I use a predictive keyboard instead.
There are several novel-layout keyboards as well, such as KALQ which is optimised for "thumb typing"
All these options work on the same device. While toughscreen size is a factor, the hardware is no longer the limit.
The Microwriter is still here because it no longer needs to be special hardware. And it might not be a huge success because a smartphone screen is too small for five human fingers.
]]>Indeed, as many have been saying instead of Ubuntu with Unity (or Ubuntu with anyhting), a better starting point would be something like one of the Linux Mint flavours.
Personally, I'd start with a cutting-edge Debian-ish live distro like Aptosid, rip out its desktop environment, and put in Window Maker ('apt-get install wmaker wmaker-data') on account of being an unrecostructed NeXTStep fan.
(Lovely Unix, NeXTStep was: Damned shame what happened to it.)
Rick Moen rick@linuxmafia.com
]]>1: It's a big change from Opera 12. You can import Bookmarks, but the replacement UI appears to be designed with touchscreens in mind. Instead of mouse-accessible menus you have large screen-objects sized for finger-taps. The look is similar to the Opera 12 Speeddial page. There's an import tool, but it doesn't cope well with subfolders
2: Arguably, it's not quite complete yet. The changes make some things very difficult. Options are missing.
3: Attempting a Google sign-up here produces an error-screen from Google telling me that the browser isn't set to accept cookies.
Since it can be installed in parallel with Opera 12, it's maybe worth having, but I don't think it's ready for prime-time. I have only seen a few pictures of the Windows 8 UI and it seems aimed at that style.
]]>Yes, and I feel the defaults on the OS X desktop are better than the ones on the Windows XP or 7, or KDE (I haven't used other WMs than KDE in a long time).
What I feel is the problem with OS X is that I can't change enough behaviours easily to be what I'd like them to be. For example, even after years of using OS X, I don't like the toolbar on top of the screen, or the fact that cmd-tab changes between programs, not windows.
Still, it's better than Windows for (my) work - having a working terminal and bash is quite essential. In my experience the Unix tools on Windows don't work well. They seem to require OS support. For starting a ssh session and a browser, and maybe some games all desktop GUIs perform well enough.
As for other devices, I have only used iPhone for a very little while, but what I saw from the user interface was bad. I didn't like it at all, and I don't understand why it was so cool. I don't know much about the other software on i-devices, so can't talk about that. The Korg emulator looked nice, and sounds interesting (pun intended).
I have an N9 as my phone even now and I like it, but I don't know what phone I'll get next. Lumia would be a good solution for my job, but I'd somehow like to get a Jolla, if they ever manage to get the phones to the market.
]]>I'm not saying here that I'd like to configure everything. I did have a quite large fvwm2 configuration in the day, but as other people here have said already, nowadays I mostly want things just to work, not to fiddle with them.
I have a couple of Raspberry Pis and Arduinos for fiddling, but a desktop system should just work.
]]>Generally my experience was pretty much like your one was. I was surprised by how painless large chunks of it was. Many of my default work-horses "just worked".
One of the things that I did notice, that I've not seen anybody mention, is that Linux folk should be thanking Apple/Google for the locked-in App Store model. Because it has finally trained "normal" people to understand the software distribution model that Linux folk have been using for years. The Ubuntu Software Centre has taken a bunch of UI lessons from the various app stores - and it shows. You no longer have to break newbie Linux users of the idea that they have to download "installers" from other sites, or go buy CDs.
If you have the time/inclination - I'd give Unity a bit more time before abandoning it. I had pretty much the same initial reaction as you did (my default front-end OS has been Mac since the 90's, although I'm often using it as a chubby-client to Unix-ish stuff). However, after I got past comparing it to OS X I found that it worked very well.
I especially liked some of the work habits it pushed me towards. For example, it almost forces you to monotasking which I initially found annoying, but eventually found quite liberating. I have a tendency towards "ohh shiny" and it helped me focus.
I think people see the "dock" and immediately think OS X. But the dash, etc. are different and, in my opinion, quite well thought out. From the perspective of a cross-device OS they've done a much more interesting job than Apple/MS have done so far. Especially with some hard things that Apple/MS are still pretty bad at (e.g. discoverability - the HUD does a much better job of that in general than the ribbon model does for example.)
The problem is that many of the interaction conventions are different - and if you come to it from OS X or Windows you'll hit a wall of annoyances until you mentally reconfigure and work with Unity's approach. The power tools are there - they're just different ones. It's just not a UI that's targeted at the "normal" Linux geek. My partner has been happily using Ubuntu for work and play for a couple of years now without touching the command line.
So - if I quite liked it why am I waiting with anticipation for Nov 1 to roll around so I can order a Macbook Air with RAM/HD maxed out ;-)
Check out the Leap Motion - that's basically what it is (except it'll support two hands too).
]]>BINGO! There's a reason why control surfaces are shaped the way the way, some of them unchanged for millennia. And that's simply because over the course of time trial and error has shown that these are the optimal interfaces. I'll say it again: using fingers for quick, accurate, delicate adjustments are pretty much the best you're going to get in the Human, Mark I model. Not eyeballs, not 'neural interfaces', whatever those are supposed to be.
]]>If that seems cool (hint: it does), you should keep in mind what it’s like trying to navigate an interface using Kinect or playing an entire game with motion controls — it’s somewhat uncomfortable. If a user interface induces any amount of discomfort, then the interface is a failure. With certain modern-day devices, such as smartphones and tablets, we’ve found that a touchscreen interface is comfortable and often the preferred way to interact with a device. With regards to the Kinect, though, having to hold your arm up in the air for an extended period just to perform simple tasks isn’t ideal.
Yeah, there are lots of things you could do for the coolness factor. But in the end, ergonomics wins over cool.
]]>In most areas, motion tracking as an interface is just a gimmick. In some, it genuinely improves usability. (See also: Neal Stephenson's attempted sword-fighting simulator.) The trick is, as always, knowing which bin your use-case is in...
]]>Something like a 30" to 40" flat panel that is on about a 30 degree slope in front of them that works via multi touch and really does allow them to manipulate designs. From early concepts down to construction docs.
Hardware will get there way before the design/CAD software does.
What I want is a computerised sketch pad:
So, what I'm looking for is something on which I can draw in a traditional non-computerised way, but that makes it easy to pass back and forth between computerised and non-computerised manipulation. I suspect that with this, the software will get there before the hardware does.
]]>It's an interesting gadget. It's a way of getting some touch-screen and gesture function out of an ordinary monitor. The UI needs to be revised to work with fingers rather than mouse pointers. When we go to a supermarket we can avoid having to go past a conventional checkout. There is hardware which uses scanners and touch screens, You can take a scanner around the shop with you.
This new UI tech is getting it into use, but it is a specialised tool.
]]>I run Linux on my servers and laptop. At work I still do Solaris too. My son does MacOSX and the wife does Windows. So I tend to look for cross platform solutions. I have a Blackberry for work and we have iPads and Android tablets at home.
I settled on KeepassX. It runs on all of them (the Blackberry is readonly). Syncing the database(s) is another issue.
I also recommend using virtual solutions like VirtualBox or VMware. Put everything on a file server (sync with Dropbox or the like) and use remote clients. I have a windows only scanner working in a VM from a thin client. If you run VirtualBox on Apple hardware, it should be able to run MacOSX w/o violating Apple's license as well. That's a way to keep Scrivener running for you.
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