Humane Interface, The: New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems

7-2. Modes and Cables

Software runs on hardware. If you can't figure out how to connect the hardware, the software is just so many lost bits. Among the simplest piece of hardware is the cable, a few wires or fiber-optic strands bundled together with a connector at each end. Cables should be able to be plugged and unplugged without having to worry about whether the computer was on or not. (Cables that are not “hot-swappable” are modal!) You should not have to configure devices, as is required for SCSI connections. With the USB and FireWire standards, these desiderata are finally being addressed. But there are still interface issues that have not been addressed, even with the new standards. For example, it is frustrating to have a cable with the ...