The Mouse Faces Obsolescence

[Frodo]

The mouse faces extinction as computer interaction evolves

By Ariana Eunjung Cha, Published: October 7

SAN JOSE —

Nguyen and Vasquez, who attend public schools here, are part of the first generation growing up with a computer interface that is vastly different from the one the world has gotten used to since the dawn of the personal-computer era in the 1980s.

This fall, for the first time, sales of iPads are cannibalizing sales of PCs in schools, according to Charles Wolf, an analyst for the investment research firm Needham & Co. And a growing number of even more sophisticated technologies for communicating with your computer — such as the Leap Motion boxes and Sony Vaio laptops that read hand motions, as well as voice recognition services such as Apple’s Siri — are beginning to make headway in the commercial market.

John Underkoffler, a former MIT researcher who was the adviser for the high-tech wizardry that Tom Cruise used in “Minority Report,” says that the transition is inevitable and that it will happen in as soon as a few years.

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

A: When I first saw that, I thought you meant the animal.

B: Does a trackpad count?

[Frodo]

B: Does a trackpad count?

Nope -only this or a variation of it:

[So the Heroes Fall]

Article's a little sensationalist, there's plenty of things you can do with a mouse you can't with the things mentioned. Mice might be less used now but obviously aren't going obsolete anytime soon.

[IDS Judicial Overlord John Dibble]

The mouse & keyboard isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Touch screen isn't useful for all kinds of applications. Development and a good deal of office work virtually require them. Gaming also is very limited with touch screen only.

[A cowboy always follows his beard]

A: When I first saw that, I thought you meant the animal.

B: Does a trackpad count?

I thought of Mickey/Disney.

Anyway I doubt it'll go anywhere for reasons listed above. It's more convenient than a touchscreen.

[opebo]

Yes, I hate using anything other than a mouse.  I have used laptops with that little pad you put your finger on - god those are horrible.  Oversensitive.  Hate them.

[dead0man]

Some of my customers at work use a touch screen monitor to handle complicated conferencing and such.  There is a mouse attached as well.  I hate using the touch screens for extended periods of time as it's quite tiring, but for the occasional use it is MUCH easier than moving your hand to mouse, locating the pointer on the screen, moving the mouse to the selected location and clicking.

I certainly wouldn't want to use one at home, though having the option would be nice.

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

As so long as e-sports exists, the mouse will always have a home.

[Californian Tony]

I f**king HATE trackpads...

[True Federalist]

I thought of Mickey/Disney.

That reminds me.  They only have ten years left to get copyright terms extended yet again before the first of the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons goes out of copyright, and eleven for the first of the Mickey Mouse cartoons.  Steamboat Willie's copyright would have ended in 1984 under the copyright law in force when it was created.  The 1976 act extended that date to 2003, and the Sonny Bozo act in 1998 extended it 2023. The big push to extend them yet again likely won't happen until later this decade, but it is time for the corporations to get started in strangling our common creative heritage for their own greed.

[So the Heroes Fall]

I hate trackpads too, especially with their inconvenient location on most laptops. Something that combines that and a mouse like the Apple Magic Mouse can work though.

[shua]

i thought this would be about animal testing.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Yes.

[muon2]

I primarily use a wireless mouse with a very sensitive position setting. A touchpad does not work well for me. The capacitance between my finger and the pad does not stay constant and it will seem to freeze up. Also long periods of touchpad use (like editing maps) creates stress in my wrist. With the minimal motion needed on my mouse I can go quite long without stress.