January 3, 2010
Computers in the world after keyboards
Why does a computer need a keyboard anyway?
What if most of the things you did on it didn't require typing?
Let's say you already had a device or two around the house where you wrote your papers and business documents and emails -- things that require more than 15 words or 140 characters of typing.
Let's say there are other things you want to do on the computer -- like point at stuff, scroll, click/tap, drag.
And what if those things are way more important in 2010 than in 2000 or 1990.
That means you are spending more time watching your computer screen, reading it, playing with your computer, surfing etc.
So you can have a computer with no keyboard.
And isn't a keyboard an ugly horrible thing? Clunky, really very complicated with all those buttons, and it can even be replaced moderately well by on-screen keyboards. So when typing doesn't matter...why not ditch the keyboard?
I often wish my laptop didn't have a keyboard. I always wish desktops didn't have them -- they ruin your desk.
Certainly the game machines like Wii and Xbox do just fine without keyboards.
They keyboard is the most shocking dogma of the PC era to persist. Some computing uses definitely require a keyboard, but many don't. And if you just redid the UIs... you would even less often need one.
And that's all a tablet is anyway. A nice video, web, reading, remote control gadget.
But I still agree with Daring Fireball that the new generation of tablets will "replace" much of what we use laptops for.
Posted by amol at January 3, 2010 7:04 PM
