RE: What do you identify with?

From Wear-Hard Mailing list Archive (WH) Maintained by R. Paul McCarty

Vitorio,

You are right - 80% of the people are not going to change their way of
behavior.  The only thing that will work to reverse the tide is to perfect
voice input to a UI with simple commands or develop a mind/brain interface
to the gadget so that thinking something will make it so.

Of course we old fogies will be replaced in 20 years by people who grew up
doing text messaging on their cell phones with contractions, misspellings
and symbols.  One of them may comeup with the next killer UI or they make
take their texting skills to the next level.

I find that my HP 4700 PDA does all that I want.  All it takes is a little
discipline and learning to use the features that are there + calligrapher.
Synching to windows requires that I have two cradles, one at work and one at
home.   All of my contacts first go into my PDA and then get transferred to
my desktop.  My calendar works both ways, I enter dates and update my
desktop calendar by e-mail.  I keep notes both in handwriting and ascii text
entered using the screen keyboard or use the handwriting recognizer in
Calligrapher.  I have a bluetooth fold up keyboard, but I never use it.

Cordially,

Charles Bolton

-----Original Message-----
From: Vitorio Miliano [mailto:] 
Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 11:24 AM
To: Wearable Hardware Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Wear-Hard] What do you identify with?

John McKown wrote:
> Your note reminds me of a recent Dilbert in which he asked someone
> "Are all your problems self-inflicted?" :-)

haha!  Yes, they are!

However, I'd much prefer a comparison to Avery Brooks in that IBM 
eBusiness commercial: "It's the year 2000.  But where are the flying 
cars?  I was promised flying cars!  I don't see any flying cars!  Why? 
Why?  Why?"

The PalmPilot showed the possibility for a better, faster, easier way to 
do things.  Things haven't progressed since then.  In the commercial, 
the internet and the web replaced the need for people to fly everywhere. 
  In the real world, UIs still aren't truly usable, and computers aren't 
truly reliable.  There's no alternative; we're just not there yet.

> I think a lot could be accomplished with pocketable keyboards while 
> we're waiting for multi-modal nirvana.  If I could clip the back of a
> small smart phone to the top of (a manufactured version of) the 
> lashed-up prototype keyboard I'm using now, I'd be as happy as a
> clam.

Would you, really?  I would be surprised if that were the case.

Because there *are* pocketable, Bluetooth keyboards.  Frogpad makes one 
that works with many smart phones.  Nokia makes a folding one, Sony 
makes their Chatboard, there are also generic folding keyboards, all 
with cradles and clips for phones.  What's stopping you from using one 
and being happy?

I'd wager that the slow, clunky, awkward UI is the reason you don't use 
it much now.  Another device to carry in your pocket solely for input 
isn't going to improve that, it's going to make that worse.

Normal people barely have a two-gadget limit: phone and iPod.  It's 
awkward to whip out a keypad to enter a new appointment or type a note 
compared to writing it on a piece of paper.  I think the only general 
incentive to carry a dedicated input device around would be universal 
applicability: that keyboard would have to be good for every device out 
there, including ATMs.

I could be wrong.  You could absolutely be all over your smartphone UI 
and just wish you had a keyboard for faster data entry.  It could be the 
bee's knees for you.

But I don't think so.  I don't think smartphone UIs work well enough for 
anyone technical enough to know what a good UI works like, and I think 
that's you, if you're on this list.  I think the lack of shared 
online<->desktop<->PDA calendar sync is annoying to many people, from 
husbands and wives to secretaries and bosses.  I think people with 
complex schedules still use personal assistants instead of PDAs for a 
reason.  The interface just isn't there yet.

It's the year 2006.  But where are the better UIs?  I was promised a 
better UI.  I don't see any better UIs.  Why?  Why?  Why?

Thanks,
Vitorio Miliano

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