Windows has been around for about 20 years (I don’t remember the exact launching date). And did not really change over the years, as the “point and click” technology has remained the same during all that time. Sure, colors changed, presentations changed, but today, it is still “point and click”. We are so used to the “right or left click” that we even forgot that the difference only came afterwards. Although the principle was copied from Apple’s Lisa system, Apple continued to use the same concept as well.
What we see now are several simultaneous evolutions, all mixing up. On one side there are the different platforms (PC, netbook, e-books, smartphones, TV, gaming consoles, “machines”), with their different form factors. As they have different designs, their user interfaces are different as well : buttons (and their place), both physical or logical, peripherals (game controllers, remote controls). They have different screens : some are with touch screens, where others have only buttons and some have a combination. And of course they have different primary goals (phone, game, TV, computing).
First the touchscreens : typical on the smartphone, but with different presentations : Android, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Nokia, and so on. They try to beat each other with fancy colors and fancy button designs. What I discovered now is that these designs are now appearing on other machines as well : tablet PCs and home devices (yep, there is even a microwave oven with an Android interface …). Surprisingly enough it also appears on desktop PCs. Here I have a problem : the screen is positioned vertically, with the keyboard between the user and the screen. As the screen is further than arm length, this does not improve the customer experience. But it is a good learning field for the vendors.
In this case it is not “point and click”, it is “position-your-finger-on-the-screen and move”. Some actions require two fingers (when you resize a window for example). As it is now typical on the high end smartphones, it will probably continue to be used on lower cost phones. PCs also get this on the tablets and the all-in-one PCs for particular uses.
Second the “controller”. This is a term coming from the gaming industry. Wii is renowned for its gaming where you can play golf and tennis in your living room by holding these devices to indicate your movements to the gaming console. The change here is that the “screen” will detect, by the use of built-in cameras, what your movements are. There will be no controller anymore. “The user becomes the controller”, says Microsoft. They will have it on their Natal (next generation Xbox) at the end of next year, and yes, it will consume even more horse power of the processor…
In this case it is not “point and click”, it is “position-hands-in-the-air and wave”.
This type of user interface will probably get a widespread adoption in the homes for gaming, TV and new home devices.
The voice interface, where you talk to your device, sees a small acceptance, as there are too many commands to give, and still remains in the niche market designs.
We haven’t seen the last of the developments, but beware of the changing game of the user interface, as it will be linked to the operating system and the “platform” of the vendor (see my article on thursday).
How will this evolution impact you ?
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