Next Generation UI
The rapid pace of device capabilities and HCI modalities has resulted in an ever-confusing smorgasbord of UI options. With many years to reflect on this evolutionary trend, I have the pleasure of being able to offer a glimpse of the next generation UI, one that finally deals with the confusion we have amassed over the decades. You may be surprised with the elegance and simplicity of this revolutionary advance.
De-WIMP
We start by addressing the confusion created by pointer context, which applies to the “traditional” mouse and touch-based input. In this input model the user is presented with a vast range of possible options (clickable regions) with varying impact on the advancement towards particular goals. For example, clicking on a “menu” representation may simply reveal more clickable regions but sometimes it initiates an unstoppable action (e.g. exit). Generally the screen is populated with many more regions than will actually be required by the user for the current stage of the activity, for the entire session, or ever. While it may be possible to strictly limit the presented or available regions, the consequence of such contextual switching during interaction is just more confusion, particularly if one is sensitive to flashing images. A more radical solution is to consider the complete removal of this RSI- and fit-inducing form of interaction. In the Next Generation UI we see the end of the menu bar and drop-downs, the end of buttons and checkboxes, the end of all forms of scurrying around the screen with a pointer that changes shape as rapidly as the mouse skids along the pad.
With the right (or possibly left) hand free, this opens up more options for more efficient forms of tactile input. This requires a certain amount of retraining to remind users that the hand has more than just an index finger (and optionally a right-click finger). In time, digital input can be enhanced by as much as 1000%! Observations show that many people can enter complex expressions using just two thumbs, almost as fast as they can talk. This rate can be further improved using the “txt spk” compression algorithm, a point we will return to soon.
Anti-smear, anti-glare
Digital input can be impressive, but it has competition from other tactile approaches, the most prevalent being the almost ubiquitous touch-screen. These not-quite-tactile input mechanisms generally suffer from constant finger smears, necessitating the carrying of a cloth at all times, and the tendency to use dark symbols on a bright background compounds the problem with glare. Two very direct solutions are proposed:
- Do not use touch-screens.
- Use bright symbols on a dark background.
A single (optionally flashing) pointer on the darkened screen will be adequately distinguished from surrounding text, and will concentrate the user’s attention. This is so effective that tests suggest a single input area will suffice for all activity, removing the need for separate windows and the means of switching between them.
Compression
With the user’s attention now totally focussed, the need for rapid entry becomes paramount. This is where the “txt spk” compression algorithm comes into its own. Like the icons of the now-defunct WIMP UI model, the words used in the proposed text-oriented tactile input mechanism need only be suggestive of their purpose, rather than being a complete description. Thus actions such as “move file X into directory Y” can be accommodated through a compressed expression: mv. Similarly, copy becomes cp, remove becomes rm, list becomes ls and so on. If you ever feel the need to consult the manual, you can do so via the (yes, you guessed it) man command.
Since it is quite apparent that the adoption of “txt spk” is a global phenomenon, we expect wide adoption of compressed commands.
Un-inventing the wheel
With the removal of the mouse, we have also removed the wheel (first envisaged in 1993) and with it the urge to scroll. Scrolling is by far the greatest impediment to efficient use of computing resources. Giving the user the option of revisiting past activity merely distracts from the present. When it becomes clear to the user that one cannot reference the past, there is a heightened awareness of the need to avoid mistakes, to plan one’s actions, to use the computer with purpose.
Where next?
The next generation UI, with its single point of entry, optimised digital inputs (all 10 of them), compressed command system and in-the-moment attitude will revolutionize human-computer interaction, but that is not the end of the story. Further research has revealed that almost all forms of data storage suffer from bit-decay and format-deprecation (as anyone with a VHS tape will agree) but a new approach using high-contrast fluids on a purified substrate of carbon fibres (from, of all places, trees!) has a proven lifespan measuring thousands of years. This is taking us down the road of a new operational modality where digital input is transferred directly to permanent storage (as rolls or sheets of substrate) , thus completely removing the need for a display screen. There are even rumours that the mechanical energy of the human input could be used to power the entire system, with a consequent massive saving in energy. Watch this space!
(Postscript: early versions of the next generation UI can be viewed online.)
Categorised as: LUE