🚀 go-pugleaf

   I'm disinclined to go with a three-button mouse because, as I said, it's
been shown that for non-experts, a one-button mouse is easier and faster to
use (I don't just believe Apple, I happen to KNOW that they did this research).
   The mouse should be as simple as possible: a tool for pointing and doing
something.  What I would like to see instead of more buttons would be a row of
"modifier buttons" along the bottom edge of the keyboard.  These would be used
in much the same way as as keys like shift and option are often used now.  I
see two main advantages to this scheme as opposed to a multi-button mouse
scheme: you get better control (at least 4 buttons are feasible), and you
don't clutter up the mouse (and confuse novice users).  Note that REAL MEN
could have special mice with the buttons on them, if they wanted to.
   As I see it, there are a couple of issues / problems that would have to be
addressed first:
   1) This would require a bigger keyboard (and maybe left/right handed models)
   2) For the sake of the novice / casual user of an application, the modifier
buttons should only duplicate functionality which is available by "normal", if
cumbersome means.
   3) The use of the buttons should be consistent across applications.  This
is something that Sun and IBM are apparently incapable of understanding- the
single most important part of a user-interface is that it must ALWAYS behave
the same way.  Offhand, I can think of a couple of "standard" modifier
buttons:
	- Activate (same as double-clicking on an application's icon)
	- Copy (same as option-dragging on a file's icon)
	- Select Unit (same as double-clicking on a word)
   Obviously, applications would be allowed to define their own meanings for
unused modifier keys, but the "secret code" approach to functionality
(as typified by such monsters as MS Word 3.0) would have to be discouraged.
						-Matt
-- 
Matt Bamberger			"And while you watch and wonder,
1005 E. 60th St., #346		 I'll pull the world asunder
Chicago, IL 60637		 And show you who I am."
312-753-2261			 			- Supertramp