It seems the multi-touch and "true" direct manipulation interfaces are starting to pop-up in many products. I'm a big fan of this interaction type so I'm glad to see some interesting progress being made. I would not expect any one product to "get it right" the first time around though. I'm sure users will unveil serious problems that will take several generations to get to a point where the UX is bearable for routine everyday use. The Microsoft Surface product starts out pretty slick with it's ability to recognize PDAs and integrate with them apparent ease. I also think it's important to have a large screen for multi-touch interaction since our hands are pretty big themselves.
As Henry Petroski notes in his book, "The Evolution of Useful Things", all of the things we have come to rely on, (even things as simple as forks and paper clips) did not begin as flawless designs. They slowly evolved as each generation learns from the last and adds some innovation in turn.
So although these new product are way high on the cool factor I will probably wait to see what people hate about them before I consider buying one.
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2 comments:
Agreed, about the cool factor, and about the need for a few design cycles. I like to wait until the 2G version of these things a lot, they always work out some kinks, and the price drops ... which is the other barrier to the MS Surface. I was hearing wholesale pricing will be $5K each! Makes the iPhone seem pretty reachable. :)
cool..but heard about the price, a whopping 5-10k..wonder what their competitors are doin??
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