[NTLK] Human Interface Guidelines

Hello,

--- On Mon, 6/15/09, Bob@mail.continuity.cx <Bob@mail.continuity.cx> wrote:

> It [iPhone] just adds Disney-wow animation/graphics and bloat when
> those wowy zowy features are at minimal useful due to size = for
> people addicted to media who don't know how to relate to the world around
> themselves, especially Nature, and need virtual reality-not to distract
> their eyes and ears.

As near as I can tell, there's a fine line between a handheld device *assisting* you in taking part in the world and *preventing* you from effectively doing so. It's pretty easy to end up using devices like iPhones and Newtons as shields of a sort to keep the rest of the world away from you.

I know that in The Old Days, (the 80s) boom boxes allowed people to sort of "cordon off" the space around them. You could march back and forth with the thing on your shoulder, ("sharing" your music) or set it down, crank it up REALLY LOUD, and keep other people out of your space that way.

Now, handheld devices seem to fill that same "people shield" role. Although I'd like to think of the Newton, specifically, as a device that allows you to interact *better* with the world rather than as a device to bury your nose in and exclude it.

Although, to be honest, I have a hard time putting my finger on just why a Newton is not as exclusionary as other handheld devices.

Perhaps it's the HWR that makes the Newton seem friendlier as compared to other mobile devices? Jon Glass made an interesting point before about how people he's talking with being noticeably more receptive to his *writing* while they're talking as opposed to him typing in the exact same situation.

I wonder if this is because handwriting is perceived by other people as being a somehow more recognizably "human" behavior (and therefore more inviting to their presence) as opposed to the relatively machine-like action of keyboarding? Or perhaps people just think that keyboarding on a handheld device while they're talking automatically means you're ignoring what they're saying?

Best,

James Fraser

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Received on Tue Jun 16 05:51:00 2009