[IxDA Discuss] Bumptop

[Jeff Axup]

Sorry but I think the prototype has a fundamental problem with the theory
behind the design. This is that "accurate simulation of real-world artifacts
is a good idea for interaction in a digital medium". This is the mistake VR
people made (and are still making). We are used to interacting with paper
objects, but that doesn't mean that it's the most efficient way to deal with
large volumes of information. For example: getting my physical body
transported from here to Seattle takes a long plane flight or a longer
drive. I don't want that "reality" copied into a digital world - I want
teleportation in the digital world.  I fail to see how a messy digital
desktop is any better than a messy real world desktop. When I get so many
documents that I can't see them all on a desktop, I want them to disappear
and be available through search, not stuck into massive piles of mini-icons
I can't read.

Very awesome demo however. =)

-Jeff

On 2/28/07, pauric <radiorental at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks Dave, very enlightening.  I have some questions, partially
> rhetorical
> but would value your corrections.
>
> 1) If this is a tablet/pen focused design, and given its an OS interface
> not
> app.  Are there issues having a set of -fundamental- interactions that
> become limited once a user moves to a desktop machine?  Lets take a field
> engineer how sorts his notes as per the demo, then docks back at the
> office,
> starts to use a keyboard/mouse.  No pressure sensitivity, weak gesturing.
> Granted tablet apps work on the platform and dont have to translate to the
> desktop, but given this is OS level I feel consistency between platforms
> is
> a big issue.
>
> 2) "they specific speak of "pen" as the primary I/O device, so I think
> dost
> might be extrapolating a bit too much."
> What is the functional difference between a wacom pen and a human finger?
> Lets skip forward 5 years and view this demo with fingers on a screen, is
> that a good evolutionary development or is the tablet/pen a better design?
>
> I genuinely think this design is platform independent and the pen is a
> constraint which can be fixed. Exemplified by Simon's trick of tucking his
> pen under a finger with current tablet interactions. Nice workaround but
> surely thats not in the manual.
>
> Re: What is Designing?  I got the deeper meaning.  I like pushing
> envelopes
> (you should try it with inexperienced engineers - the results can be very
> surprising) however I really dont think we ever diverge ourselves from our
> experiences, our innate knowledge of what is possible, achievable and
> simply
> fanciful.  Even if this is at a subconscious level.
>
> Yes, take time out to brainstorm the bigger picture in a Sagan/Einstein
> fashion far away from limitations.  However stray too far from the
> gravitational pull of constraints and your designs will never make the
> transition from concept back to reality.
>
> The trick is knowing the delta between the edge of the envelop and the
> available resources, the hard constraints and easily doable. I understand
> we're both in agreement on this but I think its an important point to note
> we never really leave our experience behind, including the baggage that
> comes with it.
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-- 
Best Regards,
Jeff
____________________________________________________________________________
Jeff Axup      Ph.D. Candidate - University of Queensland, Brisbane,
Australia
                   Principal Consultant, Mobile Community Design Consulting

Research:    Mobile Group Research Methods, Social Networks, Group Usability
E-mail:        axup <at> userdesign.com
Blog:           http://mobilecommunitydesign.com
Moblog:       http://memeaddict.blogspot.com
Academic:   http://www.infenv.itee.uq.edu.au
____________________________________________________________________________