[MV] Group Dead?

[Randy B. Singer]

On Apr 14, 2011, at 2:13 PM, Jay A. Kreibich wrote:

>   There has also been a cultural shift, where it is now permissible--
>   even expected-- that an executive or doctor or some such "important"
>   person to have a keyboard on their desk (and know how to use it),
>   rather than differing all typing to a secretary or assistant.

I know that is true.  When I was right out of law school just about  
no attorneys used computers and for a long time the stigma was  that  
"attorneys don't type; secretaries type."

>
>   So, in the end, I think there is much less of a need or demand for
>   dictation software.

Is  there?  Repetitive stress syndrome seems to be running rampant.   
Folks who only knew how to "hunt and peck" don't ever seem to get  
much faster.  There must at least be a certain level of demand.

>
>   ...Which is really quite odd, which you consider how primitive it is
>   to have 100+ on/off switches that we bang away on.  Out of all the
>   human/computer interactions... mice, keyboards, graphical displays,
>   audio, etc.... the keyboard is both the most commonly used and the
>   most primitive-- and the most completely unchanged, going back to  
> long
>   before computers.

Actually the keyboard has evolved, it's just that most of the  
improvements haven't caught on in a big way.  There is the Dvorak  
keyboard.  There are also single-handed keyboards that use cording.   
On the computer there are a bunch of programs that will allow you to  
type an abbreviation for a much larger word or phrase.  These can  
even all be used together.

___________________________________________
Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)

Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance
http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html
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