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Future of the Computer User Interface
- todayiamme 16y agoHow about a user interface that learns as the person interacts with it? Not just context based menus, but a paradigm where stuff changes as the user plays with it and the machine becomes uniquely suited for you. The advantage of something like this is that we can accommodate every type of user from the technophobe to the power users. Has anyone over here ever tried to make something like this?
- mortenjorck 16y agoI think Microsoft's ill-fated experiment with menu bars that automatically hide what the application doesn't think you're using was an example of how not do do this, and it may have scared everyone else away from the idea in general. Microsoft's problem was probably the reliance upon this as an easy alternative to actually reducing the number of entries in menus and better grouping of functionality.
- mxrider108 16y agoInteresting idea, but I can't help but think of how much of a nightmare that would make tech support!
- vilya 16y agoThe problem is that if the interface learns and adjusts to you, it prevents you from learning the interface...
- bhiggins 16y agoI don't know, but Vernor Vinge talks about such an interface in his book Rainbows End.
- sanderjd 16y agoAlso reminds me of the fantasy game in Ender's game. Of course that thing eventually turned into a universe-spanning uber-being, so maybe it's not such a good idea...
- lurkinggrue 16y agoIt would get annoying as it would start to hide that function you use occasionally. One of the reasons I would disable those features in windows that would hide functions in the pull down menus.
- davidtyleryork 16y agogreat story!