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