Posted May 18, 2012
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Elenarie
@tweetelenarie
Registered: Sep 2008
From Sweden
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IronStar
Petrolhead
Registered: Dec 2011
From Serbia
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hedwards
buy Evil Genius
Registered: Nov 2008
From United States
Posted May 18, 2012
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I guess in the future, we'll look back and laugh how we used the mouse and keyboard combination in our everyday lives. :)
A standard keyboard has just over a hundred keys that one can press without looking. And even without using the various meta keys, you can do about a hundred things without looking at your keyboard. A mouse can only hit 5 spots without looking. The four corners of the screen and the location under the cursor. Mind you that last one isn't always in the same place.
But, what's even worse are UIs like MS' where you're always going back and forth between the keyboard and the mouse.
So, in other words, yes indeed, the mouse is terrible for productivity, I personally prefer to use vi as my text editor and it has no visible UI at all. It also happens to be one of the most usable interfaces I've ever seen, just with a huge learning curve.
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adambiser
fascimania.com
Registered: Dec 2009
From United States
Posted May 18, 2012
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If it were helpful if they showed keyboard shortcuts more prominently. I have the underlines enabled by default, but that doesn't apply to ribbon and the keyboard shortcuts are not apparent unless you hover over the item.
Ribbon interface is a big mess in my opinion. I've not seen the minimized version, but the regular version is bulky and offers no improvement.
And don't get me starting about trying to figure out which stupid picture in Windows Movie Maker means "Fade-to-black"... that program's ribbon is particularly annoying because there are very few things with text on them, so it's a whole lot of guesswork.
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Elenarie
@tweetelenarie
Registered: Sep 2008
From Sweden
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IronStar
Petrolhead
Registered: Dec 2011
From Serbia
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Elenarie
@tweetelenarie
Registered: Sep 2008
From Sweden
Posted May 18, 2012
You're older, so I guess you're more comfortable with the keyboard. I grew up using mostly the mouse, though, I use both, but using the mouse together with a visual interface feels more natural than pressing some buttons on the keyboard, in a way. No doubt we're heading for touch, and most likely voice in the future.
Hahha, indeed! :D
EDIT: Hahaha, watch the 1993 usability video. I lol'd so hard.
Hahha, indeed! :D
EDIT: Hahaha, watch the 1993 usability video. I lol'd so hard.
Post edited May 18, 2012 by Elenarie
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hedwards
buy Evil Genius
Registered: Nov 2008
From United States
Posted May 18, 2012
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Until we get to the point where we're mind linked to the computer, the keyboard will be the fastest most efficient way of interfacing with a computer.
Sigh, this is why I have so little hope for the future. We don't just toss the stuff in the trash that's broken, we also toss stuff in the trash that's quite useful.
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Mnemon
Left
Registered: Sep 2008
From United Kingdom
Posted May 18, 2012
Yeah - the mouse doesn't even remotely come close to using keyboard commands, once you've learned them. I mean ... you do use key bindings for things you have to do quick, rather than move mouse to and click all the times in games, if you really can't think of any work related productivity examples. Think a RTS - select a specific group of troops? Holding mousebutton down to draw a select box versus pressing a key? Or ARPG? Move mouse and right click a potion versus hitting the number key?
Post edited May 18, 2012 by Mnemon
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Elenarie
@tweetelenarie
Registered: Sep 2008
From Sweden
Posted May 18, 2012
I guess I should have made myself clearer. Was talking mainly from a navigational point of view, using Windows Explorer. Using Windows since 94, I still can't get around Explorer using keyboard only.
I can touch type perfectly, it is really not a problem at all, and I barely make mistakes while doing so. Also, I play SC2, with what I consider a high action-per-minute count, so that's not a problem either.
Sorry 'bout that, should have made myself clearer.
I can touch type perfectly, it is really not a problem at all, and I barely make mistakes while doing so. Also, I play SC2, with what I consider a high action-per-minute count, so that's not a problem either.
Sorry 'bout that, should have made myself clearer.
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hedwards
buy Evil Genius
Registered: Nov 2008
From United States
Posted May 18, 2012
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I can touch type perfectly, it is really not a problem at all, and I barely make mistakes while doing so. Also, I play SC2, with what I consider a high action-per-minute count, so that's not a problem either.
Sorry 'bout that, should have made myself clearer.
The problem with MS is that they hire people to do the cool stuff, but completely ignore the details of getting it to work correctly. Even win 7 which is by far their best OS ever, is still more or less mediocre in that respect.
Post edited May 18, 2012 by hedwards
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adambiser
fascimania.com
Registered: Dec 2009
From United States
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Elenarie
@tweetelenarie
Registered: Sep 2008
From Sweden
Posted May 18, 2012
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Yea, that's a neat little feature, using it constantly. It is like casting a spell! :)
Post edited May 18, 2012 by Elenarie
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hedwards
buy Evil Genius
Registered: Nov 2008
From United States
Posted May 18, 2012
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Windows 7 did improve keyboard navigation a good deal. I especially love the WinKey+1, etc shortcuts for pinned programs..
Post edited May 18, 2012 by hedwards
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Kabuto
Comme un patron
Registered: Feb 2010
From Canada
Posted May 18, 2012
Aero is more than window dressing. It's also used for peek, preview and snap which I find to be extremely useful.