Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion
Couldn't be more disappointed in Windows 8 :(
steveorg:
Input is another big thing. Tapping a screen is NOT a replacement for a tactile keyboard. You simply CANNOT ever become as fast on a virtual keyboard as you can on a physical keyboard. e.g. How can you find F or J without the ridges or tactile sensation? A minor shift is easily corrected through touch on a normal keyboard. You cannot do that on a flat surface unless you look or start making errors as you type.
Fact is, tablet and phone input methods are still extremely primitive with almost no thought at all put into them. "Let's touch the screen" is just an overly simplictic approach to input. Contrast that with the keyboard and you have a very stark difference where the keyboard is logically thought out and incredibly well put together with actual thought put into human physiology and ergonomics.
-Renegade (September 22, 2011, 05:56 AM)
--- End quote ---
Try Swype and similar keyboard input methods on an Android. On a phone, I am almost as fast as I am with a keyboard. Okay, so I'm not the fastest keyboarder on the planet, but I suspect that I'm about average.
Android has an app for DNS(dragon naturally speaking) so it is taking off already. -mahesh2k (September 24, 2011, 05:25 AM)
--- End quote ---
The Dragon app reflects real world usage. It supports voice, keyboard (with Swype or similar) and handwriting recognition. (I haven't tried it yet, so I'm relying on the app description page). Most of us use our computer in multiple types of environments. Sometimes voice is appropriate, sometimes a keyboard and don't we all wish we could just have the computer recognize our scrawl in real time. I don't think any of these methods will disappear.
Haven't used Dragon, but the stock voice recognition on Android phones is useless. English is my second language, and my accent is not exactly native (UK or US), but I can get close when I try. Android doesn't understand a single word I say in English, and believe me, I don't have any speech impediments. When I switch to Polish (my native tongue), it understands every third word or so. My wife has a better diction than me, and when she speaks in Polish to the phone, it can't recognize a single word.
-tranglos (September 24, 2011, 05:00 PM)
--- End quote ---
My experience with the stock voice recognition is totally different. Maybe it's equipment differences? I have a Galaxy S. In the beginning it recognized about 75% of my speech, but it keeps getting better. Now that I've given it permission to recognize me, I usually get better than 90%. It works well for searches and short notes. One of my favorite apps is Vocanote that sends both the audio file and transcription via email. It's great for short notes on the fly so corrections can be made when convenient.
Steve
Renegade:
@steveorg - I tried something like Swype as Swype wasn't available (only OEM), but it didn't help me much. Yeah... A tad faster, but still mind-numbingly painful to type on a keyboard designed for the fingers of 8-year old girls. I have big thumbs and they cover everything so I can't see what I'm trying to hit.
I wish that phones would allow the use of a stylus. That would solve my problem better.
tranglos:
I wish that phones would allow the use of a stylus. That would solve my problem better.
-Renegade (September 25, 2011, 08:20 PM)
--- End quote ---
OTOH, if I had to whip out a stylus to answer the phone, I'd throw it against the nearest wall. I'm close enough to doing that as it is :)
This is really a separate topic, but in the three months I've had my first smartphone I've learned to truly hate it. (HTC Sensation, BAD choice, don't buy it, ask me why if interested). Some of the issues are specific to this model, but in general, the whole input concept sucks for me.
One, Renegade's problem applies to all adult human fingers, they're all too fat (unless maybe a famished 8-year old). Two, I need how many hands to operate a phone? It's hard enough to answer a call with one hand, and downright impossible to make a call or do anything else. You'd have to use your thumb for touching, the fattest and least nimble finger of all. Third, if I'm reading something and want to flick a speck of dust off the screen, I have to lock the screen first (thus make it go blank), do the thing, then unlock it. Otherwise it's going to scroll or flip the page or activate something. Four, and this is partly due to my HTC's build, I can't put it face up on the table without accidentally triggering some function or other, usually the search softkey, with the inside of my palm. I've had to learn to lock the screen before I put down the phone.
This is not smart, and this is not a good UI. I don't even want to imagine what it's going to be like using it outdoor in winter's freezing temperatures.
The only good thing about it is that the ubiquitous net connection keeps me entertained during long waits at train stations, airports etc. Until the battery runs out, which is oh, about 2 hours.
<end rant (and I didn't even mention the bugs! The thing has more bugs than a pet cemetery!)>
Renegade:
I wish that phones would allow the use of a stylus. That would solve my problem better.
-Renegade (September 25, 2011, 08:20 PM)
--- End quote ---
OTOH, if I had to whip out a stylus to answer the phone, I'd throw it against the nearest wall. I'm close enough to doing that as it is :)
This is really a separate topic, but in the three months I've had my first smartphone I've learned to truly hate it. (HTC Sensation, BAD choice, don't buy it, ask me why if interested). Some of the issues are specific to this model, but in general, the whole input concept sucks for me.
-tranglos (September 25, 2011, 09:13 PM)
--- End quote ---
I've had several PDAs that used a stylus, and I could still use my fingers with them. Having both options would be nice... You could do it 15 years ago... Seems like we're regressing there.
I've got an HTC Desire HD, and it's ok. Mind you, I think that in a lot of things, I'm not as picky as a lot of people here. I tend to expect things to be pretty shitty to start with, so if anything actually works sort of ok, I'm relatively happy. :P
Eóin:
I've had several PDAs that used a stylus, and I could still use my fingers with them. Having both options would be nice... You could do it 15 years ago... Seems like we're regressing there.-Renegade (September 25, 2011, 09:21 PM)
--- End quote ---
Resistive screens inherently support both stylus and finger. These days, the much more common capacitive screens need a special stylus, but those are readily available
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version