Re: Highway Musophobia Revisited [was: Speeding up Emacs load time]

[Emanuel Berg <embe8573@student.uu.se>]

Drew Adams <drew.adams@oracle.com> writes:

> My point is simply that pointing devices can be useful, and a
> mouse is a handy pointing device.  My second point is that there
> is more than one useful tool in life's tool chest.  Nothing
> limits you to just a mouse or just a keyboard.

Yes. When I started this whole discussion I didn't consider all
scenarios. And I've mentioned applications (and games) where
pointing makes sense. But when typing in Emacs - programming - I
don't think the mouse makes sense. And, in many applications that
have GUIs (buttons, fields, etc.) I *still* don't think the mouse
makes sense. All that functionality should be assigned shortcuts
and commands (and why use a GUI at all?). The mouse makes sense
with drawing (GFX), GIS, navigation (perhaps, I have never seen
such an application), and so on.

But - typically, is mouse use restricted to areas where it makes
sense? With users, *and* with computer people? My impression is -
no, not at all. My impression is that people use the mouse all the
time. Like I mentioned in another thread, I studied CS for several
years. Perhaps one third of my classmates used Linux or some other
Unix-like OS, but the rest used Windows or even Mac OS!

So I can absolutely not say that people do the conscious choice
(the "tool chest" pick), and without that your reasoning is -
utopia. People use the mouse *all the time*, and not only stupid
consumers of Internet fast food. They just click around like kids,
high on sugar, and it is pain just to witness.

> The time to execute the interaction is not relevant to my point.

To me, speed is *always* one of the top properties of
anything. But in this case, precision, and a non-interrupted
workflow, as well as ergonomics, are even more important.

By the way, I read the Wikipedia article on the mouse's inventor
that you recommended. There were some cool facts in that article,
but not a lot on the pros and cons on the mouse, in
particular. But for the record: just because I don't like the
mouse doesn't mean I don't have respect for the people who
developed it.

-- 
Emanuel Berg - programmer (hire me! CV below)
computer projects: http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573
internet activity: http://home.student.uu.se/embe8573