Xerox Alto Mouse (1973) |
The computer mouse has been a basic part of computing for about 20 years now (25 if you were a Mac early-adopter, and even longer if you are a Xerox Alto power-user). Up until recently, innovations with mouses have been about adding more buttons, and scroll wheels. Now, with Smart-Phones becoming more and more popular, things like multi-touch and gestures are being added too.
So, Jen and I were in an Apple store a few weeks back browsing (well, playing with) the new laptops. The touch-pads on these things are very sensitive, and accidentally letting a second finger graze the pad while trying to move the pointer does unexpected things. Two fingers, and the app switches, three fingers, and you are thrown to another desktop. I was thinking to myself that it would take a few hours with it to really get used to it. Jen says that the care required to work it was more than she is willing to put in (paraphrased).