HANDS ON GUIDE

5 - New user interfaces

The mouse is 45 years old, and its time may be at an end

WHAT ARE THEY?

The mouse and keyboard have been the main way to interact with computers for decades. Many computer firms are looking at ways to usurp them from their integral role in how we control PCs. There are many contenders - voice recognition software is improving all the time, touch screen interfaces have come on in leaps and bounds with the iPhone and motion-sensing interfaces are doing well too, principally powered by sales of the Wii.

More ideas are on the way though. Some have filtered down from the military. One example is an iris-control interface, where the movement of your eye is tracked by a laser to control a mouse pointer on the screen. The technology was developed to give precise control of computer interfaces to pilots of combat aircraft, but it has since become cheaper. Industrial applications now make use of iris-control interfaces and it might not be long before we see devices that make use of it (hopefully for gaming) in the home.

HOW WILL THEY WORK?

Using a mouse and keyboard is second nature for those of us who have used computers for a long time. However, there’s nothing intuitive about the QWERTY layout of keyboards (which was famously designed to slow-down typing rather than speed it up so that typewriters could function), and clicking, double-clicking and right-clicking on a mouse can be tricky for novices to master. Speech and touch are learnt from birth, while peripherals that can be controlled in three dimensions make more sense than a mouse that only moves in two ways, especially as 3D applications become more common.

Touch screen devices have benefited from multi-touch functionality, where multiple touch inputs can be recognised at once. This allows for some interesting gesture-based interaction (as with the iPhone) or some of the creativity Microsoft has been keen to show in its Surface demonstrations. The old method – using a stylus to click on a single item at a time – simply isn’t as good.

WHAT COULD GET IN THE WAY?

Although using touch screen interfaces and motion sensing peripherals is undoubtedly cool, old habits die hard. As shown by the Nintendo Wii, however, motion sensing interfaces can succeed when they're for a new class of device rather than seeking to replace the mouse and keyboard for existing computers. The mouse still rules supreme for first-person shooters, and skilled keyboard use is still more accurate than the best touch screen, handwriting or voice recognition software. It’s unlikely that traditional peripherals will go out of fashion for many years to come.

ETA

The Apple iPhone is out now, Microsoft Surface is 'soon', Iris tracking is further off.

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