In the recent years, we’ve seen leaps and bounds in terms of input technology. We’ve quickly accelerated beyond the basic keyboard and mouse into the realm of gestures and touch.
Gesture-based input and touch-based input have changed the landscape of interfacing with our devices. Kinect, one of the more popular forms of gesture-based input devices, has turned into a household name. Touchscreens infect most of our handheld devices these days, and most people don’t even notice touchscreen GPS devices in cars anymore.
Most laptop users, MacBook and PCs alike, have also taken to three-finger and two-finger gestures on their trackpads/touchpads. A recent article on Kotaku even swore by trackpads, calling it the next evolutionary step that could possibly replace keyboard and mice-based gaming.
It’s true that these new forms of input are wondrous improvements in technology. Sadly however, far too many people have taken the mice for granted and forgotten what made it such a breakthrough in itself when it was released. Far too many people have forgotten the special niche that’s insanely hard to replace.
Here’s what sets the faithful mice/mouse apart from gesture or touchpads.
In their current iterations (gestures and touchpads), mice have the most range of movement in exchange for the least of physical space required — and the boast the most numbers of simultaneous command inputs comparatively.
Simply put, a person can execute more commands with less effort using a mouse than they can with a touchpad.
There’s no question that touchpads have improved vastly to make left-clicking, dragging, right clicking, and various other commands really easily in the recent years. However, fingers have a limited range of movements on a touchpad. Comparatively, a mouse utilizes movements from both fingers and wrists to register commands.
By that logic, however, gesture- or movement-based input (Kinect, Mgestyk or similar technology) have the potential for far more simultaneous commands. And it’s arguably true, though the execution of such remains to be seen. Kinect, while accurate, still works only with very general gestures. It cannot be programmed to be too accurate, as human gestures vary greatly.
And in between, we have technology that aims to blend both. Technology such as the Wii’s controller or Sony’s PlayStation Move (and various other lesser known companies) aim to combine both controller input and gesture-based input to maximize immersion and simultaneous commands.
The problem we then face is the quick rate in which users tire. It’s far more practical to flick a wrist or finger to move between webpages or documents than it is to wave a hand.
We also have iterations such as Apple’s Mighty (Magic) Mouse or Windows’ TouchMouse, that combines touch-based input with that of the traditional mouse. And while it certainly has its benefits, the execution is still sadly flawed. Neither mice are comfortable for long-term usage.
While we’d like to think that innovation drives technology, the truth lies closer to market success driving technology. The Apple Mighty Mouse and Windows TouchMouse are not comfortable to use for long periods of time. Their reception amongst the masses have been lukewarm at the most, with mostly technology enthusiasts and such adopting it.
If anything, the combination of both touch and mice-based inputs or gesture and mice-based inputs may be the next step in traditional human-computer interface. It’s a evolutionary step, if not the revolutionary step that people are looking for — the synthesis of both worlds.
