🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <27903@rochester.ARPA>, stro@rochester.ARPA (Steve Robiner) writes:
> Touch screens are the most common interface for systems dealing with
> lay-people.  In shopping malls and grocery stores, computer assisted directories
> use graphics, voice synthesis, and touch screens for interfacing with a menu
> driven system.
> These all work well, since the user needs no background in computer operation,
> typing, or menu's. All one has to do is point at what they want.

Hmmm.  I have recently had the opportunity to observe laypersons struggling
mightily with touch screens.  Virtually everyone I know is getting married
lately, so I've spent a fair amount of time in department stores getting
bridal registry information off of their touch screen systems.

Virtually ALL the non-computer types I've observed have had an extremely
hard time with these systems.  There are two main problems:

1. Parallax or misalignment of the screen itself.
2. Lousy user interfaces in general.

I used one system the other day on which the alignment was so bad that each
time any user tried to press any menu item, (s)he ended up invoking the item
below the intended one.  Interestingly, none of these people figured out that
pressing a little higher on purpose would fix the problem.  Now this is not a
problem peculiar to touch screens.  I have no doubt that the same thing happens
with light pens.  But could you see these laypersons trying to manipulate a
mouse?

The only machines I have seen which seem to be really usable by the general
public are bank teller machines (which usually have buttons, not touch
screens.  Harder to miss a button.).  And they have problems too.
Bank of America's machines orignally said something like "Versatellers
dispense cash only in multiples of $20".  But the error rate was so high
due to the technical term "multiples" that they changed the message to
"Versatellers dispense only $20 bills" or some such.

There are lessons to be learned here.  Who knows what they are?

[By the way, did y'all know that the "official" newsgroup for user interface
discussions is supposed to be comp.cog-eng?]

-- 
Bob Weissman
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