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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!rochester!rocksvax!dave
From: dave@rocksvax.UUCP (Dave Sewhuk)
Newsgroups: net.cog-eng
Subject: Re: Re: windows... - (nf)
Message-ID: <1143@rocksvax.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 23-Dec-83 16:56:24 EST
Article-I.D.: rocksvax.1143
Posted: Fri Dec 23 16:56:24 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 25-Dec-83 00:45:36 EST
References: <1069@ucbcad.UUCP>
Organization: Xerox, Rochester, N.Y.
Lines: 25

Seems that you have a poorly written program if you have to think of all those
motions.  The only time I ever have to "look" for the mouse on our editor is
when when you are not typing anyways, I never seem to have a hand/mouse
"context" problem with any of the mouse oriented programs that I have
used here at Xerox.

If done correctly those changes of context should occur infrequently
so they incur little penalty.   For pointing tasks it seems to me that any mouse
motion pays back so fast in terms of ease of getting cursor to correct place
that the re-indexing of fingers is not a problem.  Besides you could arrange
all those interactive commands to use the opposite hand as the mouse hand,
it would not have to leave the keyboard!

As for figure drawing stuff, I find that having a "line straightener" function
a must.  Plus you need a mouse with enough resolution to make a useful picture.
If you are drawing a picture into a 72 pixel per inch screen then you need
a mouse that has a small enough "gain" that you can draw into that screen
without seeing all the quantization noises and mechanical "noises" of the
mouse system.  After a small learning period you can draw some pretty
good drawings/graphs using the mouse as a pencil.
-- 
Dave

Arpa: Sewhuk.HENR@PARC-MAXC.ARPA
uucp: {allegra, rochester, ritcv, ritvp, amd70, sunybcs}!rocksvax!dave