Hey, Honestly I think both sides of this argument are completely absurd. Yes, the mouse is best for selecting points and ranges. No, the mouse is not better than the keyboard for other commands. The study from 1989 is basically based around the claim that it "takes two seconds to decide upon which special-function key to press." I'm sorry, does anyone truly believe that it takes a user two seconds to hit a common shortcut like Ctrl-S or Ctrl-C? That's ridiculous; it may take two seconds *until* it becomes muscle memory, which is the whole point of keyboarding: it becomes muscle memory, whereas the mouse does not.
"By using Command X, C, and V, the user can select with one hand and act with the other. Two-handed input. Two-handed input can result in solid productivity gains (Buxton 1986)." Using both hands with your computer? What a novel idea. One can clearly edit faster if one can select ranges with the mouse and issue commands with the keyboard, moving to full keyboard use when inserting or searching. The optimal solution is to use *both* the mouse and keyboard, because they each have their advantages. Doesn't that seem reasonable? Thanks, cls
