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RSI, WIMPs and Pipes; What Next?
Tetard asks: "Long live the pipe! Since the `|' was invented by Doug McIlroy in 1973, has there ever been a more effective way of reusing tools and connecting data ? The mouse is a device of the Beatles era; Rather than try and provoke nostalgia in the older ones among us, I'm asking myself, as are others: when we don't try to reinvent the wheel, or at least improve it, why must we try and copy it every time ? Xerox PARC exposed us to WIMPs and we haven't done better: some innovation, some plastic surgery -- but no "paradigm shift" -- where's the
creative destruction that will take us further ? Graphical component programming is turning us into click-happy bonobos^H^H^Hchimpanzees, as we fail to find new ways to manage and connect richer data streams. My web designer friends are damaged for life because of mice, and yet we persist... Where do we go from here ? If we ever invent the graphical pipe, let if have keyboard shortcuts." Yes, you've probably seen a similar question to this run by Ask Slashdot before, but this time I'm wondering if maybe we need new input devices before the WIMP paradigm is replaced with something better. Might any of you have ideas on what form these input devices might take?
For those interested, here are the previous stories that have handled this type of question:
So what it will take to break us out of the WIMP box (or prison, depending on your bias), maybe new input devices would do it, but quite frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if a 3D interface might be another route (it would possibly spark interest in designing a new input device that would work better with 3D interfaces, or maybe data-gloves could serve this purpose?). Going on a limb, maybe this guy might just be the ticket.
Natural Language Processing has my vote. Some of these folks are working on it already. Wouldn't it be nice to say "move this thing over here", or some other combination of speech and gesturing, rather than all these inane menus and clicks? Someone still needs to develop the pipe infrastructure, tho. Just *don't* make it so narrow as to become worthless.
"What is the sound of one belly slapping?"
This is exactly the topic of the new Slash site that I just set up at http://nooface.net. The goal of the site is to promote out-of-the-box thinking about truly next-generation user interfaces that are designed for new types of users and computing devices, and go beyond the WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointing Device) method that most current interfaces are based on.
Nooface
In Search of the Post-PC Interface
Nooface
In Search of the Post-PC Interface
IBM has been working on eye-tracking movement. Supposedly it can tell what part of the screen your eyes are focused on. Would be cool for first person shooters, but for an OS I think moving a mouse is just as simple.
I saw this on TechTv, i think it was fresh gear, but I'm not sure, anyone have a link?
Maybe you just want to read Jef Raskin's "the humane interface"?
There are several programs out there that make use of graphical pipes - Maya, Eddie, Shake, grphedit (DirectShow graph editor) to name but a few.
The nice thing about graphical pipes is the ability to easily and transparently connect several forms of data to one node. With command line pipes, you've effectively only got one input and output.
What would be needed would be graphical terminal programs (built into the OS, or at least window manager) for connecting these things together, Oh, and a standardized way of defining input and output types - I dunno - would MIME work there?
I expect somebody can point us at a project that has already done this?
There's a curious assumption which I've seen repeatedly-- namely, that a paradigm shift in human/computer interaction would be a good thing. Why, exactly?
That's an excellent question. By Kuhn's model of paradigm shifts, the shift must be preceded by a number of anomalies in the current paradigm. In command-line interfaces, the anomalies were numerous -- the need for constant relearning of old habits, the need for memorization, the ease of making errors, the computer being in control of the human rather than the other way around, etc. Eventually social factors caused the anomalies to be recognized as such, so that when a new paradigm was created, its values were widely recognized. Perfect recipe for a Kuhnian shift.
What are the anomalies today which would force a change in the paradigm? Serious question, not rhetorical. For starters, I'd say Gelernter's new project is an attempt to rectify some anomalies which have not yet attained social recognition as anomalies.
Tim