Advogato: Semantics and Computing

“Recent discussions on Advogato have raised the question of how
to improve the UNIX GUI. Unfortunately, the conversation has been
focused on marginal improvements of the current WIMP system –
user-defined interfaces, improved keyboard-ability, and GUI pop-ups
for CLI tools. While these ideas have some merit, they fail to
strike at the heart of the current problem in Human-Computer
Interaction: language. Using any of today’s GUIs, there is almost
no ability for real expression. Tasks must be broken down into a
series of points, clicks, and drags. This article is meant to raise
some possible ways to improve our Human-Computer vocabulary.”

“Before we can delve into ways to improve the current GUI for
free systems, we must look at what strengths exist with the current
methods of interaction. UNIX is known for its powerful
command-line. The command line allows for a rich expressive
framework – so much so that some have claimed that it is provides
an experience similar to writing literature. However, the command
line is difficult to master for casual computer users, and
(relative) mastery is required to not only appreciate the power,
but also to just be able to use it efficiently. The GUI solves the
problem of requiring mastery rather well: users can almost
immediately acclimate themselves in a GUI environment and be
productive. The notion of using a mouse to direct a cursor to point
and click in order to manage files and launch applications is
fairly simple to grasp. However, the literature-like expressiveness
is gone. Vocabulary has been reduced to almost nothing.”

Complete
Story