Communicating with an Interface

The demo from Doug Englebart and the team from Stanford was extremely profound to the future of interaction design as it created the space for users to have interactions with a computer that incorporated graphical interface elements like we see today. The idea that users can experience an intimate screen where they control what is occurring and have options just a click away was all introduced during this demo. These concepts are the basis of computers as we know them today. We now have the desktop, the internet, highly advanced programs, all interactive using a movable cursor and input from the user. What this demo changed between large computer rooms and waiting times to what we have now was the way in which the user communicates information to the computer, but also the computer response to user interactions. 

User communication and responsive interaction have evolved past keypads and cordable mice into voice commands, touchpads, touch screens and even in-air motion based technology. In the Mother of All Demos, the ways in which the user communicated with the machine was still being worked out. Although we still use similar techniques seen in the demo like a mouse and cursor or keyboard, the piano-like keypad that had different key combinations when pressed in a certain pattern isn’t something utilized today. This is because it takes a long time to learn and requires too much thinking when using. Nowadays designers are also leaning toward creating more natural ways for users to communicate what they want a machine to do. Voice command is growing in popularity and advancing in terms of the technology as well. Another thing that has advanced by far since the demo is the use of fonts, colors, and other graphical interface elements. Sometimes in the demo it was a bit hard to follow the different categorizations and other mapping tools that were used. Nowadays we have advanced systems that order our information with a hierarchy using scale and other graphic elements. The addition of graphic design applied to a visual interface was something that came in after this demo, however the Mother of All Demos set the stage for interfaces to even be created, and ultimately carefully designed for maximum user satisfaction and productivity.