Hamish MacEwan

Computer user interfaces have evolved to become more user-friendly and more sophisticated. But while they have become easier to use, they’ve become harder to control.

The command line gave users perfect control. You typed in a command. It was either right or wrong. If the command was right, you could predict exactly what would happen.

The graphical user interface was a little fuzzier. For example, you select a group of icons by drawing a box with your mouse. A small slip of the fingers and you might miss a couple of icons or select the wrong ones.

Multitouch user interfaces are less exact still. It’s easy to tap the wrong thing, or use the wrong gesture. Pinching and zooming doesn’t give you an exact size; it just gives you generally smaller or generally bigger. The flicking gesture is even less exact. Flick the screen and down it goes; where it stops, nobody knows.

And when it comes to voice control, there’s an oxymoron.