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From: msucats@att1.Mankato.MSUS.EDU (msucats)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: the interface for the rest of us?
Message-ID: <MSUCATS.91May5220819@att1.Mankato.MSUS.EDU>
Date: 6 May 91 03:08:19 GMT
Article-I.D.: att1.MSUCATS.91May5220819
References: <1991May4.172440.1851@casbah.acns.nwu.edu><9105042144.AA22495@horse.ee.lbl.gov><1991May4.222932.846@husc3.harvard.edu>
Organization: Mankato State University
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In-reply-to: mason3@husc9.harvard.edu's message of 5 May 91 02:29:31 GMTLines: 45


> Two reasons for using pen technology have already been repeatedly cited:
> (1) It's a better input device for many-letter alphabets (not necessarily
>     just Japanese -- consider that a mathematician can use a pen to write
>     Greek letters, mathematical symbols, etc. without hitting
>     <shift>-<option>-<control>-<widget>-<Q>-LETTER 
>     or switching to a special font.)
> 
> (2) It's more portable than a keyboard and can be used to take notes
>     while standing up.
> 
> I'd like to add a third reason:
> (3) Holding a pen in your hand makes it easy to switch instantly between
>     text and graphics, and combine both in the same file/document.
>     You can easily scribble a sketch in the margin of your computerized
>     notes.  On a keyboard system, you'd have to leave the keyboard and
>     reach for your mouse or sketch tablet (and I think the pen is a much
>     superior graphics tool to the mouse).

I'd like to add a fourth reason:

(4) Not all applications involve enough user input to require a
    keyboard.  Browsing through files and reading netnews, for
    instance, comprise mostly a few, low-bandwidth user responses.  If
    hypertext systems start to show up, it seems likely that they
    would be similar.

    For example, I prefer to absorb information away from my
    workstation, so I tend to print out more documents than I should.
    But if I had a small enough notebook computer (with a big enough
    screen) I'd use it instead of trees.  My threshold for "small
    enough" is "flat and no keyboard," which would limit the amount of
    input I could do.  But if all you're doing is tapping the
    space bar most of the time, who needs a keyboard?  Handwriting
    seems sufficient for most of the email and posting I do.

    In other words, pen-based portables have a niche as surrogate
    books as well as computers.  To this end, it'd be nice if their
    screens were touch-sensitive, so users could "turn the page"
    without grabbing for the pen.

(I want Smalltalk for my pen-portable, but that's another story.)
--
  // Jay Carlson
\X/  msucats@att1.mankato.msus.edu