Can I swap from a MacBook Pro to an iPad?

[Cartooniverse]

Cloud this, Cloud that. Freakin' clouds.

I don't edit video, not much any more. I'd love to dump at least 10-15 pounds of gack from the backpack. ( Current weight: 34 pounds ).

I need Microsoft Office. All of it. Can I run Keynote off of an iPad? I need that. A pal showed me some $ 20.00 app that allows me to run Office off of an iPad.

Photos and video are the bulk of the problem. Not unusual. Where do I park roughly 300 Gig of that stuff so I can quickly and EFFICIENTLY access it? Yeah, I use a MiFi from Verizon if I'm not near another WiFi source, so access is never an issue.

Can I swap to an iPad? Have you done it, what are the pitfalls and upsides?

[Implicit]

Get a 13" MacBook Air, 256 GB. 3 pounds.

[Cartooniverse]

Cannot afford it. The MacBook belongs to current employer. The iPad ( Gen2 ) is sitting on the shelf in front of me, free. With a wireless keyboard already.

[Martin Hyde]

Tablets are generally not great for long duration office tasks, especially speadsheet work. There are a lot of reviews out there in which journalists or such have carried around iPads to try and use them to replace their travel notebooks. Almost all these reviews tend to say "for a lot of stuff, it's great, but even with the attached keyboard it can get problematic to do long duration typing and document editing on the iPad." That's my paraphrasing.

As for Microsoft Office, I believe Microsoft has said they plan to release an iPad version at some point. Right now I think the only way to utilize office on an iPad is through apps that let you basically use a "virtual machine" type connection that connects your iPad to a server or machine somewhere that runs an instance of Microsoft Office. I've heard Microsoft has even sued some of these services due to licensing violations, and you'll have to keep in mind it's similar to a remote desktop type connection so there will be some latency and etc you wouldn't be used to with a regular computer running the application locally.

Tablets excel at consumption of media, can do some light editing, and delivery of various cool apps and games. They are weakest at content creation and heavy content editing, especially with any type of content that requires very precise interaction (spreadsheets, certain types of image editing etc.) Certain high intensity tasks (meaning high in resource usage) would also be difficult to do on any tablet.

[twickster]

Moved MPSIMS --> IMHO.

[AaronX]

To me, an iPad can't do much more than an iPhone. The biggest problem is it can't multitask quickly.

I think one of the harddisk manufacturers (Seagate?) has a external Wi-Fi HDD made to work with the iPad.

[friedo]

The simple answer is no. A tablet computer of any kind is not suitable for office work.

[LawMonkey]

Also note that the iPad doesn't really stand alone all that terribly well. It wants/needs to hook up with iTunes on a fairly regular basis.

[DCnDC]

If your employer allows it, gotomypc could make this technically possible, but you'd still have the problem of attempting to do actual work on an iPad. There's also a subscription fee involved.

[Munch]

Originally Posted by LawMonkey

Also note that the iPad doesn't really stand alone all that terribly well. It wants/needs to hook up with iTunes on a fairly regular basis.

I've had to connect to iTunes about twice in the last 5 months with my iPad. What are you connecting for?

Cartooniverse: Have you looked at OnLive yet? It's a cloud-based Microsoft Office environment. It's also free. There are also a number of free VPN clients you can use, if there's a home/office computer for you to connect to.

[Stranger On A Train]

Originally Posted by AaronX

To me, an iPad can't do much more than an iPhone. The biggest problem is it can't multitask quickly.

Originally Posted by friedo

The simple answer is no. A tablet computer of any kind is not suitable for office work.

Originally Posted by LawMonkey

Also note that the iPad doesn't really stand alone all that terribly well. It wants/needs to hook up with iTunes on a fairly regular basis.

I have to wonder how many people responding have actually used an iPad for office productivity tasks. I've carried and used one for about a year now, and if my organization allowed me to connect a personal device to the Outlook and internal file servers and/or use cloud-type data access instead of hobbled webmail I could do nearly everything I need to do while traveling, and about 80% of what I do in office without lugging around an 8 lbm laptop. I've also carried the iPad on an extended (~1 mo) vacation on remote islands with minimal Internet access without hooking up to iTunes, and have had not problem journalling, downloading JPEG images and MPEG video from an SD card, editing images, mapping, and other basic productivity-type tasks. The Microsoft Office-compatible productivity applications as not as fully featured or robust as their PC or MacBook counterparts, but that is really a maturity issue rather than a hardware limitation, and they're fully usable for basic functionality such as writing memos. I actually find reading and editing PDFs and images generally easier on the iPad due to the direct interface and ability to switch orientation on the fly.

I don't understand the claim that "the biggest problem is it can't multitask quickly"; while it is true that you cannot have multiple frames open simultaneously, a quick double click of the home button brings up a bar at the bottom of the screen with all open apps, so two or three gestures can get you from one app to another, which is easier than sorting through windows on top of windows, and at least for me, tends to make me more focused on what I'm doing.

That being said, the iPad is not a replacement or a laptop or workstation doing heavy-duty computing or graphic manipulation, and if I were writing a long report I'd prefer to use a laptop . There are a couple of Python compilers (Python for iOS and PythonMath), but their functionality is limited; I assume the same for other languages. There are a number of calculator and computer algebra systems, but for a complex problem requiring a lot of memory or data input the iPad will be slow to the point of non-functionality. The CAD applications available for the iPad are limited to say the least. And if I were writing a long report or paper I'd prefer a workstation or laptop with an external monitor and full-sized keyboard. But for what I do on the road, it would be almost entirely sufficient it I had suitable access, and it takes up far less space and operates for much longer than my laptop, which is especially critical when I'm in a "standing room only" meeting or sitting in a side chair without a table.

Stranger

[Martin Hyde]

I've used office software on a tablet and it just doesn't work for me. If most of your traveling work is short memos and minor edits then I can see it meeting your needs. Walt Mossberg of the WSJ's All Things Digital column took one on a "working vacation" to Paris and said it totally replaced a laptop to him. He then had a CFO of a large corporation ask him about whether or not she could do the same, and after talking to her for about five minutes he said most of what she is wanting to do would not be nearly as comfortable to do on a laptop as his work was.

For me, I'm the managing partner of a real estate LP and I do basically two things while traveling: meet and greets (which are totally non-digital) and extensive document and spreadsheet work. I don't type or send out short memos, and emails on the road I typically bound out in 2-3 minutes on my smartphone.

For extensive document and spreadsheet work I can't get comfortable with a tablet physically, and that is 90% of my traveling computer work. I also have to do stuff like compare two contracts side by side line by line sometimes, and that isn't too easy on a tablet. (I just use BeyondCompare on a desktop PC for this.)

[Martin Hyde]

For things like extensive spreadsheet work I also don't believe tablets can bridge that gap just with increases in software. With a spreadsheet I feel there are inherent form factor and interface limitations to 10" touchscreens versus a mouse and pointer.

[Absolute]

Originally Posted by LawMonkey

Also note that the iPad doesn't really stand alone all that terribly well. It wants/needs to hook up with iTunes on a fairly regular basis.

Cite? This was never true, even when the iPad first came out, and certainly not today.

[Cartooniverse]

Reading and considering all. Here's what I am finding poking around.

The Microsoft Office work-arounds seem fine for my level of need. If I do this switch, it is because I am primarily producing 1-3 page documents or fine-tuning documents I have already. Not publishing a book or processing 110 column spreadsheets.

The single dealbreaker as far as I could tell was ( note past tense ) that I could not load a huge Keynote presentation onto the iPad and run it. Have found what seems to be good fixes.

1. Bluetooth keyboard and mouse make my way of working workable on an iPad. I detest typing onto the screen.
2. Storage of large files and lack of access. I don't care about the Cloud. I want a fair bit of media on hand. Have watched a few You Tubules videos proving that a USB flash stick and non-powered and powered usb hard drive cannot be "launched" by an iPad.
3.I can make use of the most clever and fairly inexpensive Seagate Go Flex WiFi generator/ hard drive. Now I can store a terrabyte of media 6" from the iPad and link quickly and strongly. Stream video, find images, etc.

I am taking my iPad to Tekserve in NYC and asking them to set this system up for me. I will bring my MacBook Pro so I have the Keynote presentation on hand. I'll explain my list of needs. IF I can use the WiFi generator within the Go Flex to access large media files, I'm set.

For $ 24.99 I can get the iPad to HDMI dongle with power charge jack next to HDMI jack. So, I access the media files and mirror the iPad onto an external projector or monitor using the HDMI cable.

For that cost ( $ 119 for Go Flex, $ 25 for cable ) it appears the single largest negative is gone. I get to ditch....15 pounds?.... of gack on my back and move to a lightweight elegant solution.

What do I not understand? Why will this not work as I understand it?

[UncleRojelio]

Originally Posted by Stranger On A Train

... a quick double click of the home button brings up a bar at the bottom of the screen with all open apps ...

tip: Turn on "Multitasking Getures" under General in the Settings. You'll (almost) never touch the Home button again.

[Cartooniverse]

Oh. Aside from what seems to be a good fix, I have a larger issue.

It appears that I still need to own a laptop. Preferably a Mac. I'd rather not- and holy crap do I adore this MacBook. But it's not mine, if I lose it it's because I am working on an iPad exclusively.

If I can access this terrabyte of data sitting at my elbow, and import images using the readable SD to iPad dongle....well, why do I need a laptop at home?

[Absolute]

Originally Posted by Cartooniverse

Oh. Aside from what seems to be a good fix, I have a larger issue.

It appears that I still need to own a laptop. Preferably a Mac. I'd rather not- and holy crap do I adore this MacBook. But it's not mine, if I lose it it's because I am working on an iPad exclusively.

If I can access this terrabyte of data sitting at my elbow, and import images using the readable SD to iPad dongle....well, why do I need a laptop at home?

I don't know, why do you?

One question - how are you saving 15 pounds by replacing a MacBook with an iPad and an external hard drive? The MacBook weighs maybe 4 pounds at most.

[Cartooniverse]

I have to weigh this machine, I know it's 5-6 lbs by holding it. Extra power supplies, multiple connectors, hard drives, etc.

Less gack means less mass.

[AaronX]

Originally Posted by Stranger On A Train

I don't understand the claim that "the biggest problem is it can't multitask quickly"; while it is true that you cannot have multiple frames open simultaneously, a quick double click of the home button brings up a bar at the bottom of the screen with all open apps, so two or three gestures can get you from one app to another, which is easier than sorting through windows on top of windows, and at least for me, tends to make me more focused on what I'm doing.

Try copying posts from 3 different threads into one Word document. Better yet, try getting data from a website, a pdf, and text from a picture. Sending an email with attachment? Whoops, you can't attach things to emails. You can only attach emails to things. Of course, all this depends on what you use your iPad for. If you don't do these, it won't affect you.

Do iPads support mice? Ever since the latest OS update with iCloud, they've been able to function quite well without a computer, even activation can be done without iTunes.

[Pitchmeister]

Originally Posted by AaronX

Do iPads support mice?

No. Why would they? The multi-touch interface is so fundamentally different from a mouse-based interface, I don't see how having a mouse would do any good.

[Stranger On A Train]

Originally Posted by AaronX

Try copying posts from 3 different threads into one Word document. Better yet, try getting data from a website, a pdf, and text from a picture. Sending an email with attachment? Whoops, you can't attach things to emails. You can only attach emails to things. Of course, all this depends on what you use your iPad for. If you don't do these, it won't affect you.

Do iPads support mice?

I see; your problem is not that these things cannot be done, but that you don't know how to do them.

No, the iPad does not support the use of a mouse. That isn't a deficiency; that is an intentional divergence from the WIMP type of interface to a more naturalistic human-computer interaction using multi-touch gestures and pseudo-physical manipulation, e.g. flicking pages or zooming with pinch gestures. This type of interface is already being implemented in phases in the latest version of OSX, and is an inherent part of the Microsoft Windows 8 GUI and Microsoft Surface. In other words, the mouse, like the lightpen, joystick, and drawing tablet interfaces before them, will become obsolete.

The iPad is not a comprehensive replacement for a "real" computer by far, but for the vast majority of mobile productivity tasks it is adequate or becoming so with the maturity of applications and features. And it is far easier to set up and use in a variety of positions and locations than a laptop or netbook, hence the mass adoption by the medical and educational establishments.

Stranger

[Ferret Herder]

Originally Posted by UncleRojelio

tip: Turn on "Multitasking Getures" under General in the Settings. You'll (almost) never touch the Home button again.

This right here. Slide 4 fingers up to reveal the "dock" with open apps, slide 4 down to close it. 4 fingers and thumb spread out on the screen then scrunched in as if crumpling a piece of paper will close the app (down to the dock, not completely shut down).

[Ferret Herder]

Does anyone have/know of an iPad app that can handle (ideally both view and edit, but at least view) tracked-changes in Word documents? Everything I've tried so far seems to only show the "clean" copies, and I need to see the edits.

[Pork Rind]

Originally Posted by Ferret Herder

This right here. Slide 4 fingers up to reveal the "dock" with open apps, slide 4 down to close it. 4 fingers and thumb spread out on the screen then scrunched in as if crumpling a piece of paper will close the app (down to the dock, not completely shut down).

And 4 fingers side-to-side moves you though Your most recent apps without going to the switcher.

[Martin Hyde]

Originally Posted by Pitchmeister

No. Why would they? The multi-touch interface is so fundamentally different from a mouse-based interface, I don't see how having a mouse would do any good.

I think some sort of mouse/cursor control would be useful for spreadsheet programs. It's one of the few areas where I don't see touch ever being able to replace traditional point and click (well, I can think of some proprietary and technical applications that require fine pointer control as well, but those are not mainstream use cases.)

[Martin Hyde]

Originally Posted by Stranger On A Train

I see; your problem is not that these things cannot be done, but that you don't know how to do them.

No, the iPad does not support the use of a mouse. That isn't a deficiency; that is an intentional divergence from the WIMP type of interface to a more naturalistic human-computer interaction using multi-touch gestures and pseudo-physical manipulation, e.g. flicking pages or zooming with pinch gestures. This type of interface is already being implemented in phases in the latest version of OSX, and is an inherent part of the Microsoft Windows 8 GUI and Microsoft Surface. In other words, the mouse, like the lightpen, joystick, and drawing tablet interfaces before them, will become obsolete.

The iPad is not a comprehensive replacement for a "real" computer by far, but for the vast majority of mobile productivity tasks it is adequate or becoming so with the maturity of applications and features. And it is far easier to set up and use in a variety of positions and locations than a laptop or netbook, hence the mass adoption by the medical and educational establishments.

Stranger

I don't think a mouse will ever become totally obsolete, just like all the things you mentioned aren't actually obsolete right now, and probably won't be for years if ever in our life times.

For one, if I'm at a desk in an office working for 8 hours I'll obviously want a big monitor for readability purposes. Okay, so let's say it's 2018 and I'm using Windows 9 and a 27" touchscreen monitor. Am I really going to want to be gesticulating wildly with my hands on a 27" screen for 8 hours a day? Causing most likely extensive stress injuries to shoulder and elbow, not to mention necessitating repeated cleaning of the screen due to the greasiness of my fingers? Or am I going to use a mouse which requires minimal physical movement (even less if you're like me and in the small group of trackball users)?

I love new technology, I love tablets and smartphones. I think the future is definitely in us having these handheld devices cover a huge portion of our needs that currently are covered by PCs. But as long as millions of people are going to be using actual computers with mice for many many years, I can't see it as logical to say mice are becoming obsolete. I think you're speaking from a combination of over-exuberance about "cool" new technology and probably a personal use case for PCs that is out of line with what a lot of office workers do.

[Martin Hyde]

Originally Posted by Ferret Herder

Does anyone have/know of an iPad app that can handle (ideally both view and edit, but at least view) tracked-changes in Word documents? Everything I've tried so far seems to only show the "clean" copies, and I need to see the edits.

I don't know if any app exists other than Microsoft Word that can handle those (in the .docx format anyway.) Ars Technica did a review of 4 cloud document services, all of which can handle .docx files to a degree, and all of them failed to handle tracked changes. (I even think the Microsoft cloud document reader tells you it needs to launch desktop word if you want to see revisions.)

[Stranger On A Train]

Originally Posted by Martin Hyde

I don't think a mouse will ever become totally obsolete, just like all the things you mentioned aren't actually obsolete right now, and probably won't be for years if ever in our life times.

I haven't seen a light pen for a couple of decades, and joystick and pen tablet type interfaces are limited to niche applications today.

Originally Posted by Martin Hyde

For one, if I'm at a desk in an office working for 8 hours I'll obviously want a big monitor for readability purposes. Okay, so let's say it's 2018 and I'm using Windows 9 and a 27" touchscreen monitor. Am I really going to want to be gesticulating wildly with my hands on a 27" screen for 8 hours a day? Causing most likely extensive stress injuries to shoulder and elbow, not to mention necessitating repeated cleaning of the screen due to the greasiness of my fingers? Or am I going to use a mouse which requires minimal physical movement (even less if you're like me and in the small group of trackball users)?

No, you wouldn't be performing direct touchscreen applications on a vertically mounted monitor in a workstation-type environment. Not only could it result in the kind of repetitive stress injuries you mention, but it would be uncomfortable and awkward due to the mismatch between visual form factor and physical interaction zone. The type of interaction needed for a tablet computer is different than that for a large display. However, you may use direct touch for a surface computing type application, or a touchpad type interface (as most laptops offer now) that mimics a touchscreen in a manageable tactile zone, which has already surpassed the mouse in fluidity and versatility for all but the most intricate of functions. In the next five to ten years, three dimensional free gesture interfaces will likely be production ready for basic consumer hardware.

Originally Posted by Martin Hyde

I love new technology, I love tablets and smartphones. I think the future is definitely in us having these handheld devices cover a huge portion of our needs that currently are covered by PCs. But as long as millions of people are going to be using actual computers with mice for many many years, I can't see it as logical to say mice are becoming obsolete. I think you're speaking from a combination of over-exuberance about "cool" new technology and probably a personal use case for PCs that is out of line with what a lot of office workers do.

I'm hardly an early adopter nor an enthusiast of "cool" over functional, and as a Vim user can attest to how responsive a purely command line interface can be compared to any pointer-based system for any type of text or code editing work. I've passed on many of the supposed innovations that turned out to be dead ends, such as dedicated PDAs, netbooks, spaceballs, et cetera.

But for the vast majority of work people do in a mobile computing type environment, tablet computers fulfill most needs and will continue to improve as applications and hardware mature, while the limitations and disadvantages of laptop computers will become more evident. I agree that tablets are not suitable for certain types of tasks that require large displays, very fine interface control, or high performance computing, but current desktop and laptop machines also have some significant limitations based upon the technology of the day that are limiting. It is true that people and organizations will resist giving up existing interface modes based upon inertia and ingrained habits, regardless of inefficiency, just as people resisted giving up floppy drives and are currently doing optical media. But nonetheless, the mouse and pointer as an interface is obsolete--as in, cannot be further improved upon and will be surpassed by other, more effective human-computer interaction systems--and whether it takes five years or twenty to disappear from regular use is on its way out.

Personally, I use a thumb trackball (which is increasingly difficult to find despite the superior attributes to a mouse controller) for my work computer, but on my MacBook I've gone to almost strictly using the touchpad interface. This isn't because I want to be "cool" or even because I made a deliberate effort to do so, but because I found it to be quicker, more intuitive, and also more flexible than a mouse or trackball.

Stranger

[pulykamell]

Originally Posted by Stranger On A Train

I
Personally, I use a thumb trackball (which is increasingly difficult to find despite the superior attributes to a mouse controller) for my work computer, but on my MacBook I've gone to almost strictly using the touchpad interface. This isn't because I want to be "cool" or even because I made a deliberate effort to do so, but because I found it to be quicker, more intuitive, and also more flexible than a mouse or trackball.

Don't you find the touchpad interface bugs your fingers after awhile? Just curious. I'm fine with the touchpad in limited doses, but I do have to get away from it or switch to a mouse because it bugs my fingers after an hour or two. My wife has switched to using a mouse exclusively with her laptop, because she has even more of an issue with it than I do. Anything that requires extensive non-keyboard input (like when I edit photographs), I have to use a mouse or a pen/tablet, otherwise, the tips of my fingers start going numb or feeling weird. Are we unusual in this regard?

[AaronX]

Originally Posted by Pitchmeister

No. Why would they? The multi-touch interface is so fundamentally different from a mouse-based interface, I don't see how having a mouse would do any good.

Originally Posted by Cartooniverse

1. Bluetooth keyboard and mouse make my way of working workable on an iPad. I detest typing onto the screen.

Originally Posted by Stranger On A Train

I see; your problem is not that these things cannot be done, but that you don't know how to do them.

Then how should I do them? You haven't given a better way than double-clicking the Home button or gestures. The iPad doesn't support multiple windows at the same time. Also, some problems like unable to attach things to emails (meaning you can't attach more than 1 type of document to an email) have no solution as of now.

[Stranger On A Train]

Originally Posted by AaronX

The iPad doesn't support multiple windows at the same time. Also, some problems like unable to attach things to emails (meaning you can't attach more than 1 type of document to an email) have no solution as of now.

That the iPad doesn't support multiple windows in a compositing format not by accident but by design. Such windowing systems are actually highly inefficient from a productivity perspective--like having an overly cluttered desk--and with the form factor of a tablet is not practical or even necessary. Tiling window systems have been discussed, and some hacks on Andriod-based tablets even allow for tiled windows, but it makes apps more difficult to design, and unless you are doing something like comparing two text files or images side by side, it just isn't really necessary. Due to the Macintosh and Windows operating systems (and to a lesser extent, XWindows) we've become accustomed to having multiple applications on display at once, but unless you are doing something like real-time monitoring of console operations, this is really just a distraction. Having only one app up at a time allows the user to focus on their primary task at hand, and the cut and paste features on iOS have improved dramatically from the first release to the point that for most uses they are equivalent to those on desktop systems.

As for the supposed problem of "...you can't attach more than 1 type of document to an email..." if you are one of those people who gloms 10 MB of image and data files onto an e-mail, for the love of all that is good and holy please don't do that. It is inefficient, obnoxious, and utterly unnecessary. There is such a wide variety of different options for file sharing, both open and secure, that there is really little excuse for sending large or multiple files via e-mail. If you must send a bundle of files via e-mail, zipping them into an archive is the appropriate way to package them, so that they can be presented in the correct directory structure and without having to individually unpack each file. But really, you should be uploading files to a file server (or in the modern parlance, a "cloud") so that the recipients can download at will without having their e-mail access brought to its knees by choked bandwidth.

While I would agree that tablet computers are more limited than their desktop counterparts in many ways, most of the complaints regarding the limited functionality of the iPad (or other tablets) are actually reflections of poor or sloppy practice in electronic communication and productivty in general. We've become so accomodating of bad design in applications (such as Microsoft Office) and inefficient practice in the use of GUIs that an interface that is clean and efficient actually seems limiting.

Stranger

[Stranger On A Train]

Originally Posted by pulykamell

Don't you find the touchpad interface bugs your fingers after awhile? Just curious. I'm fine with the touchpad in limited doses, but I do have to get away from it or switch to a mouse because it bugs my fingers after an hour or two. My wife has switched to using a mouse exclusively with her laptop, because she has even more of an issue with it than I do. Anything that requires extensive non-keyboard input (like when I edit photographs), I have to use a mouse or a pen/tablet, otherwise, the tips of my fingers start going numb or feeling weird. Are we unusual in this regard?

I've never had this problem with a touchpad (although I don't use the touchpad on my work laptop because it is so crappy compared to the MacBook), but I have had it with a mouse, or in lesser degree with a trackball. Repetitive stress injuries can actually occur even with small movements, which is why routine gestures should be automated as best possible. Regardless of the interface that you use, you should be taking a five to ten minute break every forty-five minutes or so, if for no other reason than to ensure circulation and change in posture.

Stranger

[pulykamell]

Oh, I do have issues with a mouse, too, but that's with very extended use. I've gotten to using the pen and tablet a lot more and that has solved a lot of my problems. However, my wife and I both appear to be much more sensitive to the touchpad (and we both have Macs). It doesn't seem to bug me on the glassy surface of an iPhone, though.

[Martin Hyde]

I've tried most laptop touchpads, and have tried out Apple's standalone touchpad. Perhaps I just don't have the hands for it but I've never once felt for even one moment they are more efficient than a mouse.

What are you actually doing with the touchpads? The only thing I can say is for certain tasks a touchpad is slightly more comfortable, but when I'm using an actual PC I am switching between 5-10 different things, maybe 3 of them require very fine precision control and are less enjoyable with a touchpad.

I also find it is far easier to adjust to ultra-high sensitivity setings on a mouse than it is on a touchpad. I've never been able to set a touchpad up so that it mimics the sensitivity of my mouse without becoming unwieldy for use by me, it's easier for me to slightly move my entire hand for most computing purposes than it is to use fingers on a pad.

[Martin Hyde]

And three dimensional gesture interfaces are another thing you see people think will be great but I'm just not seeing it. To me, it is always going to be easier to move a mouse a few centimeters back and forth than it will be to gesticulate to get things done. The more motion the more stress injuries and the less comfortable it is. I don't see how you can use 3D gestures and have less physical motion than a mouse which works on a 2D plane (or a trackball which doesn't move at all aside from the ball.) Just like current touch interfaces I see a place for it, but replacing the interface input tool for people that work 40 hours a week at a computer? I'm not seeing it.

It's sort of like voice commands for computers in the Star Trek universe. We've had voice control PC software for a long time, and it's even really good now. The reason very few people use it is no one wants to talk at their computer for 8 hours a day unless they are physically disabled and that is their best form of interfacing with the machine.