Doug Lautzenheiser

Cincinnati, OH

General Manager, Business Intelligence

Innovation is needed right on the front-line where the person meets the computer: the User Interface.

We have accepted as standard the browser with its keyboard and point-and-click interfaces. Innovations seem to be mere extensions. For example, instead of using a mouse, you can use your finger on a touch-screen.

Today's "Gee Whiz" innovation is multi-touch, demonstrated by CNN's Magic Wall, iPods, and some tablet PCs. Instead of one finger, you can use two!

We need a whole new paradigm for communicating with computers. Maybe we cannot jack into our skulls for thought-control yet, but surely we can think of something more productive than poking computers with our fingers.