Slashdot Mirror
Balancing Use Between the Keyboard and Mouse?
initialE wonders: "A friend of mine, working for a bank, mentioned to me that she had just undergone training for the migration of applications from their legacy systems (think DOS-based interface, AS400 powered) to a snazzy new web application. Whereas the younger users were impressed by the bling it provided, the older users were less happy, and the reason provided was that the application lacked shortcut keys to doing their most common tasks. The newer staff were mighty pleased not to have to learn all those arcane commands, of course. This led me to consider a few things. I administer Windows-based systems, and more and more I am choosing to use whatever key-based interface is available - I don't even use the file explorer anymore, preferring to type 'WindowsKey+R', and typing in the file path (Windows helps with auto-complete). It's better for me to keep my hands on the keyboard and not touch the mouse. It's certainly not because my mouse is bad, I just don't want to release the focus on the keyboard. And it works - I get things done a lot faster than anyone else in my department. Have we placed too much emphasis on making GUI-based applications, and left behind what was a perfectly good way of doing things?"
I have to agree that we have placed too much emphasis on the GUI where a nice key command would suffice. On OS X, I can't survive without Quicksilver, which has been referred to as a GUI CLI, combining the best of both. It can also function as a sort of "glue app," interfacing between Terminal programs and GUI apps.
I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
bling makers themselves are so dazzled by their own creations they don't even bother to make keyboard accelerators for things like menus! I'm not even saying adding shortcut combos, just adding the underline on each menu item. Is it too much to ask? Apparently.
Yes.
"The command line is like writing a poem, while using a mouse is like pointing and grunting"
Er, something like that.
I like both, both have thier place.
Some times click click and being done with something is great, while other times having a command line to type EXACTLY what you want is a life saver.
To me, it's all about what you want to do.
Chat (irssi for irc and bitlbee) is command line if possible.
Web design (Dreamweaver MX 2004) is a good balance. Point, click, edit code, flex the geek and the mouse.
Graphic design (GIMP) is almost 100% mouse for me. GIMP and World of Warcraft are the reason I bought a trackball.
Pretty Pictures!
At work it is much easier to use keyboard shortcuts, because even though some of the software we use for writing reports don't allow even simple functions like cut and paste via a right-click, the keyboard shortcuts (i.e., CTRL-X and V) will work.
Of course, we also use software that won't allow word wrap over multiple lines. I think that cost extra.
"The first rule of intelligent tinkering is to save all the pieces." --Aldo Leopold (Paraphrased)
At least not the Windows Interface part. It is completely feasable to have a windows interface with lots of well defined key commands. Autohotkey is a good tool for this sort of thing, and the source is available for free as well.
Way back when the Mac as new (mid '80s), Apple tries this with a stopwatch. People reported they were faster with the shortcut keys, but when forced to move their hand to the mouse they got the job done in half the time.
Now be careful about reading this - this was for a very specific task. Each task varies. However the point is that you need to make an objective measure before you can say one is better - sometimes your perceptions lie.
Part of this depends on how much training is worth. Phone operators (who do the same job for years on end, apparently switching jobs is/was rare) find it worthwile to learn command that save them 1/10 of a second, even though they need an all day training course to learn it. That command is something they do all day though (I don't know what the task is/was), so it is worth the phone companies money in the long run to train operators to use the shortcuts.
One advantage of shortcuts is even when there is no significant advantage, it allows some people to feel more elite than others. This can stoke their ego, and make them hang onto a bad job just to show the youngsters how "real men" do it.
Remember though this is a computer. You should be automating any task that you do often. Control-R, type (with completion) a command is not as fast as a shortcut key that starts that command in one touch. It may or may not be faster than putting an icon for that application on the desktop or in the taskbar. Remember to use a stopwatch to time this, not your gut feeling.
Some things are just easier and faster when done by keyboard, especially if done repeatedly. When editing text I far prefer to use keystrokes. The mouse is handy for exploring menus, pointing at things and context-sensitive stuff but when you know what you need to do a keyboard shortcut is invaluable. I also hate the horrible clutter of icons it most apps these days, I know though that once you learn where they are that's a useful way of packing in functionality. I just think its gone too far.
>Have we placed too much emphasis on making GUI-based applications, and left behind
>what was a perfectly good way of doing things?
Yes.
Next question for the guru to answer?
This is a classic example of Easy to Use VS Easy to Learn.
Modern UI designers have an unfair bias towards designing for the new user. The emphasis is to make the new user get up to speed as painlessly as possible. In other words, the design of the inerface should cater for "Easy to Learn". This is a fundamental principle in modern user interface design.
Now. "Easy to Use" is not the same thing as "Easy to Learn". They are not necessarily orthongonal, but they tend to be. So while your new graphical application is easy to learn for the new user, the experienced power user finds it cumbersome to use. Note that a easy to use application can take a long time to master. For example, all the short cut keys in your old application requires effort and time to memorize.
The standard argument is that if the application is hard to learn, people won't buy it. Therefore, if we need to sacrifice ease of use, for the sake of ease of learning, so be it.
For applications that you are only going to uses a few times a month or less, like applications for home use, having a mouse based interface is okay.
For applications, like these bank teller application, where the uses will be using it as thier full time job, keyboard shortcuts are a must. They even make keyboard with extra keys design for heavy use.
The application developers who created it and the people at the bank who approved it should be fired.
Okay, if the users wanted keyboard shortcuts, why didn't the web developers include them? It's not as if HTML doesn't have support for this.
A properly constructed GUI application should be just as usable with the keyboard as older applications. Web applications throw up a couple of minor hurdles, but no real showstoppers. The question seems pointless because you can have the best of both worlds easily.
Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
This is where KDE shines: everything can be done by the keyboard. Qt makes it really easy to use keyboard bindings, so its required to be able to do almost anything with a keyboard.
In the konqueror 3.5 branch pressing ctrl gives a shortcut to all the links on the page, so you can do total browsing without a mouse--very useful.
For things like that, KDE tends to be alot better than Windows.
DYWYPI?
Certainly does help, we have telemarketers who use an autodialler connected to a button on an intranet site. They click the button, it routes the phone call to their workstation immediately. Before the autodialler they had to manually punch in the numbers, three things to swap between, phone-keyboard-mouse. After installing the auto-dialler (fixing up all the mis-dials), I removed as much of the mouse keyboard swapping that I could using button shortcuts and field jumps so they were primarily keyboard users, which works pretty well. The data entry is fairly straight forward, tab, enter, lots of typing, alt+whatever. But when they are faced with having to scroll down the screen because the form is just a touch to long to display all at once, they head towards the scroll wheel on the mouse. We've considered purchasing keyboards with a mousewheel tacked onto the side and some kind of trackball (their desk real estate is fairly limited) but we've come to the conclusion that they're happy the way they are now and it works.
Then again, sometimes I find myself typing in word then trying to use CTRL+K combinations...
Task Mangler
Have we placed too much emphasis on making GUI-based applications, and left behind what was a perfectly good way of doing things?
YES. Next question?
Seriously, this is a classic example of a common problem in IT. The problem is called "not having a fucking clue". Instead of objectively determining what the best solution to a problem is, people just use whatever they know. All they know is web apps, so that's what they create.
For repetitive, screen-oriented tasks, where the interface is stable, and the user can be trained ahead of time, a simple text GUI with keyboard shortcuts is almost always more efficient and therefore cost-effective. Of course, you shouldn't assume this without objective measurements (use a stopwatch, as the poster above suggested), but in my experience it's true.
Haven't you ever seen a receptionist or a teller staring at her screen, moving her hands from the "mousing position" (one hand on the mouse, one on the keyboard) to the "keyboard position" (touch-typing position) and back again? She enters some data, uses the mouse to get to the next field or screen, goes back to entering data.. and it takes twice as long as it should.
Some of this is lack of training of course ("with our snazzy web-based interface, you DON'T NEED to train" .. yeah, what bullshit.. how about telling her about the Tab key for instance?).. but much of it is the stupid interface.
Not to mention that now instead of display and keyboard, employees now need display, keyboard, and MOUSE .. it gets gunked up, it falls off the desk, it breaks and needs to be replaced.
Some tasks are good for the mouse, but data entry, and/or paging through screens is not one of them. For that you just need a text UI (with appropriate use of color) and a reliable keyboard.
Usually the best thing to do is ask the experienced users who are already efficient on the old system: "what do you think of the new system"? Which I believe you did.. Of course, most companies don't seem to bother with that...
These things are beasts and very very very stable, reliable machines. Embrace the 400!
blah, blah, blah
I particularly like the alt-F4 keyboard shortcut in Windows.
You can walk up to the average Windows user, who is leaving his/her keyboard unguarded, and hit alt-F4 four or five times and every app and window is closed, and the machine is at the prompt to shut down.
What's particularly fun about this is the way the Windows user desperately clings to the mouse while it's happening.
resigned
Which is not to say that you don't have a good point. There's no good reason you can't dispense with a mouse if you choose to. But there is a bad reason: developers just don't bother. They don't want to go through the extra work of providing keyboard shortcuts for every function in their software. So all those GUI programs could be keyboard-friendly. But very few of them are.
It appeals to reviewers, who simply can't invest the time required to master a steep learning curve.
It appeals to the people evaluating your software package for purchase, because again, they aren't going to spend a month learning to use something if they aren't already sure they're going to purchase it.
Convincing people that it's worth spending time learning anything is a Very Hard sell indeed. Look at your average high school for proof.
In order to do that, you need some whizzbang testimonials from fanatical users who will swear blind that your software product changed their lives. Otherwise, you are stuck selling to scientists and engineers who live by the principal that the steeper the learning curve, the better the tool.
Ah, the age old debate between GUIs and CLIs.
This isn't anything new. People have been discussing this for a long time. It's pretty well known that GUIs are better for some tasks and CLIs are better for others. Rather than trying to proclaim that one is dead, people really should work on making them work better together.
Anyhow. Until people start making more advances in that arena, in the meantime, I've found that using a keyboard with an integrated TrackPoint works great. (You can find old IBM ones on eBay or get some from pckeyboards.com.) Any modern OS supports multiple input pointing devices, so if you need to do a lot of mousing but only a little bit of typing, you still can have a normal mouse available to you. If, however, you need to do a lot of typing but only a little bit of mousing, you can keep your fingers at your keyboard the whole time. It's the best of both worlds, and I think all keyboards should come like this.
Here's a complete solution for Windows:
Use AutoHotkey to make keyboard shortcuts to run programs and enter text.
Use AutoIt to simulate keyboard entries and mouse clicks and when you need complicated decision-making. Download AutoIt with the SciTE auto-completion IDE. The SciTE editor makes writing and testing AutoIt programs and compiling the finished results very easy.
Both these programs are very sophisticated, the best available, and FREE. AutoHotKey comes with source code. Both are programmable.
For example, I've written an AutoHotKey program that uses a shortcut to toggle between Windows shortcut keys and WordStar/Brief control-key editing commands. I like to avoid taking the time to touch the mouse.
AutoIt is great for automating installations of software.
Both allow programming your own GUIs.
Don't forget to contribute to these efforts.
My company uses SAP, which many here will be familiar with. The GUI we originally started out with required the use of the pull down file menu or a fast path to reach the desired function. In the versions released in the last 3-4 years however, they converted the file menu to a menu tree in the main body of the screen. The fast paths are still an option, but the file menu is not. To navigate the tree, it is quicker to use the mouse, but not as quick as I could call up the same function with the old pull down menu. There is a somewhat complicated way to switch back to the file menu option, but it's not really worth the effort anymore. And what advantage do we get with the new GUI? A favorites menu and a more graphics intense GUI. The Favorites menu was available in previous version, but few people knew how to get to it let alone set it up. I'm not even going to touch the Linux based client, all java.
But given the people I work with, you'd think their right hand was glued to the mouse and all but one finger bound into a fist while typing.
Freakin idiots!
Someone hates these cans.
I started using computers ca. 1978. Never had any problem with RSI until I got a mac, which meant using the mouse all the time. Then I started having bad pain in my mouse arm. I switched to editing using plain text-mode emacs (no mouse), and the RSI never came back. YMMV.
Find free books.
keyboardism
"Have we placed too much emphasis on making GUI-based applications, and left behind what was a perfectly good way of doing things?"
No. What we've left behind is the concept that specialized keystrokes are somehow only available in contrast to a kickass GUI. Designing a better GUI and maintaining its layout through multiple versions makes sure it's easier to train more people on an application. If you're only expecting or need 20 people to use an app, by all means - make them learn specialized keystrokes. If you want something on a mass-scale, don't waste people's time in pigeonholing their training.
Where's my GUI for vi, dammit?!
No, seriously. Using shortcuts or working on CLI is far superior to any mouse-driven GUI in my opinion. I just wish there was something even better.
Am I the only person that REALLY would not mind having a direct neural interface jack behind my ear or in my back? (See brain-computer interface on Wiki). I must dream about that at least once a month while typing or navigating. If there was a way for me to have direct comms between my brain and the computer it would be so sweet. I only have 2 worries. 1 is obsolete interfaces. All the old people will walk around with parralel or serial connectors, the middle-age people USB and the kids will have firewire. With the advances in technology most people will wait to see what the next big thing is. The second worry is worms/viruses etc when using my Windows laptop to check mail. I'd rather use my mouse for that.
"I used to have that really cool,funny sig
This may sound really out there, but I do not know. What I want is a CLI based GUI. I have searced the ncurses area and found nothing. I would really like a CLI interface that ran a GUI. Imagine one that is run by hitting a key combo to resize a window, move it around and/or close it. Multiple windows, a "toolbar", to 'key-click' on and (%*dream*%) interpreted X11 on the fly - run an X11 session with full GUI through a ssh connection - W/O running X11 locally. Upshot if this makes no sense - I would love to log into an ssh session and then pull up an ascii verion of KDE that needs no local anything other than ssh and a big screen
Sera
Slashdot, where armchair scientists get shouted down and armchair theologians get modded up.
http://www.meow.org.uk/stan/xserver/
I've noticed that I spend most of my time in Konsole/bash and Vim (CLI version). Vi had a really good keyboard interface for getting around quickly, and the hjkl method of moving around should be available in all programs if desired. Along with Vim, I'll be using less and man to read things, and thankfully those support the jk method of scrolling up and down.
When it comes to GUI apps, however, I mainly use Firefox, Thunderbird, Akregator, and amaroK. The two KDE applications are customisable with shortcut keys the same way all KDE applications usually are, and I know a bunch of the useful shortcuts with Firefox. Not only that, but mouse gestures are an absolute must in a GUI [web] browser, and AiO Gestures does that great.
The catch? I was born in the 80's; I didn't grow up with Unix (I started with Windows 3.1). Even with that, I still have found CLI programs to be a godsend.
'Yes, firefox is indeed greater than women. Can women block pops up for you? No. Can Firefox show you naked women? Yes.'
I'll stay away from GUI vs CLI when it comes to speed/ease of use etc, but here is one interesting point, I hadn't thought of before.
I did some consulting for a hotel chain, and I ended up talking to the front desk staff one night about their new very mouse-based GUI'ish reservation program. I had noticed that they spent a lot of time staring down at the screen and mousing, whereas at other hotels, the counter person would talk to the customer and make eye contact while only needing to briefly look at the screen.
The staff definately felt the emphasis on mousing had interfered with their ability to give good customer service and it wasn't just a learning curve - on a keyboard based system, they had eventually memorized enough keystrokes just from practise, that they didn't have to watch the screen all the time. But with a mouse you can *never* do that - a mouse *always* requires one hand and at least one eye.
imho
Seriously... Just use your feet to control mouse and never get your hand off from the keyboard. It works better with Macs with a single button.
Master Foo Discourses on the Graphical User Interface
One evening, Master Foo and Nubi attended a gathering of programmers who had met to learn from each other. One of the programmers asked Nubi to what school he and his master belonged. Upon being told they were followers of the Great Way of Unix, the programmer grew scornful.
"The command-line tools of Unix are crude and backward," he scoffed. "Modern, properly designed operating systems do everything through a graphical user interface."
Master Foo said nothing, but pointed at the moon. A nearby dog began to bark at the master's hand.
"I don't understand you!" said the programmer.
Master Foo remained silent, and pointed at an image of the Buddha. Then he pointed at a window.
"What are you trying to tell me?" asked the programmer.
Master Foo pointed at the programmer's head. Then he pointed at a rock.
"Why can't you make yourself clear?" demanded the programmer.
Master Foo frowned thoughtfully, tapped the programmer twice on the nose, and dropped him in a nearby trashcan.
As the programmer was attempting to extricate himself from the garbage, the dog wandered over and piddled on him.
At that moment, the programmer achieved enlightenment.
Courtesy of the Rootless Root
-- Nick "Hallo this is Beel Gates, und I pronounce weendows as
Long answer: GUI's have been overemphasized because for too long computers used CLI's and left the novice user an expert interface and nothing else. A really good GUI though will show the user keyboard shortcuts as they use the GUI more and more, especially for common functions. One way that seems to be dying off - which isn't good - is that many apps (usually Microsoft's) would have the keyboard shortcut for a command right in the menu. It did clutter the menu, but there ought to be still some way of making that association simply in software and having the software suggest it, at least for common functions. I come across so many menu commands now that absolutely require the mouse, and still others that look like they do, but really have a hidden shortcut programmed in with no way of knowing except to find it by accident. It's too bad.
I deal with this problem big time. Our organization replaced a DOS based Pension Fund accounting program with a Progress based Windows-looking GUI program. And it sucks enormously in usability. eg [and i found this stuff withion an hour of turning it on.
No alt+letter combos to access menus. well no identified ones. sometimes if you guess right one will work even if there are no underlines. But it may not work on the next screen witrh the same menu.
two drop down boxes on the same data entry screen where one uses the down arrow to drop the list and move down to select and the other uses the right arrow,
a data entry screen that uses tab or enter to move between input fields UNTIL you get to the second hidden field and you can only get to the next visible input field with the Tab.
a wizard where the focus in every new screen on the Back button and if you accidentally hit enter instead of tab [most buttons you actually have to use the Space bar to activate] it it goes back to the previous screen [but loses ALL data that has been input since the start of the wizard]
This isnt a CLI question. Its a piss poor design question.
Part of the problem is the "standard" configuration of most workstations. Many people use a mouse that requires you to move one of your hands back and forth between it and the keyboard. One of the first lessons I learned when I got my first laptop was how much more efficient you can be with a touchpad just below the space bar. With this configuration the "mouse" is practically part of the keyboard. I've taken to purchasing desktop keyboards with this same configuration.
-Pascal
There are a few considerations here:
1. How many shortcuts would need to be remembered to work efficiently.
2. How long will an average user stay at this job before moving on.
3. How smart is the typical user.
4. Should the interface be localized/internationalized?
5. How much will an average user use the interface in an average week?
6. Can every feature in the interface have a reasonable keyboard shortcut?
There's probably a lot more.
Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
CLI is all very well if your doing something which you have done before, however for learning a new task a GUI is MUCH better. A typical GUI can display orders of magnitude more information that a terminal (or DOS) window. Additionaly a good GUI will organise the information spacially in order to group similar functions / option. With CLI all you have to rely on is cryptic man pages. Now I agree that for some tasks CLI is much more efficient than using a GUI but it does presume quite a lot of task specific knowledge which isnt always easy to find. Plus there are some things that you just plain cant do in a CLI, sound, photoediting, music, word processing, designing presentations, spreadsheeting the list goes on. In the end the CLI is essentially just a programing language and is suited to simple but repetitive tasks. Anything which requires more human decision than automatic repetition is going to be more efficient with a GUI and vice versa.
I have discovered a truly remarkable sig which this post is too small to contain.
The short answer: yes. EMACS users have known this forever: once you get through the learning curve --- I've been using EMACS for close to 25 years, I've begun to get it --- it's much more convenient to use C-X C-f twiddle tab key key tab than to have to open and browse and so forth. Spotlight on the Mac begins to make up for it; increasingly I'll just jump to the Spotlight window and type enough to identify a file, not even bother with the pathname.
I used to consult for Sabre; they've got an airline reservations application, one of the very first transactional on-line apps, still in use since God alone knows when. It's a bear to learn, but once you do learn it you can do amazing things. (Like pick one of various possible vegetarian meals, in a few keystrokes.)
But the application I was writing was a GUI front end for this very reservation system, for use by travel agents. it was too expensive to teach agents to use Sabre; they didn't want to do it, and they were going to other systems (and as a side effect, other airlines) because they didn't want to develop and maintain the skills with the arccame application. Unlike the original Sabre operators, they weren't coding tickets eight hours a day, but just using the system occasionally.
Windows, and other point-and-click interfaces are marvelous for occasional users; mouse interfaces are good for some kinds of manipulation --- grab and drag --- but less so for others, like drawing. But the insistance on having a GUI for all applications is just a mistake.
I build GUIs at work to replace/front-end the mainframe apps we use. They _all_ have short-cut keys out the wazoo, because they increase speed. So you can_ use the mouse to move from place to place, but if you want to learn the speedier way, it's there for you.
My Journal
I don't know what else to say other than "Duh"
Isn't there some way you can incorporate short-cut keys into a web page to reintroduce the labor saving options? I know TAB works most of the time, but I suspect a lot of DHTML pages have paid no attention to the path your cursor takes when you TAB, but then textmessage fields are problematic.
Using the mouse is a pain. I contributes significantly to CTS in every work environment I've been in
... clicking in the xterm you want to type in
;)
-- Anonymous internet post I happen to have seen today but cannot now find fot the life of me.
I happen to agree with this... but then again I use vi/bash/totalcmd under windows.
With the exception of Games... of course.
From ticket agents to bank tellers, many are adopting slick UI and flat panel LCD's in place of large black and green CRT terminals with old legacy applications running on them.
The biggest mistake being made is to force those users to require using a mouse instead of preserving the quick key input from the previous software.
In many cases, a mouse just doesn't make sense to use. Often the area these terminals were original installed lack the space to place a mouse effectively, forcing employees to adopt comprimises to use the mouse ( I have seen one person use a square of cardboard on her lap because there was not "desktop" space for a mouse ).
Also, I have seen bank teller more slowely get access to data simply because they are trying to use a mouse to navigate, wheras they used to hit a few keys and type in your account number. Many people are now squinting and trying to find the right box to put the account number into.
While there are great advantages to having a rich UI for form input, such as the ability to handle multiple screens using tabs, or even be able to handle multiple customers at once (i.e. easily put the other customer's form on hold while you work with another), most software vendors making these solutions are underestimating the power of quick keyboard shortcuts, instead relying on often the built in Windows shortcuts for cutting and pasting or tabbing between controls.
Any form based legacy application should be replaced with a modern day GUI app that keeps the keyboard shortcuts intact, in fact, these apps SHOULD be developed WITHOUT mouse support, period. A few new keyboard shortcuts may be needed to switch between active on screen forms, but once in a form window, the keyboard should be used exclusively.
A small part of this is the fact you can't teach an old dog new tricks, some people are just adverse to change, and regardless of how much training or experience, they refuse to integrate the new methodology into their being. Thus they will always find using the new system cumbersome and frustrating. But a bigger part of this problem is that software vendors are quickly rolling out rich GUI appliations without one consideration for how the previous system worked.
A mouse works great on in a desktop office environment where your not required to quickly process customers. A mouse IS slow data input, period. Effectively figuring out keyboard shortcuts will increase your productivity greatly. The time it takes to pick up a mouse, move it, coordinate it with a GUI element, click on the mouse and move your hands back to the keyboard for data input is no where near as fast as the almost instinctive, muscle memory like sweep of fingers over a keyboard combo to do the same operation.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
The AskSlashdot question leads me to believe that the users are doing a lot of data entry. I have experienced similar feedback when migrating users from one system to a newer system with 'bling'.
The thing one has to look at is not the time to do one thing but one task. It is a big difference. A thing is copy this field to that field, a task is something like register this customer for our great new service.
Lets say you have some data entry drone that is reading from a piece of paper ( this happens very often ) and typing the data into the system. On the older style of systems ( green screen ) the users hands are always on the keyboard. On the newer windowed system your hands are alternating between on keyboard and on mouse. The more 'context' switching that goes on to complete one task. That is where all of the wasted time goes.
There are also little things that you learn when you watch people using their old systems. (A very good idea if you ever get the chance. Cute girls in the accounting dept...) Once you learn the buisness practices behind them you can make some very efficient input forms, that dont require a mouse to use.
"Any form based legacy application should be replaced with a modern day GUI app that keeps the keyboard shortcuts intact, in fact, these apps SHOULD be developed WITHOUT mouse support, period. A few new keyboard shortcuts may be needed to switch between active on screen forms, but once in a form window, the keyboard should be used exclusively."
Here's the way to do a complete and useful interface.* Unplug the mouse. Design your interface. Unplug the keyboard. Design your interface. When done you'll have a useful interface both for regular work, and when either device fails.
*As far as input's concerned, that is.
I've noticed the obsession with GUI in websites. A lot of menu-links are hyperlinked graphics, but they load so slowly for people who don't have high speed or a lower-end high speed. Also having most of a website in flash is very common now, but again, it takes a long time to load the whole flash file. People like this need to learn that it isn't always about looks, but about accessibility and speed of service.
Apple latter admitted they chose a task that was specifically easier with a mouse.
I can't recall exactly, but I think it was replace a sentence in a document, where it starts in the middle of one line and continues onto the next, but there is more after it. Most keyboard shortcuts do not work as well for the replacement.
Being able to start actions with shortcut keys in a GUI is completely different than just using a CLI. With a GUI you have the possibility to access commands either with the keyboard or with the mouse or a stick. And you probably also have all the other good features of GUI (help, i18n, etc). It all depends how the application is coded. To learn how to code applications with a good GUI, see http://wyoguide.sf.net/.
See http://wyoguide.sf.net/papers/Cross-platform.html
Any GUI that cannot be used with the keyboard alone is defective.
As is said, the mouse is not for everyone and everything. It's a tool for manipulating the GUI, but like any tool it CAN be overused AND it is encouraged to be overused. For example... how many people don't know and use the ALT-Tab key combo for switching between multiple open windows? I occasionally catch myself navigating my cursor to the taskbar either in Windows or KDE, but a quick flick of two buttons will usually be done faster than my mousing can find the right item. Same for closing an open application. I haven't clicked on an "X" since Windows 3.1, because I know it's a waste of time. How about tabbed browsing? Do you know the shortcuts to switch and close tabs? Trust me, using the mouse to select a link is terrific (imagine trying to do it without one), but switching tabs is so much easier and less distracting if you can just flick a couple buttons. Mice are great for clicking your way through a webpage, games, and for manipulating or selecting sections of text. They're not disposable, they have very little learning curve, and they ARE an improvement over the prexisting methods... but we overuse them for the most part. Now something I havent seen much of in this thread, and the reason I have posted, is what can be done to improve the situation. Well, for one, YES, a software designer should take into account predecessor software and make it easy for the old-hands to migrate over to the new system AND make it easy for the new-hands to get into it. In fact, they should go one step further and make it EASIER for BOTH groups AND the new machines should be ergonimical in the same old space unless you're willing to renovate the service counter at all locations. A simple touch screen eliminates the need for adding a mouse. The keyboard and screen should be as close together as possible (even ATTACHED). My ideal desktop interface would be an ergonomically-shaped keyboard with a 17" LCD touchscreen growing out of it at an adjustable angle. Note: I work in retail myself... our system is terrible. Over fifty keystrokes and at least a dozen clicks all over the screen before we can even BEGIN each sale.
If it's AS400 powered then it's probably not DOS based. I think the article submitter meant text-based (console-based, terminal emulator-based, 3270-based, but not DOS based!)
Okay, maybe I'm being pedantic - I just have this thing about everything non-gui being called DOS.
You make the mistake of thinking you can educate the fundamental stupidity out of people. You can't.
I'm partial to all things Unix'y, so I'm always at the command line and get plenty of work done.
But you've answered your own question:
The people in the department that don't take time to learn the tools at as deep a level as you have, aren't as productive.
The computer's just a tool. Figuring out how to do your work more efficiently is a personal challenge we all face.
Really astute folks in your department that see you going faster than they can who also have a personal interest in bettering themselves will ask you how you're doing it. Take the time to help them out.
+++OK ATH
Does anyone out there remember Lotus 123? Remember the version for Win3.1 where you could click "Menu" or press F2. Either presented a menu tree through which one could either point and click or press number(s). Everyone I knew used the numbers which had been quickly learned through repetitive use.
Now there is a system I would dearly love to have back for my productivity apps. And yes, I suppose the mouse is best for web browsers. But I still want my either/or menu tree back for productivity apps.
Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.
I can remember when I used to work doing data entry in Oracle forms - I couldn't stand using the mouse, I had to take advantage of every hotkey I could find, even built a lot of macros using Perfect Keyboard Pro to cut down on keystrokes even more. Most people were generally impressed with my ability to do almost everything without using a mouse, I even use alt to open menus. Mice really are quite awkward when you think about them, I wish more programs included hotkeys for every task and not just a minute few common ones.
OEÉæÁÄZÝÈA OEÉæé_CX
I clicked on a field in one program then clicked on a field in another and then I hit;
ctrl+C, alt+tab, ctrl+V, enter, alt+tab, down arrow,
ctrl+C, alt+tab, ctrl+V, enter, alt+tab, down arrow,
ctrl+C, alt+tab, ctrl+V, enter, alt+tab, down arrow,
ctrl+C, alt+tab, ctrl+V, enter, alt+tab, down arrow,
ctrl+C, alt+tab, ctrl+V, enter, alt+tab, down arrow,
ctrl+C, alt+tab, ctrl+V, enter, alt+tab, down arrow,
ctrl+C, alt+tab, ctrl+V, enter, alt+tab, down arrow,
ctrl+C, alt+tab, ctrl+V, enter, alt+tab, down arrow,
ctrl+C, alt+tab, ctrl+V, enter, alt+tab, down arrow,
in the time it took my co-worker to;
ctrl+C, find the mouse, move the mouse, ctrl+V, enter, find the mouse, move the mouse,
ctrl+C, find the mouse, move the mouse, ctrl+V, enter, find the mouse, move the mouse,
ctrl+C, find the mouse, move the mouse, ctrl+V, enter, find the mouse, move the mouse,
This is not what we do all day. Just part of a day once a year. But by the time I find the script I had to do this my boss is mad so I just do it by hand. LOL
I do miss the "eraser head" that was on my school owned thinkpad a few years back. I spent the last couple days feeding disks into an old compaq I found in the trash that was only missing drivers from a botched win2K install.
"He's a real midnight golfer"