main argument
Virtual interaction techniques do not have to abide by the constraints of Fitts’ law, as interfaces can artificially reduce target distance, increase target width, or both.
supporting arguments
“even a slight improvement in pointing performance can have substantial impact on overall user productivity” (858)
methods and theory
Reducing target distance
- Designing widgets that minimize D
- Temporarily bringing potential targets to the cursor
- Removing empty space between the cursor and targets Increasing target width
- Area cursors
- Expanding targets Both decreasing D and increasing W
- Dynamically changing the control-display gain
conclusion
- None work uniformly well in all situations
- Do not scale well to selection of multiple targets
- Is it even necessary when PDAs and tablet computers are rising in use?
related
- Thought is independent from language vs.
Sapir–Whorf hypothesis - Language shapes the way we think
- Theory provides helpful constraints for design to streamline its process, but it is not absolute and can be debunked at any time → sometimes guidelines can also constrain thinking
- Fitts’ Law as a Research and Design Tool in Human-Computer Interaction
- Fitts’ law demonstrates that the movement time to a target depends on the size of and the distance to the target