10/GUI — Meh …

My husband sent me video of the “10/Gui” multi-touch mouse replacement.

Link

Yay — put the touch interface physically on the user’s desk instead of in the screen.  The first thing that  came to mind watching the video is “nice”, but show me how you type accurately at keyboard speed.  And with that I’m at “meh.”  Also introduced in the video is the idea of a linear windows management system.  I immediately blanched on this idea.  I’ve never encountered the problem this guy described.  My windows always pop up where they were last opened or closed and I like having layers of different windows from which little pieces peek out so I can see what I’ve got open.  I also like arranging my PC desktop how I like — but then again I’m sitting in front of two very large flat panels, multi-tasking away as I translate and monitor my e-mail/RSS Feeds  …

This is not to say the concept is bad.  It’s just that having a huge touchpad below a traditional keyboard causes ergonomic issues of it’s own.  Basically, a keyboard and mouse are placed at the same distance in front of the user so the user is in a neutral position regardless of which device he or she is using.  Along this line I see a five-fingered multi-touch mouse  or an integrated keyboard/touch interface device instead.  I’ve seen the a keyboard/touch device on a PS3  where the keys on the keyboard can be used as the touch interface.  As for a flat touch keyboard, that allows for all kinds of modifications and customization based on application by pairing it with a screen underneath the surface.  People could create their own interfaces with a few “primitives,” which could have great possibilities for gaming, image editing, music making, and things like Bloomberg.  Manufacturers could make one keyboard for all languages.  In combination with haptics (or the likes), keyboard-like feedback could be provided, thereby creating a very familiar experience.

Personally, though, I’m very happy with the mouse.  A lot can be done with very little movement, plus mice are quite inexpensive and space friendly.

So Cute! A Baby Blackbird!

I’m pretty sad that I’m not at CES this year because I would like to see this little guy.  Yes, it’s Firebird, a light gaming PC from HP.  From the specs, it also sounds like it would be an excellent entertainment PC to connect to your TV.  Here’s a link to Rahul Sood’s Blog for his perspective on the Firebird.  Anyhow, what’s amazing to me is that they crammed all this good stuff in and the power usage peaks at 350-Watts.  Nice!  It seems like the size, noise, and power consumption trade-offs are nicely matched with the computing power.    Personally, this all sounds like a GREAT entertainment PC to me.  With some changes to the case, it could fit nicely into an entertainment center.  Hahaha!!!

Oh, a weird rambling tangent, this morning when I thought of a baby blackbird, a “sparrow” came to mind.  You know, sparrows are small, agile, and bright eyed birds — everything a light weight but powerful laptop should be.  In terms of styling cues and marketing, “Friend of the Forest” comes to mind.  It’s eco-friendly, people friendly, and adventurous all at the same time.  Fly, little sparrow, fly!!!

Learning about Leadership Through MMORPGs, Part 1

I never thought playing a video game would teach me so much about real life and myself.  Yep, you can learn about leadership, teamwork, and yourself as a leader and a team player by playing MMORPGs.  I had an encounter tonight with a player who was quite a control freak.  This person claimed to be leading 4 Warbands in an effort to lock one of the tier 4 zones in “Warhammer Online”.  He was telling players who were below level 40 to refrain from playing in contested scenarios because he or she wanted to have only his or her pre-made groups in scenarios.  I popped into a contested scenario without knowing what was going on and then was promptly asked not to queue up anymore.  My feeling was that I paid to play the game, and so I will play however I please.  This guy then proceeded to ramble on about how low level players will cause our side to lose.  I was laughing pretty hard because his pre-made parties were getting their asses handed to them in this particular scenario and I felt he needed all the help he could get. 

Spore to be Licensed for TV and Movies

Can you name any film or TV show based on a video game that has been worth watching? I can’t. Regardless, media companies keep trying. Enter Spore … I can’t really imagine how this would work short of a reality show in which clips from different people’s games are shown as a string of short films. Whatever …, the reason video games don’t make good TV shows and movies is because viewers can actively engage in the entertainment — it’s all cut-scene, which sucks! Duh??? Here’s a link to the story.

Extreme Gamers are “Extreme”

Here’s an interesting nugget from CNET about how extreme, “extreme gamers” are. What amazed me is that extreme gamers spend an average of 45-hrs/week gaming and buy 24-games/ 3 months … and then I thought about my own recent gaming. Yes, recently, my gamer side re-emerged with a vengence. Here’s a list of the top of my head of the games I’ve played in the last 3-months: