BBC report: “Say goodbye to the computer mouse”
I read this report by Maggie Shiels on the BBC website today. It claims that the computer mouse is on its way out to be replaced by “so called gestural computer mechanisms like touch screens and facial recognition devices” within 2 to 5 years. Presumably we will be commuting to work in flying cars and employing robots to do our domestic chores too. Yet another ludicrous technology prediction, but with the added sadness that large scale computing companies (i.e. Microsoft) actually subscribe to this nonsense. Good job Bill Gates made his money already.
Is the BBC really that short on technology news that they have to publish these illfounded speculations? The computer mouse may be old, but that doesn’t mean the principle needs to be superseded. The wheel is pretty old too you know…
These muppets spend 5 minutes prancing about in front of a Nintendo Wii and think they have seen the future of all computing. The Wii is a games system. Anyone who has tried to used the Wii controller to browse the Internet will tell you that a mouse is far superior. The mouse is also the very best way to play first person 3D shooter games.
Apart from the obvious problems with touchscreen (filth on the screen, aching arms etc.) and gesture systems (lacking in precision, unreliable, and you look like a prat using them), do these people really think that businesses will spend vast sums of money changing their existing hardware over to these new systems that their staff won’t know how to use?
So, no the mouse is not dead, nor will it be in 2 - 5 years. Just like my Fiat won’t be taking to the skies and R2D2 won’t be popping around to do my washing up.