From: Peter H. Coffin (hellsop_at_ninehells.com)
Date: Sun Jan 25 2004 - 20:47:50 PST
On Sun, Jan 25, 2004 at 03:21:09AM +0000, alanshaw_at_comcast.net wrote:
> A friend showed me a loaner TabletPC his company got from Gateway. The
> coolest thing I found was that the screen wasn't touch sensitive and
> only responded to the stylus. That allows you to rest your hand on the
> screen, which is very large.
I agree with the other poster, that a touch-sensitive screen is pretty
important to me, and I think I'd have less trouble teaching my hands not
to do "noisy" things to the screen and interface, than I would have
adapting to something required me to use a special tool to make it pay
attention.
> But that was the best thing. I found that the interface just wasn't
> user-friendly. I kept trying to use it like a Newton and my friend
> (who also has a Newton) kept saying "you can't do it that way." Like
> highlighting stuff and tapping and dragging. That doesn't work. To
> copy something you have to select it, then go to the File menu,
> select copy, etc. Just like with a mouse! Didn't Microsoft read the
> Newton APIs? MS seems to have taken minimal effort to make Windows
> work with a stylus. Way too complicated. It's still geared toward a
> mouse. Hopefully they'll learn. Of course, those MS haters out there
> hope that doesn't happen.
To provide a counterpoint, I feel that the desktop metaphor is even
*better* represented with a pen interface than with a mouse. The trouble
is that the adaptation of "desktop behaviour" gets implemented by
removing the quirks inherant in the adoption of the mouse instead of
"properly" implementing the pen one. Even the Newton doesn't do
everything "properly" in my opinion; there's no consistant way to switch
open windows around, for example.
Taps and clicks are identical. Double clicks and double taps are
identical. A long tap (obviously, configurable, but on the order of 1
second) could easily pop up a context menu that accepts either a drag to
an option or a tap on the option.
-- Pieces of seven! Pieces of seven! (Hrm, parroty error) -- This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries List FAQ/Etiquette/Terms: http://www.newtontalk.net/faq.html Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/
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