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From: gilbert@hci.hw.ac.uk (Gilbert Cockton)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.windows.misc
Subject: Re: 2 button mouse
Message-ID: <201@glenlivet.hci.hw.ac.uk>
Date: 29 Mar 88 12:27:25 GMT
References: <4129@hoptoad.uucp> <283@rhesus.primate.wisc.edu> <1710@ssc-vax.UUCP> <17702@think.UUCP> <1758@ssc-vax.UUCP>
Reply-To: gilbert@hci.hw.ac.uk (Gilbert Cockton)
Organization: Scottish HCI Centre
Lines: 30
Keywords: window human computer interface

In article <1758@ssc-vax.UUCP> benoni@ssc-vax.UUCP (Charles L Ditzel) writes:
>How ergononomic!! :)  Seriously, the whole idea of hitting the keyboard
>*and* mouse is hardly elegant.  Did Apple do a study on how hitting
>the keyboard and mouse is easier for novice users. :)

Being analytical here:

	a) hands on keyboard - homing time on mouse same for KM
	   (Keyboard and Mouse) and M (Mouse only). Assumes can find
	   key without looking.

	b) no hands on keyboard - homing time for KM more than for M (=0).

So, at the keystroke level, we only loose out theoretically if the user
does not have a hand on the keyboard.  This need not happen, and in KM
situations, it makes sense to keep your left/right hand near the
keyboard.  As for the novices, this sort of two-handed input can be
learnt very quickly, once the keyboard layout is understood.  If
anything, the layout of the option/shift etc. keys is the source of
many problems.  Chording will add to problems if you need to be an
octopus (as in some Cedar combinations).  So, next time anyone designs
a workstation keyboard, think about easy chording on those special
keys, it could be a functional requirement.

As you are always going to run out of mouse-buttons, all systems could
end up using the KM approach to increase mouse-button bandwidth.
-- 
Gilbert Cockton, Scottish HCI Centre, Heriot-Watt University, Chambers St.,
Edinburgh, EH1 1HX.  JANET:  gilbert@uk.ac.hw.hci   
ARPA: gilbert%hci.hw.ac.uk@cs.ucl.ac.uk UUCP: ..{backbone}!mcvax!ukc!hci!gilbert