiled me. Don’t plan to replace mine, yet I haven’t tried out the new 3-D mice yet (pull up/push down, tilt, twist), though. It’s got to work amazingly well with Maya and Mental Ray.
I use Wacom Cintiq tablets. They are great for their purpose. For everyday computing they are a pain in the ass. The mouse is the lowest physical energy requirement for an input device. The amount of effort required for gestures and screen touching will prevent them from ever replacing a mouse as an input device. Plus the precision for a mouse exceeds your nubs. Some people require that precision.
I saw an article last week about an interface that allowed for gestures on the back of PDA or other device. I would like to see that in action. It supposedly would use sensors on the back of the unit to track your touch and translate that to the screen for you to see what was happening. Sounded interesting but I don’t see it or anything else replacing the mouse any time soon. I have been wrong before though. If I can find the link I will post it.
Most computer GUI’s (and OS’s) were designed for keyboard and mouse/trackpad/eraserhead. Using gesture devices and touchscreens doesn’t usually work since the elements don’t map well.
Big changes would need to be made for those types of input devices to work well. For example, Apple needed a new UI toolkit for the iPhone. Similar work need to be done for Windows, Linux, Mac OSX, etc.
I’d like to know what the Gartner analyst was smoking. 3-5 years? Don’t think so.
As a general input device the mouse is hard to beat.
Touch Screens, very useful for for “some” things, not general use. Don’t get me talking about finger prints and oil on the screen. Maybe someone can invent the nanobot display. The nanobots eat the oil and dirt on the display surface. You will have to excuse me as I put my mad scientist hat on…
The only type of touch pad I would consider using is one that maps to the display screen. If I drag my finger to the upper left corner of the touch pad, the cursor is in the upper left corner.
I’ve used voice commands when running OS/2. It was useful for some things but not a general use solution.
My strong preference, and one that does not seem to be shared by many, is the venerable IBM TrackPoint. I bought several old IBM TrackPoint desktop keyboards to use with my computers. Really like being able to keep my hands on the keyboard. But I don’t work with graphics much and I don’t think the TP is as useful for that.
Right now and for the foreseeable future I think the wireless, optical mouse is about as good as it is going to get for general use.
Sure, I’ll be using the giant hand gesture screen while standing up all day, like Tom Cruise in “Minority Report.” As soon as I can find the $50K needed for this year’s model.
Track balls work better or did until the bloody scroll wheel came along.
This guy most likley was behind the fridge being hooked up to the net.So my fridge could crash.
I’d give hime 3 to one, on 100 buck bet.That this is a pipe dream.