Alas, Poor Mouse, I Knew Him Well…
July 23 2008 / by John Heylin
Category: Technology Year: General Rating: 5
In an interview with
the BBC, Gartner analyst Steve
Prentice predicts the demise of the mouse (the thing in your hand
right now, not actual mice – we need those for testing drugs on) in
the next three to five years. He remarks that although the mouse
works fine for desktops, for mobile devices like laptops, “it’s
over.” But how accurate is this belief? Is the mouse genuinely
on
the edge of extinction?
It could be true. A laptop touchpad is hard to use, and carrying around mice with all the other usual laptop baggage (power cords, wireless internet cards, headphones) is impractical, and on top of that, you need a flat surface. If there’s one thing the Nintendo Wii has shown us, it’s that tracking technology is not only available, but it’s cheap.
While there’s no denying that vocal and facial recognition software has the potential to do away with the mouse, a majority of users still believe that our little friend is a long way from retirement. The reasoning? Well, for one thing, the mouse is incredibly useful and quick. And, in the words of Adrian Kingsly-Hughes at ZDNet, “Anything that replaces the mouse not only has to be better than it, it’ll have to be a LOT better.” In other words, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
The mouse may well be discarded at some point in our near future, but the odds of that happening in the next five years seem like a pipe dream to me.
Comment Thread (8 Responses)
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Because waiving hands like a crazy person is easier than slightly moving your fingers?
I often wonder if Gartner “analysts” are that clueless or if they are just trolls.
Posted by: johnfrink July 23, 2008
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I haven’t used my mouse in months. The touch pad works, though it could be a little bigger. When I worked in an office, some of my colleagues developed tendonitis from mouse overuse, surely we can invent something to eliminate that kind of thing. It happens with the touch pad as well.
Posted by: Mielle Sullivan July 23, 2008
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It makes me think of ‘The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’ when they describe in chapter eleven (I think) how the controls for the TV worked in the Heart of Gold. It got so touch sensitive that in order to stay on the channel you were watching you had to stay perfectly still.
Posted by: John Heylin July 23, 2008
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I am curious what gamers would think about the mouse being eliminated. Some of the games that I play need a mouse, just so aiming/walking and interacting is done through one movement and a click. Maybe if they did a touch sensitive mouse that doesn’t actually move but reads the pressure of your hand(like the wiifit’s balance board) so you wouldn’t need a large surface.
Posted by: fantasywriter July 23, 2008
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[Comment originally posted to scan I submitted yesterday]
My mom has been working at Logitech for over 10 years so it’s interesting to see an article like this. It seems like Logitech understands the changing landscape of human computer interaction , and will do what it can to adapt. I agree…I think that it will take a little longer than 3-5 years for the mouse to be completely replaced.
Posted by: justinelee July 24, 2008
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As long as the point-cursor interface remains the interaction method of choice the mouse will remain unbeaten in its simplicity, ease of use, speed and accuracy. Even touch interfaces rely on a “point and click” concept of navigating space. For us to abandon the mouse we also must abandon our conceptions of navigating 2D interfaces.
Posted by: zakkuree July 24, 2008
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@ zakkuree – No doubt that the point cursor interface will be around for a long time. But will it require a traditional mouse? It’s possible that hand sensors, reactive gloves, and even brain computer interfaces (which already let you control basic movement of a 3D avatar and cursor) will soon replace the mouse but not the point and “click” interface.
Posted by: Alvis Brigis July 24, 2008
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Alvis, your comment reminds me of the Wii sensor system (I don’t know the technical term for it), which does have its flaws but if it could be applied to computers in an affordable manner, that would be amazing.
Posted by: jvarden July 25, 2008
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