Have you ever been working away on your computer and wished there was a better way to interact with it? The mouse and keyboard are great and all but how about something more tactile or something three-dimensional? I often feel this way — I feel restrained, overwhelmed by the limited control over how my machine responds to me. Sometimes I feel like I’m watching a circus through a key hole. Think about it: all the lights, power, and excitement funnelled through these antiquated devices named after a small furry rodent and a musical instrument! How awkward!
As an example, think about the Chinese keyboard. It hurts my brain to even begin thinking about it. An article on Slate does a good job of conveying the complexity of using one of these keyboards. There’s the Pinyin method, the Wubi method, and in Taiwan there’s the Zhuwin method. But it also mentions that older people who aren’t comfortable with these input methods like using an electronic writing tablet to actually draw the characters. They are then understood by the computer just like the handwriting recognition software that PDAs use these days. Of all these options, this seems like the most natural way of interacting with a computer, but its slow input speed limits widespread adpotion.
So what is a good interface? Well as corny and far-fetched as it sounds, I have always thought that the interface that Tom Cruise uses in Minority Report would be a great way to deal with information overload. I honestly believe the human brain is capable of processing much more information than we think; it is figuring out how to organize and communicate that information that is tricky. This interface allows one to not only interact with the information actively but also be immersed in that information. Defense company Raytheon is actually developing something like this for the U.S. military.
How long will it take for a better user interface to gain widespread adoption? What will that interface be? A user interface connects a user to a machine, and combining the power of the human brain with the raw speed of these little boxes that sit on or beside our desks will unleash power that could previously only be imagined through TV and movies!
Update: Another step toward getting people immersed in user interfaces: a group of scientists involved with the AIST have created a device capable of displaying “real 3D images”. They say, “Most of the 3D displays reported until now draw pseudo-3D images on 2D planes by utilizing the human binocular disparity.” However, this is the first device that displays “dot arrays in space where there is nothing but air.” Check out the pictures in the article; the images are clearly primitive at this point, but think about the early Apple II monitors. Monitors have come a LONG way since that!
