[Discuss] [OT] iOS from a power user's perspective

[richard.pieri at gmail.com (Rich Pieri)]

I've used several versions of iOS (on iPod Touch) and several versions
of Android (on HTC Incredible and nook Color). I hated all of them. I
have problems with touch interfaces in general. I don't like them, and
some of the problems with them are insurmountable.

One of my little psychoses is that I hate fingerprints and smudges on
the screen. They drive me nuts. It doesn't matter how lipophobic the
glass treatment is, because if I touch it then it will get smudged.
Repeat until I get so frustrated at it that I wipe it down, and repeat,
and repeat again, and again....

They lack precision. It doesn't matter how good the pointing and
selecting assist is. No human finger can beat a mouse or a stylus
and a mediocre digitizer plate for precision. Heck, a Nintendo DS is
more precise than iPhone 5 or Galaxy S III. Which means handwriting
recognition isn't going to happen ever again that I can foresee. Which
is a great shame because...

You can't touch type on a flat surface. It's simply not possible.
There's no touch to ensure that your fingertips are lined up on the
keys, no feedback to tell that you've actually typed something. If you
have to look at where you are typing then it isn't touch typing.

Given all that I find that I want Microsoft's Surface to succeed.
Despite my bugaboo about smudges there are time when I feel it would be
useful to be able to "grab" something on the screen and quickly move it
somewhere else. Surface can do that. It's a best of everything, with
keyboard and mouse for general use and touch screen for those occasions
where gross gestures are quicker or easier.

A virtual Power Glove using the webcam as input would be better
mechanism permitting a full range of motion for input. Which actually
exists:
http://eviacam.sourceforge.net/index.php
http://www.neurotechnology.com/npointer.html

There are some superior versions that use the Kinect's multiple cameras
and depth-sensing capabilities for more accurate input. It's a pity
that this probably won't ever go mainstream.

-- 
Rich P.