An Alternative Tablet UI, Breaking Away from the Uniform Touchscreen Configuration of iOS and Android NOCTIVAGOUS noctivagous.github.io The iOS UI Is Reductive; It Limits The Capabilities Of Tablet Computers For tablet computers, iOS (iPadOS) carries a major drawback: the simplest tasks are easy to achieve, but anything slightly complicated has to be specifically learned because it is invisible, offscreen, or nested in conventions. The "user friendly experience" only describes the basics of launching an app, zooming inside a document with pinch-zooming, and scrolling with two fingers. After that, the system software interface features are tacked on, one after another. As a consequence, the user can easily activate one of iOS's side features on accident, and this is a poor state of UI design. But also, iOS is an undeveloped and prototype-level collection of user interface conventions in the first place, incomplete except for consumption of media, which is enough to make it a popular product. Because it strives towards minimalism and commercial accessibility, it is nubby and dumbed down, limited when the task is professional usage. For the user's control of the tablet software, Apple (characteristically) insists on withholding from the user any complementary physical controls such as knobs, sliders, and buttons, believing that those were the problem in the first place. Touch Operation Buttons An object sits there on the tablet touchscreen, but what does touching it do?  In real life an object would respond according to physics.  On a touchscreen computer the object is interactive, as if somewhat alive, and currently the initial answer for what touching it does is vague, but generally "open" or "activate".  This is an operation, of course, and that is what differentiates the real world physics from the conventions of an interactive event on a tablet device— that the touch performs a computer operation on a screen object.  As mentioned, on iOS, an individual touch is confined to one operation, "activate". To make the touch do anything else beyond that function requires learning all of Apple's complicated steps afterwards, such as pressing down for more time to get something to appear. A simple touch could be made to perform other functions besides "Activate", though (other operations on the screen elements). Right now it can only perform "Activate". If Apple had set the touch mode to signify "Close", all that a touch would do is close something on screen (but that mode does not exist in iOS). Or, if the touch were set to "Circle", it would just draw a new circle at the point of a touch. So, for a new type of tablet device, the touch event can be predetermined just before the touch, with operations beyond the current "Activate/Open".  The touch operation is specified by holding down one of several buttons (e.g. "Close"), the touch is made by the user, then the user releases the button. If eight to ten physical buttons are arranged in a column just to the left of the screen, they can specify what a touch means when it makes contact, and this will broaden the tablet's interactive range an enormous amount and make the UI far more nimble.  Closing a window would not involve touching a tiny close "x" that appears on a window object but instead holding down the "Close" touch operation button on the left edge of the screen and then tapping any part of the window(s), tab view(s), panel(s), or object(s) that need to be closed, then releasing the "Close" button. While a certain touch operation button is held down, e.g. an "Inspect" button, whatever object the finger touches will be acted upon accordingly (it will be inspected, it will be copied to the clipboard, etc.).  More than one object can receive that operation while the touch operation button is held down, making for a quick and capable UI. So, closing a tab and its contents does not involve touching the small close button on the tab but instead holding down "Close" and touching any part of the tab or the viewport (such as a web page) that is associated with the tab, as whatever is touched will be closed. The user then does not need to be concerned with precise hit target accuracy, to hit the small close button, and this is a much more pleasant UI. To summarize: a touch operation button momentarily specifies what a touch means (e.g. "Close") just before the touch occurs and then the physical button is released by the user after the touch is finished.  The speed and straightforwardness of the interface improves: five objects can be deleted from a page quickly by holding down a "Remove" operation button, then tapping each of the five objects that need to be removed, then releasing the "Remove" touch operation button (that sits to the left of the screen in this column).   This setup will allow the user to control software with a wide range of touch operations loaded into the LCD-backed buttons, instead of searching for operations deep inside the interface through menus or convoluted maneuvers. In addition, the column of physical touch operation buttons can have groups of operations swapped out because the buttons each carry their own LCD screen. LCD-backed buttons are now a mainstream feature of consumer devices related to controlling media production desktop apps and live video streaming. "Close" applies to anything and all titles of the touch operations are similarly generic, applying broadly across many parts of all apps. Thus what is convoluted to achieve today on a tablet will not be, and what is out of reach for the average user who does not bother to memorize specific features will become straightforward when these physical buttons are placed onto the tablet computer. In other words, the key benefit when there are several touch operation buttons sitting to the left of the screen is that they can accommodate a wide range of touch objectives as soon as the tablet is picked up, and this is the core of a new tablet device framework for user interaction.  A “Generate” touch operation button will make the touch generate an object at the position of contact in an empty space (or it will generate a child object for the object that was touched).  To illustrate: five objects can be generated by holding down the "Generate" touch operation button and then tapping the desired locations for the five objects.  For power users, some of these touch operation buttons can designated for custom-programmed operations and scripts. Each touch operation button has an LCD screen, which is why they are so configurable. In this scheme the user will always know how to accomplish tasks because the touch operation buttons will be general in their function names, covering a broad range of activities, and so they will naturally work in combination with each other. "Close" can apply to exiting or closing anything, usable for many types of objects on screen, not just windows.  "Inspect" can apply to a large number of objects as well. Just these two example buttons already work in combination: any inspection popover opened with "Inspect" can be closed with the touch operation button "Close", demonstrating that the operations work systematically already just by being general. "Open" can begin the playing of the touched song while "Close" can pause that song. A user can know how to do all sorts of tasks without specific instructions when the provided operation buttons are helpful. The current procedure for the user in iOS is to extract these functions (e.g. making close buttons appear) and this replaces that unpleasant dynamic. More touch operation buttons: -- "Teleport" - This replaces dragging on the touchscreen. The first touch establishes which object is to be transported to another part of the screen (what is to be dragged) and the second touch moves it to its desired location immediately, thus the name teleportation. So there are only two touches to accomplish what dragging does today because "Teleport" is held down. This is much faster than dragging objects on a touchscreen and will feel much more precise. To recap, the "Teleport" touch operation button is held down during the first and second touch, then it is released. This opens the door to other related operations: if it were "Copy" that were held down, the first touch would establish what is to be copied and the other touches afterwards would be copy destinations, with there just being one touch made after the initial one if there is only one copy destination. Then after all of the touches, "Copy" is released. -- "Select" - While "Select" is held down, the finger can select text as it moves along the surface of the screen, or it can tap multiple objects. Compare the use of this touch operation with the current, ambiguous situation in which the iPad's selection mode for text has to be triggered through timing (holding down the touch for a few seconds), which is confusing and can also be triggered on accident. Touch operations announce to the tablet computer what is going to happen on the touchscreen just before the touch and the release of the button announces that that operation is over. Also, another benefit of touch operations is in the following example: when "Lasso" is available as a touch operation button and it is held down, there is no need to take over the entire app with a tool mode, such as how the lasso tool in photo editing programs is used. Instead "Lasso" is held down, the finger draws the selection outline and then "Lasso" is lifted, and the app doesn't work around tool modes anymore. In the same way, a circle is drawn not by activating a circle tool but by pressing down the "Circle" touch operation button and drawing the diameter with the finger then releasing the touch operation button. -- "Toggle" - This will turn a touched setting or object on and off, opposite its current state and this can apply to many circumstances. -- "Replace" - The object to be replaced is tapped followed by the one that will replace it (works for graphical objects, text, and also fill colors). This pairs with "Swap" in which the two objects' positions are swapped after tapping both of them. With "Apply", the application of a style to a recipient object, such as a color setting applied to an article of clothing or font and color combination to a body of text, can be achieved easily by this touch operation button. The style itself is loaded into "Apply" with the companion "Extract" touch operation button. In all of these cases, whether it is "Replace",Swap", "Apply", "Extract" there is no predefined type of object that has to be the recipient of the operation. With the style-related operations, there is no predefined type of property that they work on. This demonstrates how touch operation buttons have wide applicability when they are given generic titles. -- "Classify" - For tagging and all kinds of classification. This is the type of touch operation button that will require specifying what it does, what aspect of the object it will be classifying, so perhaps there could be an optional mode property on touch operation buttons. -- "Nest" - For enclosing the selection inside a container, including but not limited to file folders. Fortunately, the touch operation buttons can reduce the need for what are currently called "gestures" because even a replacement "Zoom" touch operation button will provide more precise control over the zoom while "Zoom" is being held down, allowing the user to go even slower than today. Likewise, a "Rotate" touch operation button will provide greater real-time precision for the user than a rotate "gesture". In the case it is still desired to have "gestures," there can be many types of swipe, rotate, or two-finger scrolling according to the touch operation buttons. But since zoom, rotate, and pan are such commonly accessed features they may have their own dedicated touch operation buttons on the device anyway. If they do not, the remaining advantage of accepting "gestures" is that they allow freeing up button space in the touch operations column. Touch operation buttons should serve to replace the current user interface conventions on tablets, which is timing-activated functionality (holding down for a few seconds) and digging into menus to find the desired function. If these touch operation buttons are categorized, color-coded, and grouped adequately, an increase in the number of operations will not overwhelm the user but instead make it so the user does not need to be provided tutorials for most basic tasks. On the device, touch operation buttons can be assigned background colors on the LCD-backed buttons according to category, allowing the user to know what a touch operation button is for. How to swap out groups of touch operation buttons on the column of buttons becomes a question. Forward and backward arrows are probably not sufficient. Instead, the individual categories of touch operations can exist as separate buttons in a grid just beneath the column. This way, touch operation buttons can be the center of interacting with an app's functionality. The goal of the tablet's design is that app functionality is activated primarily from outside the touchscreen itself, such as through the use of touch operation buttons, instead of having the user learn a wide variety of conventions specific to each app that are all inside the touchscreen. Whether it is editing of text or rotating and scaling objects, many apps share functionality and they have common needs, so a tablet should be able to offer access to nearly all of those by way of physical controls placed on the surrounding the touchscreen screen, with the touchscreen just acting to communicate to the app where the user wants the touch point at any given time, as it is mediated by the surrounding controls. Many types of apps, for example, need to constrain movement, whether it is on the X or Y axis or along a specific angle. What has to be considered is how the controls are placed onto the device with a deeper, systematic plan, that they are not just for manipulating individual parameters (like a slider or rotary knob) as found on a kitchen appliance or home stereo, which is what controls have always been for. Instead they embody concepts, because this is a computer that has to accommodate software with its controls and it is not a washing machine that has a static group of settings. When the physical controls represent concepts related to apps and software, the software will not rely solely on the touchscreen to control the app, which presents problems. To unlock and lock the device, there can be a "Password" touch operation button that, when held down, accepts a simple finger pattern on any part of the touchscreen, at any scale of the original pattern, for either locking and unlocking the device (whether it is a very simple set of "x" strokes or something else). It's also worth noting that even the two-finger scroll gesture can be replaced for vertical scrolling with a single touch operation button. The "Scroll" touch operation button is held down with the left hand and the two fingers on the right hand tap the screen, with each individually indicating whether it is to scroll up (index finger) or down (middle finger). Light taps scrolling in a burst scrolling up or down whereas holding down one of the two fingers on the screen results in continuous scrolling. Typical scrolling activity would then commonly be characterized by a rapid sequence of finger taps in the same location, which may be less demanding on the user than two-finger gestures. Touch operation buttons also can serve to activate a horizontal or vertical slider that appears on the touchscreen or, more preferably, be the means of assigning what a primary rotary knob on the device does while the touch operation button is held down. The goal is to reduce the amount of interaction with arrays of controls, such as sliders, on the touchscreen itself, to provide a situation that is superior to reproducing mechanical controls on a touchscreen (or even as they exist on the original machines). Opposing Touch Operation Buttons In this column of physical touch operation buttons on the left side of the screen, it might seem best at first to have just one column. But often operations exist in opposition to each other (group --- ungroup, add --- subtract, generate --- remove, open --- close, show --- hide). Two columns of opposing operations would likely be preferable, doubling the number of available buttons that are sitting to the left of the screen. The touch operation pairs are general purpose. A window is closed with "Close," but "Close" can also be used to turn a switch control to the off position and close just about anything else. "Open" opens anything in the same way and turns something on. "Expand --- Collapse" is about unfolding and stowing away and applies to windows but also collapsible controls. That pair of operations addresses a different state dynamic than "Open --- Close". Pairs of buttons would have generic names which apply to many scenarios. The "Goto" Button Underneath the Touch Operation Buttons By holding down the "Goto" button that sits beneath the Touch Operation buttons, the buttons will change into an app launcher. So, hold down "Goto" and press the e-mail symbol and the e-mail app opens up. Also however, what can be launched will not be limited to apps. The launch mode can also accept URLs, scripts, and documents. It is possible to add three or more "Goto" buttons next to each other (Goto 1, Goto 2, etc.), with the others having other purposes, such as opening specific windows of existing apps. This demonstrates the possibility of repurposing Touch Operation buttons for secondary modes and they can be activated by the existence of other buttons, such as these "Goto" buttons. Achieving The Precision of the Mouse Cursor with Multi-Touch The first inclination technologists have had when implementing multi-touch on a device, and what has become accepted reality for this technology, is to make the touch point occur directly underneath the finger, at the center of the finger's contact with the screen. This is how all tablet devices work today. The first problem with this is that the finger tip then sits on top of, and thus conceals, the touch point.  This is in contrast with how the mouse's screen cursor is always visible.  It's why there is a loss of precision in interacting with the mobile computing device. This is one of many reasons why the desktop computer setup continues to be essential for professional software applications, because there can't be a cursor this way. Secondly, when the point of the touch is directly underneath the finger tip, the user of the device has a harder time achieving hit accuracy for objects on the screen, never feeling like it is possible to gain full dexterity while using the device, and that is actually the case. So, a different track carries potential, which is that the actual point of contact sits above the finger by about 1 centimeter and a line is drawn to this point from the point that is directly underneath the finger. This offsetting of the touch point by a centimeter will likely require a short period of habituation by the user. As long as the user is willing to accustom himself or herself to this new dynamic, the quality of interaction with the device seems like it will improve significantly and offer a better experience, getting closer to a desktop computer. It seems likely that most people will be able to better control the device when they are aiming for a point that sits slightly above the finger rather than the center point that is directly underneath it. What this requires for the tablet device, though, is that there will be a 1 centimeter high blank space at the bottom of the device where there is no screen present, so that the bottommost pixels of the screen can be accessed. A cursor may still have some uses on a tablet device. It is possible to implement a Cursor Mode, activated by a button on the device. This would be a toggle button, meaning that pressing it once turns it on and pressing it again turns it off, and it isn't meant to be held down like the touch operation buttons. When the Cursor Mode is turned on, there is a cursor but it has been adapted to the touchscreen in the following way. The user is not asked to touch the location of the cursor each time, nor will each individual touch move the cursor to the finger's location. Instead, the cursor will always require finger movement to be moved. Each time the finger makes contact, a line is drawn from the point of the finger to the cursor. So it doesn't matter where the finger first makes contact to control the cursor. When the Cursor Mode is first turned on, a cursor appears in the middle of the screen or where it was last located, the user does not need to touch it directly, and whenever the finger touches down on the touchscreen that is the fixed distance established for controlling the cursor from a distance, until the finger leaves contact with the screen. Each time the user controls the cursor it will usually be from a different position relative to the cursor. In this mode, touching the screen will only change the cursor's position until Cursor Mode is turned off. The touch operation buttons are transformed into the Cursor Mode and what they do is perform the "clicks" that are now on mouse buttons. The "Multiple" Touch Operation Modifier Like the shift key on the keyboard, the "Multiple" key on the device allows selecting more than one object at a time. It is a modifier button, which is what the shift key is. During typing would act as the shift key, too. Where this key is placed is not certain currently, but could be on the side, where less frequently accessed keys are normally accessed. Mode Buttons Column On the right side of the device's screen can sit mode buttons that are utilized by all apps. These buttons do not modify the touch but instead the entirety of the app's mode or the mode of a certain context. All apps running on the tablet would utilize these buttons as a primary interface, because all complex apps have states or modes, a mode generally regarded as a large collection of states and functionality like on any consumer appliance.  Notably, modes are not usually brought up as an individual topic in software development but they are nevertheless a central aspect for many types of apps, as changing a tool in a photo editor is in fact changing a mode (a collection of states and workflows) and the toolbar is in fact just listing a collection of modes.  It is just that the names "toolbar" and "tools" were used instead of "modes" and "mode" for user friendliness.  Most apps carry a variety of modes, as even bold and italic are modes for text.  Viewing and editing modes could be said to be the most fundamental overall modes for apps that produce data. When apps can be written for a set of controls that are physical and also display modes and states, the apps will be higher quality for user interaction. The conceptual internals of an app and computing system will be better represented on the outside of this device, next to the screen. Again, each of these buttons will be backed by individual LCD screens to give the software developer flexibility. The purpose of these mode buttons is to support anything that is a mode or state. Configuring preferences is another mode, and when both the software developer and the user thinks in terms of "mode" because the device is built that way there is less need for the user to look up specific conventions, such as for opening the settings window. Other uses of modes include switching on and off submodes of editing in the app. The mode buttons should be able to accommodate anything needed involving this aspect of an app, including submodes, and states. One issue that we should point out is that though there are various edit modes, "Edit" might be a Touch Operation button to edit a certain object and so might "Configure" so that instead of shifting modes of the app the user immediately gets to the outcome he wants. ("Configure" is actually the editing of settings.) So, it is possible that these aspects of using a program have to be tested out for how they will exist between Touch Operations and the Mode Buttons. Thumb Input for Text Words and Characters: Mode Buttons and Touch Operation Buttons Simultaneously Enter a Meta Mode, to Replace The Conventional Onscreen Keyboard, Providing an Input Dynamic Through Alternating Thumb Input from Each Side When typing is needed, the LCD-backed buttons on the device enter a meta mode for this purpose. At the same time, the mode buttons on the right and the touch operation buttons on the left transform into input buttons for a specific word and typing entry system, with each of the two sides able to receive input back and forth in alternation by the thumbs, for the user to enter words and characters. The two sets of buttons have entered a meta mode for input, repurposed for entering words. What shows up on the LCD screens for each button on both sides can go beyond individual characters of a keyboard, to allow entering words without autocomplete. The entry will be both tactile and accurate because the buttons themselves are physical and it can be the alternation of pressing buttons on both sides that completes words. The buttons can display anything, including full words and even symbols or images, so meta modes are an expansive area in the case there are other needs for all of the buttons. What is static on the device are reaction buttons such as "Escape/Cancel" in the upper lefthand corner" and "Accept/Proceed" in the lower right corner. What is pressed on the buttons can affect what shows up on the left and right sides of the screen vertically, lining up with the buttons themselves, so that the user of the device can see the effects of pressing buttons in alternation on the screen. A meta mode is available for any app for when complex entry of data would benefit from taking over the device's buttons and putting them into a special mode, but it would be utilized less commonly than what is provided. At all times the "Escape/Cancel" button on the device would exit such a custom meta mode. Lastly, it is possible to supplement this data entry meta mode through buttons placed on the underside of the device (as currently found on handheld video game consoles), and it is possible this would be an important part of text entry. Reaction Buttons Such as "Undo" and "Redo" One could say that pressing "Undo" is unlike other types of functions activated in that it is a reaction to a mistake, thus this is a reaction type of function or button. When something relates to reacting, it is a candidate for a physical button instead of occupying space on the touchscreen. In an app, "Undo" and "Redo" act on a maintained list of the user's operation history that is most often out of view. The reason not to make "Undo" and "Redo" separate and fixed on the device is because they control the flow of doing an operation. They sit next to the touch operation buttons because they undo or redo what was just done by a touch operation. Reaction buttons can be said to be those which are used by the user quickly in response to an immediate change or request from the app. The periphery of the device is a suitable place to place these reaction buttons because the hands are close to them. For example, if anything isn't right or should be exited, the user will want to press the "Escape" button in the top left of the device and it takes no time to press it because it is in the corner. If something needs to be confirmed, the user can press the "Accept/Proceed" key in the bottom right corner of the device. Why include physical buttons like this when a person can touch the screen itself? Because the less movement of the hands the better with respect to these types of user actions. Union (Add), Subtract, Intersection Buttons No Confirmation Dialog Boxes ("Are You Sure?") Needed Because of Implicit Confirmation Pathways If an object is selected and it is of sensitive value for deletion (deleting it could create a problem if done on accident), then the following is how to delete it: the "Remove" touch operation button is held down and that object is tapped three times, with the object darkening with each tap. On the third tap it is deleted. Thus, in this case there is no need to display a warning dialog box for the user that asks, "Are you sure you want to delete this?" The pathway for the actionhas been set up so that confirmation is implicit and takes place through the action. Many types of confirmation dialog boxes can be eliminated this way, such as through confirmation sequences where two objects are tapped in alternation or in a pattern. In addition to this, many functions of the hardware can exist in the following way. The "Close" and "Hide" touch operation buttons are held down at the same time and then the screen is tapped three times to put the tablet to sleep or wake it from sleep. If it is tapped four times, it powers off the device or powers it on. Tapping two times can quit the current app. So there is a related progression placed inside a category, which is a helpful concept for a new type of tablet UI, to eliminate the proliferation of individual functions in menus that have to be found. Scrolling-Averse System Conventions Noctivagous takes the position that a large amount of vertical scrolling is uncomfortable and is a substitute for what should actually exist more often, which is proper transitioning of content (sliding, for example) that prepared and sized for the device's frame dimensions. That is, content should more often be swapped in and out carousel-style or otherwise, faded in smoothly instead of scrolled. It can be paginated and the device itself would carry two buttons for forward and backwards, just like what is found on ebook readers. Content should be clipped less and therefore require less scrolling. Information in the future can be prepared and laid out such that it is fitted for the dimensions of the device. "Forward" and "Backwards" slides or fades in content within the same frame, just like any ebook reader, and nothing has to be moved into the frame of the device through scrolling. This is especially applicable to consumption of information. The web itself should be refitted in this way for long pages. Separate X and Y Axis Touchpad Strips A hardware feature that is considered, but is optional, for a Noctivagous tablet is a pair of X (horizontal) and Y (vertical) axis touchpad strips with pressure sensitivity. They would sit above and to the left of the screen respectively and match the lengths of the screen's width and height. The Y axis (vertical) touchpad strip would sit on the left edge of the screen, sitting between the Touch Operation buttons and the screen. These strips are available for all apps and the benefit is that they constrain movement. Apps will be able to use these touchpad strips for horizontally and vertically constrained needs, something common. For irregular and freeform movements the screen itself can be used. But touchpads can offer control. It is natural to select, for example, an app icon by lining up the x and y axes with both fingers as they are sliding along the touchpad and then pressing down on the two touchpad strips at the same time. Future Programming Through Touch Operation Buttons In many ways, programming involves the insertion of containers of operations, so there is no difficulty changing the purpose of the touch operation button columns such that it inserts various types of operations inside a document of code. In addition, with some touch operation buttons repurposed for code, the arrows drawn by a touch can represent various types of functionality for a new type of computer code, one that is semiotical. This shows the flexibility of having touch operation buttons, because the column can have various modes itself, the first one being that what is held down acts upon the recipient object, called the Command Mode, such as how "Close" will close the hit object. In the second mode the touch operation is a means to insert its operation title as data or content in a document, Content Mode. NOCTIVAGOUS.GITHUB.IO ---- --- With touch operations, it is also possible that something is deleted not through the use of a "delete" modifier next to a "close" modifier but instead tapping an object twice with "close," with it darkening as a warning that it will be deleted will be the way to delete something.  Other modifier keys include "route" such as for opening a file in a specific application, because "route" is a very generic keyword that can apply to many situations. Instead of "cut [out]","copy [from]","paste [on/into]" more like "extract"," The Touch Operation Slider The touch operation slider works in the following way: the numeric value on the screen is touched by the right index finger and the left i NOCTIVAGOUS.GITHUB.IO