Ever since Doug Englebart invented the mouse in the '60s, the desktop metaphor for human-computer interaction has reigned supreme.
With advent of smartphones and the touch screen interface, are the desktop metaphor's days numbered?
Products like the iPhone and the slew of tablets that are hitting the market have changed consumer expectation with regards to usability and functionality. Windows 8, to be released next year, has changed its look and feel to make the transition from keyboard and mouse based interaction to touchscreen interaction much simpler.
Javascript code libraries like jqTouch and Sencha have enabled web based applications to morph into touch based applications with minimal rewriting of the code. This leads some to question whether the hegemony of Microsoft will continue.
As we spend more time online, the 'pc' is rapidly becoming just a life support for a browser. The web is the ecosystem, the underlying operating system is becoming irrelevant.
How we interface with these devices is becoming more organic with gesture based interaction becoming easier to incorporate and develop.
For a pictorial overview of the evolution of the man-machine interface, look here.
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