In the Blink of an Eye
There has been a lot of discussion about new hyper-productive input devices since Tom Cruise wowed us all in ‘Minority Report’ in 2002 and since the unveiling of the iPod and ‘finger gestures.’ We now have display platforms from Microsoft and others that work with gestures and various ‘hand waving’ motions. But are they really that efficient?
Seems like a lot of work. The special effects in the movies make it appear to be easy and fun. MSNBC and other news channels use the new Microsoft display to move things around for news and it is impressive stuff. But what about actual information design? Seems that what they have done is allow you to use your hand instead of a mouse. That’s great, but not enough.
What we don’t see yet is true innovation in UI design. The graphics tablet made it easier for artists to input directly into a computer in a ‘art like’ way. But what about those of us who are artistically challenged? How can the common person be more productive with a man-machine interface.
When I want information from the internet or from my computer in general, I want it now. It goes back to an old adage I coined circa 1985 – ‘you can tell you really are in the information age when nothing but instantaneous response is acceptable.’ This means getting what you want in the blink of an eye. Instant gratification – is it too much to expect? Of course, hardware and software are key components in the performance game. But we have come a long way since 1985 and I am ready for the revolution!
They key to a successful input device is the ability of a human to control it accurately, quickly and intuitively. Awkward motions (golf swing) may yield success to some but simple motions (kicking a soccer ball) yield results for many more. Too many new products are over complicated. I don’t want a four-button mouse. I want to blink my eyes and have the computer know what I need. Is that too much to ask?
Here is a test I’d like you to participate in. Sit in front of your computer and start performing your regular duties. It doesn’t matter whether it is writing a blog, or playing a game or doing your work. Take a minute and think about what would make your life easier. Don’t put any physical limitations on your wants. Just dream. Then tell us here in comments. Maybe your idea will change the world.
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About Me
A long time advocate of advancing society through technology, these are my thoughts on the subject.
First, I don’t want to sit in front of the computer at all. I want to move. Not in a robotic and highly non-eficient fashion like Tom Cruise. I want to DANCE with my interface. 3D glasses or less cumbersome equivalent to give me visuals, but not the kind that will stress my eyes. No gloves or rings, want my hands free. Cursor, if necessary, should be controlled by eye movements and focus – don’t want to hit people while I’m walking down the street. No windows. 3D objects around me (head movements included), zoomable at the speed of thought, arranged in space to map their relationships and help me navigate without having to go through any lists, tree-views or click any buttons – I know it is there, because I left it there. Being able to connect them to the real-world objects (or even create them from real-world objects) would be nice, add my own data to them, take measures, mark relations, script them by voice, run queries and endlessly complex dynamic simulations with them etc would all be nice, but I’m afraid it’s maybe too much to ask
Now on second thought – drop the eye-control and cursor altogether. Replace it with thought-driven actions directly on objects, although we SHOULD be encouraged to use the body as much as possible without putting unnecessary strain on it.
If I’m about to play it, it doesn’t need to look like a piano anymore – if I’m into history or feeling nostalgic it could, but I want my fingers and arms BE the notes! They can have some 3D spatial guidance for the notes in scales chosen for the current composition, but I want to be able to smoothly go between them like on violin, change their timbre, assemble them into patterns, put a pattern on a rubber string and throw it to spin around me while I’m bending the pitch of another one, attach another it to the first one, tighten the rubber string or cut it and let it float away until it cannot be heard anymore. I also want all my custom real-time processing controls floating around me in a sphere for easier access, and it should also be able to guess, from my previous performances, where to put which one to exercise my least developed muscles in a way that won’t slow down my musical expression. Same goes for working with objects from physics or history.
We should be able to quickly sculpt 3D models with hands in some kind of easily manipulable virtual clay based on particles. If there is no other way to visualize, use polygons, but don’t make US think about the faces, vertices, textures etc – that’s what software should figure out. Sculpting and coloring is used mainly to give visual identity to ideas, so we can recognize them quickly from distance, or when they look tiny on a surface of other ideas, so we can zoom easily into them in a recursive manner. Goes without saying that these hierarchies mustn’t be fixed, but assembled depending on context. Spatial organization inside one context can be automatic by default and based on object’s relations to each other, BUT we need to be able to re-arrange the objects spatially inside one context while we’re thinking about it. If we change the context
(selected objects remain, others disappear and appear) and return to it, the arrangement isn’t lost. This is important because spatial organization is also an aid in navigation – we remember “there” by the way “there” is organized spatially (just like in the real world, but with advantage of the world being flexible), and it is therefore easy for us to remember where the specific object in that context is and access it as quickly as possible.
User interface should mimic the way our brain and inner world works – let’s not torture it with rectangular things overlapping on a 2D surface now that the technology has outgrown it.
We should be able to center on one idea and quickly change the contexts, and at the same time see it’s connections to other objects (in that context), to avoid not being able to see a wood because of the forest.
Since the “sculptures” are just mnemonics, the appearance of the underlying object could change automatically depending on these connections inside the current context. I know it’s a piano – if I’m thinking about where to put it in the room, all I need is dimensions, but that would be highly unlikely given THIS context
Sorry if this causes any technical problems, but you asked for it
I will NEVER be satisfied with anything less, and if you don’t do it fast, I might just give up computers soon and spend the rest of my life in an offline countryside…
Sorry for bad English and typos – I’m not very good at interacting with text interfaces. I believe they’re bad for our brains.
I have a friend with cerebral paralysis, who is a computer programmer in spite of all the difficulties he has using the keyboard – he can practically move just one hand, and use two fingers, not very accurately. He also should be able to do all the things mentioned above without having to use his body.
I’m not a musician, so it should be able to teach me how to play also
I’m not a musician, so it should be able to teach me how to play also