::scr Dressing up the computer

[Arvid Gidhagen]

> I envision eye-tracking as being built in to a pair of glasses, or
> even a monocle, which would also be the display.

Now we're getting somewhere. But the idea of eye tracking coupled
to a traditional desktop computer simply doesn't seem like progress.
I found this site to be quite interesting, especially sections 5.2-5.5.

http://www.diku.dk/~panic/eyegaze/article.html

Simply put, it explains why eye tracking doesn't work as a straight
replacement for a mouse as a pointing device. But Dave's tiny monocle
display computer would presumably operate in an entirely different
way, and it would need to do so to be functional.

Out of the four stalwarts Windows, Icons, Mouse and Pointer, I think
the most useful one is the W, simply because windows are so useful
(and dare I say it, probably an almost innate human way of organizing
stuff). But there have been voices here from people always maximizing
their windows to fill the screen, so...

But as the display screens get ever larger, maximizing everything seems
like a waste of space.

On a related tangent, I've been thinking about how large the screen
can get in its present form. 19" screens are nice. 21" screens are
nicer. But what about a 36" screen sitting on your desktop? If you
have a really large screen as close to you as screens normally are
today, you will actually have to move your head around to see things
in the far corners of the screen. If you move the screen further
away from you, you'll have to use larger text (and icons and whatever)
to be able to read it, and so the point of having a larger screen is
lost. Not to mention the fact that this setup takes up a lot of space.

- Arvid