I think the idea of moving beyond flat screens is important. Victor Bret’s rant from 2011 makes me think about this a lot. He says our hands are amazing tools. I believe he is right. We should use our hands’ full abilities, not just for poking glass. I see a problem with how we use technology today. We call things interactive when they are not. Tapping a picture on a screen is a limited way to interact. I think true interaction should involve more of our senses and our physical body. It should feel like we are handling real things. Bret’s follow-up answers show that some people missed his point. They focused on new screen technology. But I believe his main idea was about our hands. He wanted us to think about touch and grip, not just better displays.
This makes me consider the role of voice commands. Some people think voice is the future. But I think it has limits. Speaking is not always practical or private. Our hands are often faster and more precise. The best future might combine voice, touch, and physical movement. I feel that the real challenge is for designers. They need to imagine tools that use our whole bodies. I believe we need technology that feels less like a window and more like a material. We need to build things we can truly feel and shape with our hands. This is a difficult but exciting goal.