I hope that the future of computer interaction is such a thing that takes us beyond mouse/keyboard/screen. In a way, it already is happening. I also believe that we will be stuck with keyboard/mouse/screen for a long time.

I am thinking of computers in the term of Personal Computers, PC’s, workstation machines. I’m not PC or Mac partial here, just trying to generalize personal computers as a whole.

A new type of commonly accepted interactivity?

I would like to soon see a new type of efficient interactivity that becomes widely accepted and accessible. Something like this, maybe?

Cell phones are mini computers.

Mp3 players are mini computers.

You use them without a typical keyboard or mouse. They are also not as powerful or as capable as a full-fledged personal computer. They might not be a good example in this case.

What I am looking forward to is a popular method of interacting with a personal computer that will ultimately be able to replace the mouse/keyboard. I don’t have the slightest idea what this may be or if it will ever happen.

This, of course, would be an extreme change from the way that people are currently accustomed to interacting with their computers. The keyboard/mouse combo is so widely accepted and embedded in the culture of computer use that it will probably never be fully replaced.

Mouse and keyboard, could they possibly be a legendary combo?

In some ways, the mouse keyboard combo may be the ultimate control combination for ease of use and minimal overall arm movement. You can input text and characters very rapidly, and you can interact with positions on the screen with pixel pinpoint accuracy. Moving the mouse pointer is as easy as flicking your wrist.

Watch any good pc gamer work their magic and you will see that he/she can interact with the screen, their character, and the environment around them in a real-time and frantic manner. In many cases the gamer isn’t even thinking of the control devices as they use them.

This is a sign of excellent interactive control.

Also, gaming aside, professional use of computers is perfectly handled through keyboard/mouse interactivity. Graphic artists, computer programmers, office administrators, network administrators and all other computer using professionals are able to get the job done efficiently and effectively with keyboard/mouse interaction.

This is a sign of excellent interactive control.

In the future there will probably be different and more interactive ways of using your computer rather than the keyboard and mouse, at least it would be interesting to see. Hollywood throws ideas out there all the time. In reality, touchscreen will probably be the next widely accepted interaction, and already is becoming so.

Touchscreen will not replace mouse/keyboard, it will enhance it.

So, mouse/keyboard remains. That is why I call the mouse/keyboard combination legendary.

Beyond touchscreen? Who knows.

Are holographic 3d images really the future?

I hope not. Why does every depiction of the future use of computers, at least the very far future of computers, depict holographic images as being all that great? What’s wrong with a flat screen for rendering imagery from your computer?

While we’re on this subject: I’d rather just talk to somebody over a phone style device than have to look at a flickering, transparent miniature version of them while talking to them.

Give me a bright, crisp and large computer monitor and I’ll be happy. It’s a great way to interface visually with a computer.

Random video to end this rant

And, to leave you with a random video that partially contains people in the past talking about the future of computers: