My partner Ryan wrote a long post on the Foundry Group blog about our interest in HCI titled Theme: Human Computer Interaction (HCI).
I believe that 25 years from now we will look back on the way we used computers in 2008 and think it was quaint. For a reference point, try to remember how you used a computer in 1983 (character-based screen, excitement over "graphics", and the year before the introduction of the first Mac.) Or go back to 1978 and the dawning of the Apple II computer.
I just don’t believe that in 2033 we will be fighting with the double click speed adjustment on our mice while moving our Windows Live Writer window to the left and right so we can see our browser or pressing alt-tab so we can bring our email window to the front to quickly respond to an email. The universal TV remote control – yeah, whatever. Worrying about which server our data is on? Air traffic controllers typing on keyboards? Uh huh. 3D walkthroughs and large scale data visualization being done using a mouse and keyboard? Right.
The way we interact with these things is going to continue to change radically. While I’m hoping the future view of Skynet is wrong, I’m going to keep reading and watching as much science fiction (which I think of as "potential science fact in the future") as I can. History helps also since it lets you draw a nice, spiffy curve through the data points. With your brain, rather than with your mouse.
If you are working in this area or simply fascinated by it, holler anytime.