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0 pointsjameshart2y ago0 comments

Typing is a separate problem. And if you want a physical keyboard on a mobile device you can actually have one. But that still won’t solve editing.

Editing on your blackberry was even clunkier than the touch affordances that this post is about - just cursor keys, right? Now, you might argue that if you can type fluently you won’t need to edit as much - but the point here is about enabling mobile devices to be much more than just message input devices, but actually to do things like revise documents. You’re not using text manipulation affordances just to correct typos but to make significant changes to existing bodies of text.

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5 comments · 2 top-level

dredmorbius2y ago· 2 in thread

Though in fairness to awinter-py, given that text entry is a simpler task than text editing, if typing support is already insufficient, editing won't be any better.

I'm typing this at a hardware keyboard on a desktop computer. I've had to make multiple short edits, mostly backspace/retype, as I enter this short comment. The fact that I can look at the screen rather than have my attention focused on the keyboard is itself a huge benefit to writing.

Using a touchscreen literally makes me dumber in ways I cannot afford. Previously noted: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37521911>.

awinter-py2y ago

yes 100% to your link

in my experience all screen input has high cognitive workload

(even taps, because modern touch UX has small targets and unpredictable animation timing when you open a menu)

US navy blamed touch input for a boat collision and swapped out some touchscreens for physical controls

dredmorbius2y ago

I find I almost always prefer using a stylus to a finger. That's the Onyx's pencil (previously as Staedler, unfortunately since broken). I can see what I'm tapping on with the stylus, positioning is far more precise, and it doesn't smudge the screen.

It's still hell for text editing, however.

Unless I'm doing actual handwritten note-taking, which might be another option.

awinter-py2y ago· 1 in thread

no the blackberry had a physical trackball with toothy tactile feedback for motion and a mechanical click action

you could scroll vertically and horizontally

I don't remember if you could highlight, but there was a shift key so I'm assuming yes, and I vaguely recall double-tapping backspace for whole-world deletion

TheHappyOddish2y ago

Yes, you could (comfortably) hold shift whilst using the trackball, and it workd very well.

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