Whats the potential for the multitouch technology we e seeing from Apple and Microsoft?
Norman: The touch-sensitive screen is really great for some things, but not for everything. In graphic operations where you want to manipulate but also position on the screen and maybe rotate, and in applications where many people wish to do operations at the same time. (It could be) good for collaborative problem solving, (but it’s) not a tool that will replace everything. With desktop widgets, skinnable programs and Web 2.0 apps, software is deviating from one centrally mandated look and feel. Is this a problem for human-computer interaction? Norman: What’s important is how easy these systems are to learn, and as long as they use the same principles of operation there’s no problem. I don’t see that the Web 2.0 interfaces or multitouch technology offer any major deviation from what we’re all used to. When done well, these systems are quite compatible, easy to learn, and add more joy and power to the interaction. Much of today’s shopping is done online where the consumer doesn’t actual
