The idea of this new interface for using computers is cool, it aims at increasing the information we can transfer to the computer by using all fingers at the same time, instead of a mouse with several buttons.

I don’t know if it is really better than what we use now or not, but I know that for something to have success it has to be noticeable better, if it is slightly better nothing will change, as there is a inertia to keep things as they are. Some people convey that DVORAK was better than QUERTY, but peole used QUERTY before and they continued using it. The same can be said of the OSI model, when compared with the TCP/IP model supposedly OSI was agreed with a grater consensus, but too late as the adoption of TCP/IP made of it the de facto standard. Even IPv6 is taking a long time to be adopted as the main standard.

This change:

• Involves many people, all computer users
• Has an impact on something they do probably several hours a day
• The impact is noticeable, it should be considered that it requires:
  • moving the keyboard, maybe a bigger table, etc.
  • new software
  • learning to use the new hardware and software
  • …
• The benefits may not be so noticeable.

When a change has these characteristics the most safe bet is to aim for a niche market in which the relevance is much bigger in the pros than in the cons, IMHO. I cannot think of a niche market for this technology, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

The good thing is that I added a comment system, so you can leave your opinion if you don’t like mine. Also examples of improvements that were not adopted are welcome, specially in the field of interfaces.