Designing Interactions: The Mouse and the Desktop

Chapter Takeaways

• The importance of easy-to-use systems was emerging in the 1960s.
• Key individuals were all driven and education n computer science.
• Prototype.
• Know how to represent and sell your vision.
• Participatory Design over Market Research.
• Today's obvious designs were far from obvious when created (e.g. desktop metaphor, the cursor, single-button mouse).
• A company must continue to support its key team member's vision in order to keep them.
  

Why a mouse?

The mouse was the easiest to use amongst its potential rivals (pens, cursor keys joysticks, trackballs etc.)

Why a desktop?

Talked to users and found it was easy to learn and easy to use.

NLS, Alto, and Star

Star came out as a futuristic pricey machine after consumers said that would pay such a product. However, the IBM PC won out as an inferior cheaper machine. (Lesson: Listen to your customer, but do as their actions imply).

Doug Engelbart

• Best known as the inventor of the mouse.
• Wants to augment the human intellect.
• Modest.

Inventing the Mouse

• Designers built many prototype of mouse variations.
• Tested prototypes with users without familiarity of Human Factors at the time.

The Demo that Changed the World

• Coming out of WWII draft working in a training program for electronic technicians, was convinced that it would be possible to interact with computers and see things on a screen.
• Wrote paper in 1962: "Augmenting the Human Intellect: A conceptual Framework" where he defined 4 areas in which human capabilities could be augmented: Artifacts, Language, Methodology and Training.
• Fall Joint Computer Conference in 1968: changed the world by convincing the computer science community of the idea of direct manipulation of a graphical interface.
• Doug Engelbart strove to design for people as proficient as himself, rather than those who require an easy-to-use system. His pitfall.

Stu Card

• Probably 1st degree in HCI.
• Joined Xerox PARC in 1974.

A Supporting Science

• Scientist with the belief that design is where all the action is (vs pure genius or pure research).
• Used theory to create designs.

Tim Mott

• Created concept of "guided fantasies".
• Studied computer science (note: all people mention so far emphasize college degrees)

Guided Fantasy

• In 1974, asked people to sit in from off a display with nothing running and describe how they would use the hardware to edit.

The Desktop (Office) Metaphor

• Tim drew the first 2Ddesktop metaphor on a bar napkin.
• Others had had similar ideas but were very complex and true-to-life.

Larry Tesler

• Passion for simple and easy-to-use.

Participatory Design

• In 1963, talked with and observed users - became interested in usability.

The Future System Will Use Icons

• In 1973 joined Xerox PARC and worked on the 1st modeless editor.
• Diagrammed a perspective desk... later turned into 2d icons by Dave Smith, for his thesis.

The Five Minute Learning Curve

• Set out to prove you could learn something in a day through a little text-editing program.

Double-click, Cut, Paste and Cursors

• Worked with Tim Mott to think up the double-click in order to work with just a single-button mouse.
• Larry invented the cursor to be placed between characters with the help of a hallway conversation with a developer.

Smalltalk Browser

• Designed a browser originally meant for developers.
  
• Three panes - browse before you pick. Similar to today's panes.

The Brain Drain from PARC

• Xerox was struggling to maintain dominance in the copier market.
• Put "office of the future" on hold.
  
• Key people left toward opportunity in Silicon Valley.