The Potato, Brush and Finger Paint

Multi-touch technology is on the rise. And with it, lots of talk of gesture control and touch screens and other such devices.

So what will happen to the mouse? Are computer interfaces going entirely tactile with human contact?

I don't think so.

I'm fairly sure the mouse will remain for quite a while longer. The simplicity, control and options that mice provide are too numerous to give up. Though, when trying to draw it is like using a potato.

Which is why I love my pen tablet. It is precise and fast: Exactly what I want from an interface tool.

But fingers? The results are about as good as finger paint. Fun sometimes and moderately functional, but hardly precise. So while it will continue to be useful on small devices for fun as well as a few "real" tasks, it's not going to take over the home computer world.

But I hope that multi-touch is used to advance the tablet interface. It would be awesome to move beyond the world of the fine point pen and begin to be able to use brushes and textured tools--like sponges--to "paint" on our computers.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor