Epoc and interfaces

So Penny Arcade has a post up about Epoc. Mind control of games (or really any interface in general) is by far the best possible option. Right now the best interface is generally mouse and keyboard - between the two we can manipulate things in multidimensional spaces and input complex commands (and most importantly, communicate clearly and quickly). Unfortunately, even as cool as Epoc is, it's not nearly precise enough to be a full interface.

Coming in from the other end is siftables, which are augmented reality, emphasis on reality rather than augmented. These are also a great interface, but I think they're pretty limited. It seems to me siftables would work best for things that are already physically manipulated - flashcards or board games. The paint and music siftables, while interesting, did nothing that a well-done UI for any paint or music program could do. And in fact, the program could do it better. They're also begging to get lost.

I was talking with Nick about interfaces, specifically about how the keyboard and mouse are so awesome and it's hard to device another type. But there has been, to some extent, success in the mobile market without using a keyboard and mouse. Touchscreen interfaces, specifically multitouch gesture-based displays, have begun having functionality that is similar (and in some cases better) than mouse control. The lessons learned from the mobile devices translate into tablets. While keyboard and mouse are still certainly amazing, perhaps the tyranny of the ancient interface device is ending.