

Still Think The Mouse Isn’t Dead? - acron0
http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/03/windows-ate-the-mouse/

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edtechdev
This MG Sieger story is 32 minutes old, and it was posted here 25 minutes ago.

Same thing with every John Gruber post.

Laptops have already been sold without mice for over a decade - they have
trackpads (or the buttonless clickpads).

But of course many are going to still use the mouse for things such as playing
games on a Windows PC, touch screen or not.

And the mouse is more efficient if you are using it all day (like for work),
as you don't have to reach up to the screen all the time (which is why the
Minority Report stuff doesn't work well in real life). This is also why for
example the Asus Slate comes with a bluetooth keyboard, because using an
onscreen keyboard all day long for example would be horrible and slow.

A more interesting question is whether the stylus will come back or not. The
HTC Flyer with stylus had over 3 million pre-orders, and the Tablet PCs like
the HP tm2t or Lenovo tablets are starting to come down in price.

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jasonkester
I'm sitting in front of a laptop with a bit ol' touchpad that does all the
cool things the author is all excited about.

And I clicked the link to this article with my mouse.

QED, the mouse is doing just fine. It's simply a better input device for most
purposes.

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TomOfTTB
I generally think MG Siegler is one of the better TechCrunch writers but this
article is exactly why the site has developed the reputation it has. Pure
sensationalism based on a weak understanding of both the facts and the history
of the computing industry.

The truth is there is not a Magic Trackpad for the PC. Trackpads on the PC
tend to suck. Microsoft is pushing touchscreens and touchscreens on PCs do
create ergonomic problems (In tests people's shoulders literally ache after a
day of use)

Beyond that while the iPad is fantastic it works because the interface is
designed around touch. Meaning everything has to be a lot bigger (since a
mouse can click on a single pixel while a finger is far less precise). That
leaves less screen space (which is why you have to pinch and zoom a lot when
you use the iPad on the web). That's fine for the limited scenarios but not
practical if you're doing serious computing work like a balance sheet in
Excel.

Finally anyone who has watched the technology industry for any length of time
knows inferior solutions win out if all parties don't agree on the way
forward. Or in other words if Apple backs the Magic Trackpad and Microsoft
backs the touchscreen then the Mouse will likely stick around because it's the
common denominator. At least based on how history has unfolded in the past.

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mhd
I think a lot more has to happen for the mouse to die. It might get less
popular in the computing mainstream, if the new-fangled devices really take
over (i.e. no more PC as a "hub"), but that just means we're back to the
"workstation" days, and the expert users will still use that (+ keyboard
shortcuts etc.).

The infamous "gorilla arm" has been mentioned here already. For a 8+ hours
computing device, a bit more has to change than just tablets and Windows 8.
We'd need some kind of super-ergonomic version of the Tron CEO desk.

NB: For those professionals who aren't using their mouse due to super-
keyboard-efficiency (or possible pseudo-efficiency), it might as well replace
it for the few times they'll use it. Whether the occasional moment of direct
manipulation is handled by a mouse, trackball, trackpad, IBM nipple or
touchscreen isn't that important.

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tobylane
I don't want to be stuck with a touchscreen. Screens should be ~30cm in front
of you, at your eye height. I don't want to have to reach up there constantly.

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scrrr
I agree. However this doesn't exclude operation with a touch-pad, like for
example Apple's stand-alone Bluetooth touch-pad.

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JonoW
Am I alone in my hatred of touch-pads? I'm 10x more productive on a desktop
with a mouse compared to a touch-pad on a laptop.

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robin_reala
Have you used a recent Apple touchpad and gestures? For certain things
(Photoshop mostly) I’d go with a mouse, but for coding and browsing I’m
happier with a touchpad.

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JonoW
Nope I haven't, I'm going on standard PC and Macbook (not pro) touch-pads that
I've used. I'd like to try one of the new Apple trackpads out, but don't know
anyone that has one.

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robin_reala
Next time you’re near an Apple store pop in and have a play. It’s much better
than any non-Apple trackpad I’ve used (though I haven’t used many recent PC
trackpads to be fair).

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killerswan
Two words: gorilla arm. Big fat finger touch systems aren't good for
everything.

A Kinect sort of interface could do it, though...

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ugh
Doesn’t Kinect require you to wave your arms around? That seems tiring. To say
nothing of the space requirements.

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killerswan
How about when it can reliably do finger tracking?

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shellehs
I assume that the author does not play games. I don't see a touchpad, or
something touchable input devices can be better than a mouse, say, when you
are playing SC or WarIII. how can you select single unit then move it quickly
use finger or stick?

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ugh
The mouse might become an exclusive gaming device – like today’s gamepads.

It actually is for me. I rarely play games but from time to time I do and on
those rare occasions I dust of my mouse. (Sometimes I’m too lazy to get the
mouse and play a few minutes of Minecraft with the trackpad.)

I can’t imagine using that Windows UI with a mouse. It seems clumsy. You need
a touchscreen or a large trackpad with gestures. I was just fooling around
with Lion which is a lot less radical than Windows 8 but it was still obvious
that you need a trackpad with gestures. (I have a 2007 MacBook Pro which
doesn’t support any gestures except for two-finger scrolling. It’s working ok
but it’s obvious that gestures would make the experience so much nicer.)

Calling the mouse “dead” might be hyperbole but if the mouse indeed becomes
this decade’s gamepad or trackball I would argue that the hyperbole is
justified.

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henrikschroder
_Watch what they’re doing in those videos. How are you going to do some of
those gestures with a mouse?_

How are you going to do those gestures if you're sitting at your desk with two
or three >20" monitors?

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ugh
Trackpad (mentioned in the article).

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jemeshsu
Have not been using a mouse for over 2 years. The trackpad on my MacBook Pro
replaces it. But I can see mouse is needed for WW type games or intensive
graphics work.

