The next hot tech development is coming. Technology is advancing at an incredible pace and it’s hard to believe everything we have today that we didn’t have twenty years ago. Computer and electronics technology is a great example. Look at the video games of today. The action is almost cinematic in many cases. Compare that to the video games you grew up with. Anybody remember playing Pong?
Personal computers have advanced a great deal in this time. We now have very rich graphical environments for utilizing the hardware and software in our computers. Since the first commercially available GUI (Graphical User Interface) from Apple, things have really taken off. Now every computer user is able to use a mouse and keyboard to get work done quickly and efficiently.
The question is, though, has interface advancement peaked? What more can be done with a mouse and keyboard? I think we’ve reached a point where we’ve squeezed as much productivity out of current input technology as we’re going to be able to get. Sure, the mouse can be made wireless, it can be made smaller or more ergonomic, it can even be made customizable like the new Apple Smart Mouse. But, really, what more can we do with the mouse?
When I saw this video of Jeff Han from New York University demonstrating a new type of interface, I knew immediately that this had to be the next greatest thing. Yes, it’s touch screen technology, but taken to a whole new level. The next leap in input technology will make use of this technology in such a way that it flattens out the learning curve as to make it almost non-existent. The way Jeff manipulates the objects on his screen is entirely intuitive. A child could learn how to operate a computer in this way in just a few minutes.
Instead of users having to learn how to type or learn how to use a mouse to manipulate an interface, they can make use of the input devices they are most familiar with already: their fingers. Sure, we have touch screen input devices already, but the interfaces that are currently offered don’t do anything other than force you to use your fingers as a mouse or use an on-screen keyboard to touch buttons. Yes, this is a useful and necessary part to the interface, but check out this video and tell me that this isn’t something different.
I can see a whole new world of personal computing opening up. Truly intuitive interfaces are developed to make computers really accessible to everyone for the first time. Can you imagine a computer that is nothing but a large screen? Maybe it’s something that you can fold up and put in your pocket like a sheet of paper. Unfold it on a desktop and then go to work.
This may sound pretty far-fetched to you, or you may think I’m making a big deal out of nothing, but I really see the possibilities in this technology. Rather than being something brand new, it’s taking existing technologies and putting them together in a new way that creates a whole new paradigm for personal computing. Ok, just watch the video and tell me what you think by leaving a comment.
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Mmmm…Pong. Good times, good times.
Let me tell ya. It’s amazing to compare what we thought was high tech way back when. In the seventies, I think it was cool just to see colors on a computer screen!