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RE: Microsoft Surface, the new computers?
Something tells me RTS games are about to get interesting!
Turn my desk into an extra screen? Yes please. Control things with hand gestures? Yes please. But, it's not the way I would have done those two things. For example, as a control surface, it's too big, and requires too much hand movement. You can't sit back and use it, you've got to lean forward, which gets old very quickly. I like the tangible representation of the file system- dragging things straight into your phone, for example, it's a natural extension to the PARC trash can.
Don't get me wrong, I think they will take off, and it would be very handy to have for some tasks. But I think for many tasks, there are better interfaces.
I make most of my money drawing manufacturing machinery, which is obviously a very visual thing. While most of my contemporaries have tablets or use Gui controls, I find it's just much faster to use a keyboard for instructions and the mouse for selecting objects. It's much faster not to have to take your eyes off what you're working on to find the button you need, and then re-focus on your work. And I'm sure there are people who do other things who would have their life so improved by this interface, but having my hands all over a huge screen means they have to be far away from the keyboard, and that's a pain.
However, I'm hanging on for digital paper. Especially if digital paper can turn my handwriting straight into mathematical ligatures and equations that I can use and combine. Mmmm...
was put impeccably into words at DebianDay for me last Saturday, by Knut Yrvin of Trolltech - adults try something once, fail, and then are like "ffs this doesn't work". Children try, fail, and then try again, and succeed - maybe on the second, or even fifth retry. But the thing is that they keep at it and overcome the problems in the end.
-andrewdodd13 | 
