[LINK] more on interface design

[Jan Whitaker]

At 07:53 AM 24/01/2010, Ivan Trundle you wrote:
>It is pointing to (pardon the pun) a different understanding of how 
>a GUI works, using totally different controls. The upcoming Apple 
>tablet extends this further (apparently) in ways which involve a 
>different set of skills not required in any other GUI.

I think there are many other interfaces, like sound for instance, not 
to mention the extreme ones like brain embedded chips for 
motion-disabled people. Keep in mind, the term GUI came in as a 
comparison with command line: text and symbols requiring a keyboard 
to 'drive' the software. However, there were touch screens and 
rudimentary graphics in the Plato system, mostly used for educational 
applications. So touch has been around awhile, at least since the 
1970s. The other interface that went through a lull is haptic, but it 
seems to be making a comeback, too.

Seems to me we're moving into a new complex set of interfaces, and 
part of that is due to Wii, iPhone, and these new types of screens, 
be it 3mil LCDs or flexible e-paper or whatever the latest 3D types. 
This extension of options goes way beyond GUI, and may be where this 
'natural' UI is coming from. That TED program of the guy with the 
camera, projector, and 3D control with hands in space shows how 
things are changing and will probably change even more in exciting ways.

Jan



Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
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Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or 
sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

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