Writing without keyboard
Saturday, 17. May 2008, 10:23:57
On Thursday night, I had my first contact with a Mac. And it sure was memorable.
I wrote before that we were planning of buying a MacBook Pro notebook. It finally arived last week, and it was everything we expected, and more.
I'm a technology guy. I looked at it and knew instantly that it runsLinux Unix/FreeBSD/NetBSD (thanks for the correction) under the hood and that it's a powerful piece of hardware. But what leaves a long lasting impression is the looks and the usability. Hats off to you, Mr. Jobs!
There are many things to say about Apple computers and about the attention to detail shown by its engineers. But I will concentrate on one thing: the multi touch pad gestures. To me, this is one of the best usability innovations in the latest years.
If you don't know what it's about, take a look here.
Using this feature comes very natural and very handy. And it made me think of other possibilities.
If you read my blog, you probably know already that I like to read and that I like good SF litterature. It so happens that now I'm reading the prequel of the Dune series, and it brought me back to one of the most compelling imaginary universes that I know about. I couldn't help but link the idea of the multi touch gestures with the Bene Gesserit gesture language.
And then I thought: Why wouldn't we use hand gestures to write with the touchpad instead of the keyboard?
Now, I'm not an expert in languages or in other communication mediums (except maybe computer protocols). But with the advent of mobile devices, we should think of better ways of writing than keyboard. Keyboard is becoming obsolete, and mobile users need the same power as you and I have when we stay in front of our PCs or notebooks. And this is an effective way to get that power.
I would imagine that in the beginning such a language would have a gesture for each letter or sound. In time, gestures for commonly used words would appear and maybe even for short sentences. This could mean in theory that at some point this language may become an international language, understandable in all corners of the Earth - if you don't know the local language.
Would I learn such a thing? Probably. But I think that at first only young people will learn it. Therefore, it's a long term engagement. This could mean that, despite its usefulness, this idea may never come to life.
But if you're an expert in human communication or in human-computer interaction and you happen to get lost on the Internet and read this blog entry, start researching it and let me know what you get. I'm definitely interested
.
Personal advertisement: I am PassionIT and I help teams develop high quality software. I train, I help improving and I work hands-on, depending on the needs. Contact me if you need help. Alexandru Bolboaca-Diaconu
I wrote before that we were planning of buying a MacBook Pro notebook. It finally arived last week, and it was everything we expected, and more.
I'm a technology guy. I looked at it and knew instantly that it runs
There are many things to say about Apple computers and about the attention to detail shown by its engineers. But I will concentrate on one thing: the multi touch pad gestures. To me, this is one of the best usability innovations in the latest years.
If you don't know what it's about, take a look here.
Using this feature comes very natural and very handy. And it made me think of other possibilities.
If you read my blog, you probably know already that I like to read and that I like good SF litterature. It so happens that now I'm reading the prequel of the Dune series, and it brought me back to one of the most compelling imaginary universes that I know about. I couldn't help but link the idea of the multi touch gestures with the Bene Gesserit gesture language.
And then I thought: Why wouldn't we use hand gestures to write with the touchpad instead of the keyboard?
Now, I'm not an expert in languages or in other communication mediums (except maybe computer protocols). But with the advent of mobile devices, we should think of better ways of writing than keyboard. Keyboard is becoming obsolete, and mobile users need the same power as you and I have when we stay in front of our PCs or notebooks. And this is an effective way to get that power.
I would imagine that in the beginning such a language would have a gesture for each letter or sound. In time, gestures for commonly used words would appear and maybe even for short sentences. This could mean in theory that at some point this language may become an international language, understandable in all corners of the Earth - if you don't know the local language.
Would I learn such a thing? Probably. But I think that at first only young people will learn it. Therefore, it's a long term engagement. This could mean that, despite its usefulness, this idea may never come to life.
But if you're an expert in human communication or in human-computer interaction and you happen to get lost on the Internet and read this blog entry, start researching it and let me know what you get. I'm definitely interested
.Personal advertisement: I am PassionIT and I help teams develop high quality software. I train, I help improving and I work hands-on, depending on the needs. Contact me if you need help. Alexandru Bolboaca-Diaconu
