Do you think 20 to 30 years from now? Touchscreens will be ubiqituous? People will be typing on a e-paper (or cardboard) made to look like a keyboard, while Kinect is actually doing the inputting. Or even Kinect turning your arm to a mouse so you can Minority Report your desktop. Will Wiimote be a standard into pointing devices or input devices?

Though the keyboard and mouse has lasted 40 years as an unbeatable combo, it seems to me that the way we interact with the PC and other computers will change soon. The standard keyboard and mouse as we know it today will meet the same fate as the 8-track or PS/2 connector.

Your thoughts?

My thought is that waving my hands as an input method is just ridiculous. For how long you can do that without having pain in your shoulders?

Touchscreen: the same.

Cardboard keyboard? Worst thing for me. I tried that once: my keyboard was broken, so I took out the plastic things and tried to use it directly. I also drew the buttons onto it. I was unable to type without errors, it was very uncomfortable not to have actual buttons.

The others seem to be okay.

Okay, I'm a caveman by the way.

Am I the only one who thinks ethereal-looking holographic touch screens are a horrible idea and require the user to exert themselves WAY too much for extended use. The only thing they're good for is useless aesthetics, so I guess Apple will build them at one time or another (BOOM! Derailment! Defend yourselves, applettes!).

I maintain the mouse might become a ring-like or glove-like thing you can move around on the table top and the keyboard will eventually become a secondary form of input after voice - it'll never become obsolete until something radically new comes along. Eventually we'll all get chips in the brain, though and it will be shameless.

voice input is also very bad in an office environment. Ergonomic keyboards will rule for an very long time.

Eye tracking to replace the mouse?

Mind control.

In the future...

... computing chips will be implanted into your brain through your nose.

Resistance is futile!

The keyboard has been dieing for the last decade and a half, if not more. They're not going anywhere quickly because we have nothing on the horizon that can actually replace them.


The best we are going to do anytime in the near future is to advance the technology of keyboards, and even that is iffy for the most part. I don't really see QWERTY going out anytime soon, simply because it works well enough as it is, the vast majority of people who can type use it already and can't be bothered to learn a different style.


Why do I not want a touch screen?

1. My screens can somehow pick up enough finger prints and smudges as it is.
2. Moving something from the top right to the bottom left of a even just a 20 inch screen means I move my hand at least 20 inches. (Plus whatever it is to move my hand up to the corner, and then back to whatever my comfortable 'rest' position is.) With a good mouse I can move it maybe an inch or less. With a track ball I move my hand even less! (I really need to find a decent track ball sometime.)
3. Input is annoying as you lack proper tactile feedback.

Quote:

Original post by Silvermyst Eye tracking to replace the mouse?

No thanks. Just thinking about it gives me a headache.

Another thing: mouses and keyboards are hilariously cheap. And it's better to kick the shit out of them than hitting my touchscreen or my kids. Which are more expensive.

Quote:

Do you think 20 to 30 years from now? Touchscreens will be ubiqituous? People will be typing on a e-paper (or cardboard) made to look like a keyboard, while Kinect is actually doing the inputting. Or even Kinect turning your arm to a mouse so you can Minority Report your desktop. Will Wiimote be a standard into pointing devices or input devices?

First off, not having tactile response is a huge setback on most input methods outside the mouse, keyboard, and buttons. For instance, you can't blind-dial an iPhone. Since you can't at the moment feel the surface, you only have visual feedback if it is doing what you want. A keyboard has physical feel and so you can blind type and know when you hit the buttons. There has been some work on electric field grids to give touch screens some texture, but I don't think they are on the market yet.

Likewise, Kinect and WiiMotes don't have any response to tell you key information, like "is it level" or "physically where is center of the screen". This makes them really hard to use imho. You have to get used to the setup every time you play. This is mostly due to the fact that none of those systems use a calibration screen (anyone remember how all joystick games used to ask you to calibrate?). Without calibration, simple actions like pointing at something become hard. Your brain, instead of being able to just point, has to move the cursor using visual feedback

Secondly, I use a trackball to reduce wrist movement because normal mice inflame my carpal tunnel. All those high motion controllers seem like they'd also be stressful to use, especially for extended periods. Almost all the good ergonomic keyboards and mice are designed around removing axis of motion so repetitive actions have less strain on your hands and wrists.

While I think most this technology is "cool" I don't think any of it is "designed to be used". The touch screens are the closest to something I assume will be everywhere in 5-10 years.