Re: [9fans] Mousing is faster than typing but users do not believe it

[Connor Lane Smith <cls@lubutu.com>]

Hey,

Honestly I think both sides of this argument are completely absurd.
Yes, the mouse is best for selecting points and ranges. No, the mouse
is not better than the keyboard for other commands. The study from
1989 is basically based around the claim that it "takes two seconds to
decide upon which special-function key to press." I'm sorry, does
anyone truly believe that it takes a user two seconds to hit a common
shortcut like Ctrl-S or Ctrl-C? That's ridiculous; it may take two
seconds *until* it becomes muscle memory, which is the whole point of
keyboarding: it becomes muscle memory, whereas the mouse does not.

"By using Command X, C, and V, the user can select with one hand and
act with the other. Two-handed input. Two-handed input can result in
solid productivity gains (Buxton 1986)." Using both hands with your
computer? What a novel idea. One can clearly edit faster if one can
select ranges with the mouse and issue commands with the keyboard,
moving to full keyboard use when inserting or searching. The optimal
solution is to use *both* the mouse and keyboard, because they each
have their advantages. Doesn't that seem reasonable?

Thanks,
cls