A lot of discussions being spawned here at work, via email, and around about this. I guess that’s what happens when you think out loud.

One of the key distinguishers needs to be the difference between Content and Context.

If you think about it, by and large, the keyboard is “content” and the mouse is “context”. While I really am trying to get away from the keyboard / mouse idea, I also recognize that the reason they are so wildly popular and the standard is because they do work. As a UI designer in a previous life, I also know that anything which changes the way a user works is doomed to fail.

As such, I’m really trying to walk a fine line on this.

Another fine line, is that my coworker (David) is looking at this from a long-term “what’s the ideal device” perspective, and I’m looking at it from a “what will a user use perspective”. We do keep trying to meet in the middle, but many of the ideas we’re coming up with aren’t compatible.

Also, many of the ideas don’t lend themselves at all to a hiptop device. Some are very much a desktop device / interface. Others are very much “holed up in your creative cubby hole” type of device / interfaces.

For instance, David’s very musical. A really good composer and sound guy in general. So, he’d thought about “bodyfeedback” (I’d called it biofeedback initially, which isn’t what it is): your hands provide the Context while your voice provides the Content (we actually disagree on the definitions of each, but that’s semantics. We agree without agreeing on the terms… Makes for fun conversations).

So, in David’s ideal world, he could speak “quarter note” and then place it, speak “3 triplets” and have them at his fingertips. How? A translucent 3D environment. A Creative Cubbyhole kind of thing. You’d never use it on the street, and never use it in a normal office environment.

That’s the great thing about thinking out loud is that sometimes these things morph. I’m not trying to put any chains on his ideas or creativity, or on any of the readers or linkers. I’m simply thinking out loud for me.

Speaking of thinking out loud…

You can pitch your idea that needs VC funding to Tim Draper. He will select 10 finalists to present to him personally. He did this last year and ended up actually funding one of the companies.

Is one of these ideas worth funding? I don’t know. If it is, feel free to give it a shot. I might. If you do, just be aware of the Creative Commons License on all content here: share it, make money off of it, reproduce it. I don’t care. Just credit me.

Some really good comments btw, I’m learning a lot. Keep them coming!