Computer Mouse Heading for Extinction

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How many times have people predicted the end of the mouse as we know it? Well, you can add the research firm Gartner to the list of people predicting the end of the computer mouse. The kicker? They've even give it a timeline of five years.

Steven Prentice, vice president and Gartner Fellow, told the BBC that devices such as Nintendo's MotionPlus for the Wii and Apple's iPhone point the way to the future, offering greater accuracy in motion detection. "With the Wii you point and shake and it vibrates back at you so you have a two-way relationship," said the analyst.
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touchscreens=screens with greasy fingerprints

i hereby predict the death of touchscreens
 
I'm sure mouse manufacturers could put some sort of physical feedback in a mouse...but most people would probably prefer if the cursor didn't jiggle when they clicked.
 
I predict, in 5 years, a lot of people will start using TWO mice.

I think there are a lot of people that will want to use multi-touch applications without smudging up their screens.
 
Well OCZ just released that mind control mouse headset thing that you can use instead of a mouse.
 
I don't believe this will be true. As people said on here before, the mouse and keyboard are great ways interface with your machine.

Sure the wii remote is great for gaming, but I couldn't imagine using something like that when typing or using my computer. Right now we are use to going from the mouse to the keyboard and back. with something like the wii remote, you would have to pick up the device, take a moment or two to get it positioned on the screen where you can see the cursor, then put it down and go back to typing.

Touch screen would be nice, but the cost would be high and you end up with dirty screens.
 
I see the keyboard and mouse as I see the steering wheel and pedals on cars... great new concepts, but people will keep to the old tried and true way... they will improve the way by diffrent steering wheel concepts and drive by wire for example... but it will be around for a long time to come.
 
The Wii remote may be nice for scrolling up and down web pages and clicking links, but what about typing? I can't imagine having great accuracy in Photoshop with a Wii Remote. oh well... I like my mouse, I think I'll keep it :D
 
The whole ergonomics of reaching up to touch your monitor sounds off. I would prefer keeping my hands down so my shoulders don't get tired.

Are there any merits to a multi-touchpad like you'd use in a laptop?
 
gtfo the mouse isnt going anywhere anytime soon.. maybe in 50 years, not 5
 
Been done before in 2001 by Logitech, iFeel mice. They used Immersion's force feedback technology. They did not seem to last too long, you are probably right on with the cursor jiggle.

SmartDrv said:
I'm sure mouse manufacturers could put some sort of physical feedback in a mouse...but most people would probably prefer if the cursor didn't jiggle when they clicked.
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i make fun that touchscreens have fingerprints all over them but some sorta large sized highly accurate touchpad where you dont run out of space would be great. i used to play privateer 2 on a laptop with a touchpad and could really fly that ship in ways a mouse or stick could never acomplish.
 
Exavior said:
I don't believe this will be true. As people said on here before, the mouse and keyboard are great ways interface with your machine.
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Montgomery Scott would disagree with you ;)
 
Touchscreens=FAIL. Who the hell wants to try to look at a screen covered in finger print smudges?
 
This way Gartner also predicts, that programmers (and other people working daily behind computers) will have muscles like Mr.Governor (Arnold :) ). I simply can't imagine moving my hand all the time from keyboard to screen and back just to click on something.
 
Something truly spectacular needs to come before I'll consider replacing my mouse. So spectacular in fact, that I can't even begin to fathom what it is. My mouse = Mr. Jingles.
 
The mouse is one of the greatest devices created for the computer! It's ease of use and it's ability to do complex things that a controller would have difficulty doing would make it nearly impossible to remove with another device. IMHO the keyboard would evolve sooner than the mouse would.
 
I'm still waiting for the death of the 3.5" floppy. Let me know when that happens before I see the death of the mouse.
 
the loss of tactile feedback is going to very hard to get over, getting a screen position where your hands and view are both comfortably accommodated that's going to be a trick.
Dealing with points finer then your fingertips... picking up and dropping a stylus aren't a good solution, neither is constant resizing makes simple tasks take too many iterations. I call bullshit till I see a realistic prototype in action performing day to day tasks with a minimum of retraining..
 
Hofy said:
Touchscreens=FAIL. Who the hell wants to try to look at a screen covered in finger print smudges?
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Think of something like a DS with dual screens, one of which is a touchscreen. I like the concept of the notebook without a real keyboard and touchpad, just dual screens.
 
Methadras said:
I'm still waiting for the death of the 3.5" floppy. Let me know when that happens before I see the death of the mouse.
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QFT

they have been trying to kill the floppy for a long time now...yet half the tech support calls i get are from people who bought a dell/hp/whatever and wonder where to put the floppy in... i have a ton of sales in usb floppy drives...

The mouse I feel is integral, because of how it works it allows for even better precision then a touch screen. i mean hell, i hate my touchpad thing on my laptop, i would probably dislike it moreso if the picture is underneath my fingers. all the double tapping and whatnot.

It is a cool idea for gaming, the wiimote is fun, and i do enjoy my nintendo ds... but not for a main computer system.
 
Actually the only time I ever use a floppy now is to update my BIOS.. and it sucks cos half the time i can't find the drive anywhere.

As far as the mouse being gone in 5 years.. prolly the same type of person that would say that pc gaming is dead :rolleyes:
 
For FPS games, I prefer a mouse and keyboard. Yes the Wiimote may be good replacement but it's not ideal. After an hour of Metroid Prime, my arm got tired and my shoulder started to hurt due to pointing my Wimote at the screen. With the mouse, I could play TF2 for 2 hours and would feel fine.

I doubt the mouse will be extinct. It may eventually used by a niche market (e.g. gamers) but it certainly won't go away.
 
You should see some of the facial recognition stuff that usually appears at military based trade shows.
 
Ockie said:
Well OCZ just released that mind control mouse headset thing that you can use instead of a mouse.
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Yes but the learning curve is anywhere between 2 weeks to 3+ months. No one has that kind of time to learn how to glare at their computer the right way.
 
I dunno. Tactile feedback is nice, but I think that the setup required to provide it is a little less efficient. If you know your keyboard well enough it isn't really a big deal. Any of you guys used slim type keyboards built to be more like laptop keyboard (very compact)? The keys have barely any feed back and the keyboard is completely flat. There was a little learning curve, but once I got used to it I liked it more/typed faster especially because different parts of the keyboard weren't separate from each other (f keys, number pad etc).

If they stream lined that to a touch screen with mouse functionality I think it would be pretty interesting. Instead of a mouse and keyboard it would just be a large touch screen on your desk.

Maybe they could do it like tablets with active digitizers. Instead of a pen though there could be gloves so that way you could rest your palms on the "keyboard" without getting awkward feedback.

I think there's potential, but predicting the end of the mouse is a little premature. The technology is here, but it takes time to restructure the infrastructure of the market to make people receptive to that new technology. It's the same with any market. Um. . . Gas powered vehicle's anyone?
 
You may see some of these things incorporated into mice, but they will still be mice won't they.

At the end of the day there is only one way better than a mouse to control a computer(or other device):

Mind Control.

Sure, there may be a better way to control a mobile device(aka laptops). But with a desktop you don't need mobility and I'd rather have a mouse than any other device.

That is, until someone can implant a chip in my head and I don't need any device at all.
But that isn't happening in 5 years now is it(at least not ready to go on shelves at best buy)?
 
until there is a direct jack to the cerebral cortex to control the pointer, than no. I have a mouse and a keybord, and I fucking hate people touching my screen. If I get the lightest smudge or fingerprint, anywhere on my screen I go apeshit. Do you think I'm going to get rid of my mouse so people can fuck up my shit? I don't fucking think so!
 
Just what we need eveyrone flailing their arms about like 'tards while talking to their computers. I already feel sorry for people who work in cube farms.

The nice thing about a mouse and keyboard is you can type in one place while looking in another. Systems that track eye movement and demand you use voice or touch would require more effort, focus, etc. In fact right now, as I type this I am looking at a person in my office and pretending to pay attention to their every word. How they hell could I be this rude with some arm-flailing talky voice UI? I couldn't. Mouse + keyboard == rudeness FTW.
 
SamuraiInBlack said:
Yes but the learning curve is anywhere between 2 weeks to 3+ months. No one has that kind of time to learn how to glare at their computer the right way.
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as tech goes on devices like this the curve will get shorter
 
SamuraiInBlack said:
Yes but the learning curve is anywhere between 2 weeks to 3+ months. No one has that kind of time to learn how to glare at their computer the right way.
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as tech goes on devices like this the curve will get shorter
but a mind interface is the only thing that could ever replace a mouse
 
Unless we move up to touch pad desks, but that seems a bit cost prohibative. I work a job where I am click clicking all day. Force me to use a wii remote and I will hang around until I have tree-truck arms, then quit and become an arm wreslting champ. Same for if you make me hold my hands out infront of me 9 hours a day to touch a touchpad....
 
Already done, Logitech marketed a Force Feedback Mouse for a few years in the early 2000s
 
I would like tp have something that can replace a keyboard but it should be as easy to use as a mouse. I hate letting my hand off my mouse to type something, that't why sometimes I prefer to copy a word with the mouse and paste it instead of type it.
 
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