Keyboards and buggy whips

Various folks have railed against Apple for the UI of some recent programs on Mac OSX. These changes violate conventions of MacOSX and bring the programs in line with iPhone/iPod/iPad UI. While the changes are irritating, I think that they make sense for Apple.

Think about it: The iMac is nothing more than a large, thick, non-portable, touchscreen-less iPad -- equipped with a keypad and DVD drive. Why should it be denied the ease of the iOS interface?

I think that Apple's vision is to bring the goodness of the iPad to larger computers. In this vision, the iMac mutates into an iOS device, better suited to the needs consumers than the old Mac OSX version. The new iMac will sport the large screen for watching movies and playing games. It won't be portable, but then doesn't need to be. (For portable computing, Apple has the iPad and iPod.)

Just about everyone wins in this arrangement. Consumers get computers that are easy to use -- even easier than OSX iMac computers and certainly easier than Windows or Linux PCs. Apple gets revenue. The only ones left out are creators (that is, programmers, authors, and composers of creative works).

The consumer world of iOS, with its mouseless, keyboardless interaction, works for the consumption of computing services. And it works very well.

But the interaction for creatives, those people building the content and programs that make the magic, more is needed than screen swipes and taps. The virtual keyboard is not suitable to high-volume input. Creatives will insist on old-style keyboards -- for a while.

The short term will see a cry for the "classic" interface to computers of keyboards and mice. The long term has a different picture. I see a new form of programming and high-volume data entry, a form that uses no keyboard. It might be voice recognition, it might be iOS swipes and taps, or it might be something else. I expect Apple to introduce this new technology and techniques. (And it may take them a few tries.)

Once the technology is established and proven to be effective, I expect Microsoft to jump on board and implement similar tech for Windows, and then the open source folks to implement equivalent tech for Linux. Both implementations will make modest improvements.

And when the dust settles, keyboards and mice will become things of the past, suitable only for museums and the dark corners of a hobbyist's attic.