mark.umcp-cs@UDel-Relay@sri-unix (08/13/82)
From: Mark Weiser <mark.umcp-cs@UDel-Relay> There was a paper at the Human Factors in Computer Systems conference recently held at Gaithersburg, MD which reported that mice were a win only if the operator's gaze never left the screen. For applications where the operator does look back and forth from on screen to off screen (such as order entry or forms fill out) re-acclimatization was needed each time the hand returned to the mouse. The problem apparently was that there is no necessary connection between the mouse and the screen position, so that hand-eye coordination must be re-established each time the eyes leave the screen. Cursors arrows and light-pens have no such problem (only other problems..). The study was by a group at Social Security evaluating Xerox Alto's for forms fill out. This may not matter for personal workstations, since the screen should be a sufficiently powerful and rich environment that looking away should not be necessary. All I can think of is entering text, which can't be done with anything but a keyboard anyway. ~