On Wed, 26 Jul 2000 13:52:53 -0700, Steve Lamb wrote:
SL> That is why I didn't say that. I said it this way, "...what the
SL> keyboard, for about a century now, has been designed to do!" I
SL> didn't say that we've always been doing it and should always
SL> continue to do it, I'm stating that the keyboard has been designed
SL> for that task.
No-one has disputed this and no-one is taking that away from you
either. How does the fact that the keyboard has been designed for
editing text prevent another device being used to assist with text
editing? The fact that the keyboard has been solely used for 100 years
says nothing for against this. The fact that you find the mouse
inefficient for selecting text blocks and moving it to another area in a
document doesn't negate it's use either. I actually copy/cut and paste
text using both the mouse and keyboard together. Both combined, is
faster than one alone. I use the mouse alone to drag and drop text where
it's implemented.
SL> The timeframe is to show that a lot thought has gone into the
SL> keyboard design (although lately a lot of marketing has gone into
SL> keyboard design to the utter detriment of functionality) and that
SL> for the task of editing text I'd think the device that was designed
SL> to enter and later edit text with 100 years of history behind it is
SL> going to beat out the device designed for an entirely different task
SL> which has only had ~25 years of thought put into it.
Don't blow it out of proportion now. No-one is even implying the
mouse taking over as the text input device of choice.
SL> As for your thought control, let me give you a little anecdote.
SL> I played Doom since before it went gold. In fact, I played Wolf3D.
SL> I played both on the keyboard even though in the time of Doom the
SL> mouse was being used by the top players. Even when I went to Duke3D
SL> with its limited up/down view I still used the keyboard. In fact, I
SL> beat most of the mouse players that came around.
Same here in my gaming days. I always preferred the keyboard for
gaming. :-) I only played kill or be killed, murder and mayhem type
games.
SL> Then comes Half-Life and guess what, the interface and environment
SL> reach a point where the keyboard was not good enough to control the
SL> game. Did I complain? Did I moan endlessly in a most Gothly
SL> fashion? No. I tried the mouse, found out that the keyset they had
SL> set up was quite logical and easy to use and switched to the mouse.
:-) In my rant, I was indicating how you came across. I was not
saying that's how you are as a person. I was criticising what you wrote
and my interpretation of it.
SL> When the time comes that some other interface is better at
SL> entering and editing text than a keyboard comes along, chances are
SL> I'll switch to it. Point is, the mouse is a pointing device, not a
SL> text input/editing device.
Remember that Fred and I are referring to selecting and moving
text that has already been entered. That's a minute part of text
editing. How does that translate to this concern about the mouse taking
over as *the* text input/editing device in preference to the keyboard.
IMO, it never will.
--
-=A.C. Martin=- [ TB! v1.45 S/MIME | Win2k Pro ]
PGP Key: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Subject=SendAlliePGPKey
________________________________________________________
"Oxymoron: Superette. "
--
--------------------------------------------------------------
View the TBUDL archive at http://tbudl.thebat.dutaint.com
To send a message to the list moderation team double click here:
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To Unsubscribe from TBUDL, double click here and send the message:
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
--------------------------------------------------------------
You are subscribed as : [email protected]
