Relativiser les avis tranchés et définitifs : le lancement de la souris

Voici une sélection de citations extraites de la presse informatique des années 80, à l’époque où la souris en tant que périphérique a été lancée :
“Mice are nice ideas, but of dubious value for business users” (George Vinall, PC Week, April 24, 1984)
“There is no evidence that people want to use these things.” (John C. Dvorak, San Francisco Examiner, February 19, 1984)
“I was having lots of fun, but in the back of my corporate mind, I couldn’t help but think about productivity.” (George Vinall, PC Week, April 24, 1984)
“Does the mouse make the computer more accessible, more friendly, to certain target audiences such as executives? The answer is no.” (Computerworld, October 31, 1983)
“There is no possibility that this device will feel more comfortable to the executive than the keyboard. Because of its ‘rollability,’ the mouse has the aura of a gimmick…” (Computerworld, October 31, 1983)
“The mouse and its friends are merely diversions in this process. What sounds revolutionary does not necessarily help anyone with anything, and therein lies the true test of commercial longevity.” (David A. Kay, Datamation, October 1983)
La conclusion ? Il y a besoin d’une conclusion ?
La source sur un blog de Microsoft, dans un très long et très intéressant article consacré à l’évolution de l’interface utilisateur Windows depuis 27 ans, qui a mené à l’élaboration de l’UX de Windows 8.
Un passionnant article qui compare ce travail à la commande d’UNE pizza pour quelques millions de personnes.
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/05/18/creating-the-windows-8-user-experience.aspx

