Is The Computer Mouse Headed for Extinction?
Gestural control systems like touch screens and facial recognition systems might soon spell doom for the humble computer mouse, a Gartner analyst predicts.
Although the mouse functions adequately enough in a desktop environment, in the mobile and gaming environments its shortcomings are glaring indeed.
For example, on a tiny laptop screen, it is way easier to just use your fingers to touch whatever you want, or if you’re sitting on a couch playing with your console, having to find a horizontal, smooth spot to use a mouse is next to impossible.
Enter the alternatives:
Face & Hand Gesture Recognition - Panasonic, Sony and Canon are using face recognition and hand gestures for the control of tv video and menus instead of a remote.
Emotive Response Recognition - Emotive systems where you can wear a headset and control a computer by simply thinking. A device that can do this is set to hit the market in September.
Touchscreens - Apple iPod and Microsoft Surface have shown us the usability of such interfaces in our daily lives.
Mouse manufacturers however beg to differ, stating that much of the developing world still has yet to get online, thus opening up new potential markets for the sale and use of computer mice.
[ VIA British Broadcasting Corporation ]
