Xref: utzoo comp.windows.misc:803 comp.sys.mac:24357 alt.cyberpunk:1189
Path: utzoo!hoptoad!pacbell!ames!mailrus!cornell!uw-beaver!blake!phaedra
From: phaedra@blake.acs.washington.edu (J. Anderson)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.misc,comp.sys.mac,alt.cyberpunk
Subject: Re: replacing the desktop metaphor
Keywords: desktop metaphor, graphical interfaces, computing environments
Message-ID: <454@blake.acs.washington.edu>
Date: 24 Dec 88 12:17:05 GMT
Reply-To: phaedra@blake.acs.washington.edu (J. Anderson)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Entropicana Hotel -- University District, WA
Lines: 48


	I see the discussion on going beyond the desktop has
concentrated primarily on the display.  While I have some complaints
about my own display, there's nothing wrong with it that a plain old
two-dimensional Sun workstation monitor wouldn't deal with nicely.
What I'm much more interested in are means of entering data rather
than displaying it.

	The desktop metaphor attempted to solve one perceived problem
with the then current generation of computers, namely replacing the
often cryptic commands of command line driven operating environments
with icons which were mentally easy to mnemonize.  While this made the
learning curve appreciably steeper, has it increased the throughput
rate at which users enter data?  I think not.  In my case, it slowed
it down quite a bit.

	Like most computer users, my input comes from a keyboard, and
while I do all right as a typist, I still type appreciably slower than
I compose my thoughts.

	If I were to design the user interface that I would want, it
would likely be in three parts:

	1) A voice-recognition system with a clear grasp for idiom and
affections of speech.

	2) A "Heads-Up" style display system (as I believe they are
referred to in military parlance) which could be used as a pointer
device by measuring the angle at which my corneas are in relation to
the screen using a low-power laser or some similar method.

	3) A keyboard with LCD or similar technology key caps, so that
not only What-I-See-Is-What-I-Get but What-Button-I-Push-Is-What-I-Get
(Note: If there are any system designers reading this, READ THIS
FIRST.  This I would believe to be in the "Realizable Fantasies"
column, and after countless hours of using cheat sheets to locate
Control-Alt-Meta-Prime functions, something I would pay good money
for)

	On the output side, a speech synthesizer with a healthy
contralto voice would be nice so that I may "read" Usenet while doing
something useful (like cooking) And...  Oh yeah, how about that Sun
Monitor? :-)

	My $0.02 (probably closer to $0.10) worth for this morning.
	Jeremy Anderson-- 
There are two major products that come out of Berkeley: LSD and UNIX.  We don't
believe this to be a coincidence. ||  phaedra@blake.acs.washington.edu