[IxDA Discuss] Apple's Gesture Dictionary

[pauric]

Lisa/Jack: 'can actually you patent a language? Isnt this a patent
for a dictionary?'

Yup and yup, but there's more than one way to skin a cat.  This
patent would seem to make it difficult for users to learn an
alternative language if it comes with a non-infringing but hokey
dictionary design.

Mark: "Explain to me, a coherent BUSINESS strategy for giving the
rights to Apple's gesture technology away so early. How will this
benefit Apple?"

Point taken, but, we're in the BUSINESS of advocating the user.. or
shall I just go home, farm some potatoes and let the BA do UCD all by
themselves?

My argument is that while we sit here on verge of a new interaction
paradigm, we can go segmented & closed or with a universal language &
differentiate on good design.

I believe the entity that defines the first universally adopted
language will reap greater rewards in the long term.  I confess that
I'm having a hard time quantifying this strong hunch, but open
standards seem to last longer and gain wider adoption.  Proprietary
can win in the short term but generally withers as the crowd moves
on.

Let me turn your question around.  We are going to have a multitouch
gesture language for the foreseeable future. How does a closed
language benefit Apple?

If you want to do business in the world today, you have to speak
English.


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Posted from the new ixda.org
http://beta.ixda.org/discuss?post=18934