This is a beautiful article with great visuals, like many other comments have said. But the actual point being made is worth paying attention to:
> Computers used to be physical beasts.
> We programmed them by punching cards, plugging in wires, and flipping switches. Programmers walked among banks of switches and cables, physically choreographing their logic. Being on a computer used to be a full-body experience.
It’s about working in a physical environment and not just isolated digital interfaces, which is how many different jobs work today (not just programmers). The personal touch is lost. But I’m not sure it can be fixed. There is no commercial justification for making using computers or phones “enjoyable”.
I can get behind the vision of computers being more physical. That's a potent vision.
The claim that current technology is a regression compared to past technology is hard-to-swallow, though. I have a family friend who took CS classes in the early 70s. Punching out 0s and 1s, waiting a day to have a chance to run the program, etc. I do not get the impression that she views this as the pinnacle of enjoyable HCI.
My mom also has a funny story about visiting this friend during the chaos of finals. The friend showed my mom the computer area. My mom vividly remembers seeing students frantically trying to get their final programs done and punch card papers being scattered EVERYWHERE.
Back to the main point, I don't see a lot of extensive, enjoyable physical interaction in this past paradigm. Punching holes in paper would probably get tedious. Carrying the stack of papers over to the mainframe operators would also get annoying. And then you read out the results of your program one page at a time on physical paper. Sure, it's more physical, but is this really more enjoyable in the long run?
So exactly what point in the past is the author reminiscing about?
Computers were never "physical beasts" in terms of their connection to the human senses. If anything computers are vastly improving in the way they interact with the human senses. I'm an optimist. I think we're in the early days and in 100 years the current computers will seem terribly primitive from a sensory standpoint.
> Computers used to be physical beasts.
> We programmed them by punching cards, plugging in wires, and flipping switches. Programmers walked among banks of switches and cables, physically choreographing their logic. Being on a computer used to be a full-body experience.
It’s about working in a physical environment and not just isolated digital interfaces, which is how many different jobs work today (not just programmers). The personal touch is lost. But I’m not sure it can be fixed. There is no commercial justification for making using computers or phones “enjoyable”.