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Microsoft Proposes Thumb-Driven Interfaces
bonch writes "Microsoft Research has demonstrated examples of two thumb-driven interfaces for handhelds proposed a few weeks ago. Today's devices require the use of two hands; Microsoft wants to reduce this to one. Usability tests showed, however, that some users had difficulty adjusting to the thumb movements. Full researcher's report here."
I don't have any thumbs.
Its one damn thing before another. (Dick Bird 1999)
It is of my opinion that these new technologies are being put forth by Microsoft to quite openly mock those without thumbs.
I see through your ruse, Microsoft! HA! WHAT NOW??
This sounds extremely familure to the already-on-market TDA (Tactile Digital assistant). Is this a Microsoft copycat?
It seems that microsoft is looking to have some kind of setup like apples iPod, but for a PDA. This might be a problem for some though, my thumb is gigantic so trying to make precision movements might be difficult.
I can handle both a trackpad and a trackpoint very well with one hand - a finger for the pointer and a finger or thumb for the button(s). Ive been doing this for years. How is this new?
Ever use a Palm (outside of the low end Zire models) in the last 2-3 years?
This must be for people who are all thumbs around technology.. now if only they could develop something for people with two right feet..
Starsucks
Today's devices require the use of two hands; Microsoft wants to reduce this to one.
Who says porn doesn't drive innovation in the computer industry?
I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.
Please hurry up and cut off Microsoft's OS and office revenue streams so they have to keep cutting back R&D by billions each quarter to just beat the earnings estimates and keep their sagging stock proped up while the execs sell,sell,sell...
and I don't have to read these stories anymore.
The one thumb interface is significantly better than the three finger salute.
It's not every day we get a 3x improvement in productivity!
I bet when they patent it it'll be broad enough that both the above are covered.
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
my gameboy has had one for years
It's my understanding from a friend who owns a DS that the best way to control Mario 64 and Metroid Prime Hunters is with a supplied thumbstrap.
Maybe MS were inspired by this?
I guess this won't help the generation who are growing up using their thumbs as fingers due to mobile phones.
It's good to see Microsoft being innovative towards something they had previously not been, It's always good to see original ideas going into practice, and new ways to operate products.
Business Voyeur
Usability tests showed, however, that some users had difficulty adjusting to the thumb movements.
So, usability tests showed a bit of a learning curve on a new, very different way of doing things?
Fancy that.
If they want something usable in one hand wouldn't a scrollball/joystick on the back be the way to go?
GETPKG - Package Management for Slackware
Well, whaddya know? Mircrothoft does thumbtimeth come up with good ideath.
(Spudley Strikes Again!)
MS R&D inspired by: http://www.dsavenue.com/images/stories/News/DSeuro ad.jpg
http://media.gigex.com/biz/images/articles/dstouch ad.jpg
Chimps counter sue.
Means my cat won't get on it and mess up my settings! Take that, lower species!
Evil sig is livE.
Ware wa manko wo kiwameshi mono
stuff their interfaces into their big fat backend (systems).
that was a seriously decent one handed pointer device. Yeah, yeah, I know you have to use fingers to with those, but come on, your fingers are there because you're holding onto it in the first place, you might as well use em.
A one button mouse???
despite the fact that none of this technology is ground breaking, it's nice to see new directions in interface design, I sure hope that the mouse doesn't end up being the best computer interface.
Those who know, do not speak. Those who speak, do not know. ~Lao Tzu
I can see this resulting in Microsoft applying for a patent on the use of thumbs to poke things with.
Linux/Open Source/Anti Microsoft News
AppLens.
Microsoft plays catch-up all the time. Perhaps now they're showing their respects? :P
user@host$ diff
how long until open source shamelessly clones it?
THE Microsoft Gameboy! Brewhahahaha...BREWHAHAHAHAHA!!!
My current job is building a program for a handheld device. Because the unit will be used outdoors while the users are wearing gloves in winter I also came up with the idea of really big buttons on screen.
.Net or mobile devices is to completely ignore the programming standards as recommended by mircrosoft.
The secret to writing easy to use applications for CE
Out main issue is finding hardware that is robust enough (IP67 should be tough enough, IP65 is not) with all the bells and wistles and most importantly they need a good keyboard for lots of data entry. The industry seems to be moving away from keyboard entry but if you're doing lots of data entry it is the only way to go. I've also found that units are failing tests that they are rated to survive easily.
At this point It's almost looking like having custom units built is the way to go
This must be Bill's response to the fact that even a monkey could hack into an unpatched Windows box. ;)
DEAD DEAD DEAD DELETE ME
Like making it easier to drive, while you read the paper, talk on your cell phone, and drink your coffee with ONE hand... have totally lost thier sense of priorities?
Some people believe 1-1=3 and for the sake of being politically correct, we should respect their differences
Don't many people already use one hand while surfing the net'?
Not really sure about the thumbsconcept but last time Microsoft tried to generate a trend in hardware it failed miserably. The TabletPC was supposed to be the future of Notebooks but apart from some niches it never really took off. They seem to propse a new trend every two years but apart from their mice (scrollwheel, optical mice) I haven't seen any real hardware innovation from them for quite some time.
... jog wheel on a Blackberry etc...
And here I thought Microsoft already had us by the thumbs.
Does is count when you use your thumb for hitchhiking when your Microsoft powered car breaks down?
Marc Siry || interactive media professional, motorcycle enthusiast ||
I never owned a video game console, so maybe it's just not enough practice. But I could never get used to the multidirectional thumb thingies on Playstation controllers. I think it has to do with something about how the thumb physically moves; when I thought "straight left", my thumb ended up pushing mostly left and somewhat forward. The same kinda goes with my TiVo remote, though I think they designed it a little better. It's got a 4-direction button, and even if you push forward a little bit you usually get left or right as you intended. Anyway, as long as they realize that the physical input device is just as important as the software, it's a worthy attempt.
Since the first two authors are from UMD, it's more correct to assume this is UMD project and not just a Microsoft one.
...and it is anticipated that the open-source community will make a counter-proposal, consisting of the middle finger, to Microsoft.
I guess Microsoft forgot about the folks afflicted with DeQuervain's Tenosynovitis.
They're a monopoly. All monopolies act sluggish when external competitive pressure is removed. Engineers never run a company, because they're not the owners. Nor do marketers. The board of directors runs the company, and it is the board that sides with the marketers over the engineers; for whatever reason.
This is why capitalist pigs like Bill Gates and Steve Balmer should have their private property claimed by the great ruling masses. Then we should cover them in plaster, make statues of them, and pout steaming hot grits all over their calcified bodies. Coders of the world UNITE!!!
It's bad enough that we have to dial phones and enter text messages with such a crappy interface. Going from two thumbs to one means that the devices are marginally cheaper - but it means that ALL of the work now happens with one thumb instead of two. It seems pretty likely that this will double the load on the thumb - making all sorts of repetitive strain problems more prevelant.
We should be looking at technologies that allow you to use MORE fingers - not LESS.
www.sjbaker.org
And I'm not kidding. I really prefer to use two hands rather than put additional strain on my thumbs.
Oh, this is on Brighthand. No wonder they think Microsoft is novel...
:-)
Seriously, though, there's a good one-thumb or nearly one-thumb interface out there now on the palmOne Treo 650. (Not from Microsoft, of course, so they don't acknowledge it.) It's not perfect, but the learning curve is very low. It supports both one-thumb and two-thumb interaction, or stylus interaction if you want. However, with the thumbboard and good software integration I was able to go a week with it without using the stylus in any of the included programs.
Sorry, MS, you're not being innovative. You're following palmOne. How sad is that.
--GrouchoMarx
Card-carrying member of the EFF, FSF, and ACLU. Are you?
I remember reading an article not too long ago that discussed problems people were having from extended use of their thumbs for things like text messaging, and gameboy-like appliances. The condition is now commonly referred to as "Nintendo Thumb". I guess Microsoft wants its share of this market as well.
These devices will be a world-wide distributed thumb.
Because, you see, Microsoft code is really nothing more than Earthly Vogon poetry, and Bill Gates is himself nothing more than a Vogon just trying to get home.
The PalmOne Treo 650 pda-phone is already very close to being a thumb-operated device. You can navigate almost everywhere and select almost anything using the 5-way navigational keypad, then there's the built-in hardware keyboard. I routinely use this device single-handedly, using only my thumb to navigate and enter text. It's actually pretty rare that I HAVE TO break out the stylus and tap something on the screen (usually my thumbnail is good enough). The bigest limit is the size of the keyboard is larger than the range of motion of my thumb, requiring slight shifting of the way I hold it in my hand as I'm using it, but I would not categorize that as a problem with the design as it's not something that is a nuisance to work with. Bottom line is, what is the innovation we're seeing from MS? We already HAVE this.
1.Netcraft confirms:In Soviet Russia all your base welcomes a beowolf cluster of CowboyNeal overlords. 2.? 3.Profit!!1!
Not having RTFA I don't know how MS wants people to use this, but if it's for all input, it won't be good.
I used to use a trackball, and I ruined my righthand thumb. I can just operate my cellphone, but even though I haven't used it today, I still have a slight pain in my thumb.
This is my sig. There are many like it but this one is mine. My sig is my best friend. It is my life.
After all, they've been spending years stuck in some sensitive places. What else could explain how little of value comes from redmond?
I started thinking about how cool it would be to just plug your thumb DRIVE into an interface and it would boot off of that. I was fairly dissapointed when I read further.
I still refuse to by a handheld until they start allowing me to plug my thumbdrive into it. I don't care about all the other crazy media formats, my thumbdrive is universal.
I've been using a thumbs only controller for years. Here's a picture...
b .jpg
http://www.gamestop.com/common/images/lbox/900168
The Microsoft bashing around here is utterly banal and trite...
With regard to the thumb interfaces, I've already noticed a trend among young teenagers who constantly text message each other with cell phones and whatnot that they use their thumbs much as us older types (20s +) use our index fingers. I've seen kids press buttons (on tvs, microwaves, whatever) and even point at things with their thumbs as naturally as I'd use my index finger.
Or, they could just wait until either eyetracking systems or that "nouse" system of using your nose as a mouse becomes practical for small devices.
Even better, if they can integrate a system that reads input from electrodes implanted in your brain...That'll solve a lot of problems for these small devices
In other news, Microsoft gives you your veri=y first UFIA
I want a new world. I think this one is broken.
as tongue-in-cheek as it is, it's quite true (though not exclusive to porn, more in internet media in general) . . . someone mod parent up! I evision 50% Insightful, 50% Funny.
I remember sigs. Oh, a simpler time!
Why don't they just cut to the chase and give us those cybernetic implants we were promised?
Apparently he didn't RTFA (which is ever-so-common on /.)
> This sounds extremely familure to the already-on-market TDA (Tactile Digital assistant). Is this a Microsoft copycat?
Hell, he didn't even read his own article he links to because THAT even says that Jackito thing is vaporware.
The first prototype of Microsoft's revolutionary thumb driven interface can be seen
here.
Maybe this interface is right for someone (corporate drones, perhaps, whose work lives are drowned in minutaie). But when devices or broadcasts make you shuffle through a maelstrom of information to learn or get something done, you're submitting to someone else's taste for disorder.
RE:thumb-driven interfaces also known as hitchhiking
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
Today's devices require the use of two hands; Microsoft wants to reduce this to one.
They call this an iPod, its worked with one thumb for years.
(\_/)
(O.o) This is Bunny. Add Bunny to your signature
(> <) to help him achieve world domination.
I was thinking more along the lines of the thumb driven tiny joysticks on my Garmin Etrex Vista GPS, my Nokia 9300 and my mother's Konica X31 camera.
I kinda like those, they're small, easy to control movement in 4 directions and can be pressed for enter. A pretty cool device for controlling menus with one thumb.
X.
Today's devices require the use of two hands; Microsoft wants to reduce this to one.
That could be very useful for handheld devices that connect to the internet... one-handed browsing is simply a must for some people.
Give a man fire, and you warm him for the night. Set a man on fire, and you warm him for the rest of his life.
i first read: "Microsoft Proposes Dumb-Driven Interfaces"...
but i think that's what wind0w$ is all about...
they wouldn't have an interface for the middle finger, no? I can think of good uses...
10 ?"Hello World" life was simple then
have been giving thumbs down to Microsoft for years.
...Dinah-Moe Humm
Now we can stop using everything and except a thumb on one hand, the other hand, and... Nevermind.
Seriously, we need more interface physical activity in this chair/couch potato land. Maybe some sort of Wushu interface where you have to move in three dimensions to make anything work. Combine with 3d goggles and you get to web surf and work out. No more cubicle-butt!
If my grammar and spelling are off, I am [distracted/tired/careless] (take your pick)
I've actually been using the 3 finger interface for some time now. It involves 2 on the left hand, and 1 on the right hand, and is usually preceded by lots of swearing and gnashing of teeth, followed by long trips to the breakroom as the machine recovers from the swift but all too frequent action.
But hey, if Microsoft wants to reduce this to 1 or 2 thumbs, so be it. Who am I to argue with the great minds from Redmond?
"To make a mistake is only human; to persist in a mistake is idiotic." Cicero
Here is some prior art, in case Microsoft moves to patent such a terrific idea....
"To make a mistake is only human; to persist in a mistake is idiotic." Cicero
theyshouldreleasesomethingforpeoplewithoutthumbs.
Imissusingthespacebar...
Assimilate THIS, microshaft (lower-casing/deprecation of ms' name intentional/perpetual with me):
Here's a beta-to-gold-release-candidate for you ms, and it doesn't even take 1 page of feasibility studies:
One thum in your mouth;
One thumb in your ass;
Now, when I say, "SWITCH!"...
(you know the rest...)
(Now, why don't you come up with a BETTER, ORIGINAL idea from your ass without copying from another product, and why don't you make up technology that that helps the thumbless, instead of embracing and destroying others' works?)
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
because they always have at least one thumb up their ass at any given time.
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
If prisoners can have internet connections, then so should the zoo.
I really need to evolve thumbs and stop eating bananas.
I won't use them use my thumb, but I've got another finger I'm willing to give them.
Its common knowledge that most Microsoft users already have one thumb up their ass. MS - mission accomplished.
I was hoping to be the first to give Microsoft the finger, but it wasn't a thumb...
"Today's devices require the use of two hands; Microsoft wants to reduce this to one. Usability tests showed, however, that some users had difficulty adjusting to the thumb movements"
Does anyone else find this amusing when compared to the Apple one button/two button mouse arguement?
As more and more people start to use mobile phones, its very possible that they become more familiar with interacting with computing devices via the thumb. I guess this is what microsoft is trying to tap into too. However, its interesting that people find it hard to adapt. If the study is done on already computer literate people, then is it any wonder people find it hard to adapt? Ever heard the saying, old dogs cant learn new tricks? I feel this study would be more valuable if done on thsoe people who rarely use computers but have access to mobile phones.
I think people may disregard this also as its just an MS thing. However how would people react if this came out of Apple?
Giving IE users a taste of their own medicine since 2005 - http://pods.-is-a-geek.net/
"Well, good luck finding a judge that doesn't run a bestiality site."
Microsoft Research
Usability tests showed, however, that some users had difficulty adjusting to the thumb movements.
Since when did having a horrible interface ever stop Microsoft from releasing a product?
They'll just throw a circus in their front yard, buy a Rolling Stones tune to prove that it's a quality product, and profit.
Well, I'm sure Ebert and Roeper will like this new interface.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
please, users, do not rebel against the life microsoft has chosen for us. they have already proved they know best for us. they are dominate leaders in all areas of computing for a reason. if we have to relocate parts of our hands (or any other body parts for that matter) to follow their plan for us, then i say pass the scalpel.
Power to the Penguin!
...of this. Unfortunately, those guys have probably patented some of the basic ideas. I worry that it may be very hard to build an open-source PDA that works that way. They seem to have some very cool, original ideas though. At least, I assume it's original for Jackito.
There has been a lot of university research done on UI's. The "app lens" looks a bit like Jef Raskin's Zoomable UI. It looks almost exactly like something I saw linked from a Slashdot article about 3 years ago that I can't place.
How would these look like with thumb drive devices for the handless?
> Today's devices require the use of two hands
Bullshit, I can operate my iPod mini with just my thumb (plus some other fingers curled around to keep from dropping it).
(BTW, I'm not a trolling Mac fanboy, it's the first piece of Apple equipment I have ever owned)