On 12/22/2012 5:44 AM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
The counter to that is that the majority (though not all) of us like
what we know. If a new way of doing things is actually better, though
unfamiliar, but they provided the option of keeping the old way, then
the vast majority of _upgrading_ users would immediately switch to the
old way. This would have the result that (a) the users would not benefit
from the new way, (b) MS [and others] would in effect have to duplicate
support effort, in that they'd have to keep supporting both.
So I _can_ see _some_ justification for new ways of doing things, and
forcing them on users. (Compare the seat-belt and crash-helmet laws; I'm
not sure if those are the same in US as UK though. [Here belts must be
fitted, work, and be worn if the car was made later than 19xx, and
helmets must be worn [by riders of motorised two-wheelers!] except by
Sikhs.])
I am not against new things in the operating system. In fact I was using
OS/2 when most people were extolling the virtue of the first version of
Windows. Why because it was far superior to Windows.
I gladly upgraded to XP as it was based on part of the code that made
OS/2 far superior and stable.
However, why should I get excited about upgrading to a system that
assumes I am using a touch screen on my computer? In my work on the
computer the mouse works best, as it allows me access to all of the
areas on the screen with minimal physical movement. With the mouse I
can quickly move to any place on the screen and keep my hand in the area
where I am doing non computer things. i.e marking my place on the
physical page I am working with, turning the electrical switch over to
better see the information written on it, turning the chip to a better
angle to read what is written on it.
When comparing physical movement required by the mouse resting under my
hand to the movement needed to move my arm and hand all over the screen
to get the same results, the mouse will all ways win. So what if the
operating system is a tad faster, it does not increase the speed that I
can move my arm and hand. The touch screen causes a net increase in the
time to do any operation with the operating system because of the
increase physical movement of the body to get the job done.
This difference between the mouse and touch screen increases
significantly as the screen size increases and there is more territory
to move the hand to get the results you are looking for.
Using the same computer without a touch screen, still increase the
physical interaction time with the computer, because simulating a touch
screen using a mouse requires significantly more movement across the
screen. Again a net increase in the physical time to interact with the
operating system to get the same results.
Ergonomically the mouse wins hands down. How many muscle problems in
the arm and shoulder will be caused by keeping your arm and hand
extended in front of you for 8 hours a day?
With Windows 8, Microsoft has create a whole new medical syndrome.
